| Summarise the events of the scene. | Hamlet lectures three of the players on how to act. His lecture focuses on how to avoid overacting, suiting action to word and word to action. They exit. Hamlet has already told Horatio what the Ghost said, and now reveals his plan: the play to be put on will mirror the Ghosts’ description of Claudius’s murder of Old Hamlet. If Claudius looks guilty while watching it, then he is.Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, and others arrive to watch the play. Hamlet tells Horatio he’s now going to act insane.Claudius asks how Hamlet is faring. Hamlet responds as if Claudius were using the word “fare” to mean food, and says he’s eating the air. Hamlet mocks Polonius’s attempts to act at university, harasses Ophelia with sexual puns, then makes bitter remarks about Gertrude for marrying Claudius. The players enter and first act out a dumbshow (a short silent play that shows what the longer play is about). The players then begin to act the full play. As the plot becomes clear, Gertrude and Claudius become uncomfortable. Hamlet mocks them, while continuing to launch sexual puns at Ophelia. Claudius asks the name of the play. Hamlet says, “The Mouse-trap.”When the villain in the play pours poison into the king’s ear, Claudius jumps from his seat, calls for light, and rushes from the room. Hamlet is triumphant. He tells Horatio that this proves the Ghost was telling the truth.Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and say that his mother wants to see him. Hamlet agrees to go, but furiously tells them they cannot “pluck out the heart of his mystery” or play him like a flute (3.2.336). Polonius enters, repeating Gertrude’s request to see him. Hamlet pretends to see odd shapes in a non-existent cloud. Polonius also pretends to see the shapes. All exit but Hamlet, who says to himself that he could “drink hot blood” (3.2.360), but forces himself to remember not to hurt his mother. |
| Why is Hamlet’s speech to the players significant? | Hamlet instructs the Players how to effectively bridge the gap between appearance and reality. This demonstrates Hamlet’s expertise in this area and indicates that his madness may indeed be feigned. Appearance vs Reality. |
| How does Hamlet’s language change as he addresses the Players? | Hamlet begins to speak in prose to reflect the lower status of the Players. This shows that although Hamlet does not value or differentiate due to status, he still does conform to societal norms, driven by status. |
| What is Horatio’s role, in Hamlet’s eyes? | “…no revenue hast but thy good spirits… let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp…” Hamlet here discusses the noble characteristics of Horatio, due in his opinion to Horatio’s lack of comparative status. For Hamlet, Horatio appears as a beacon of truth in the otherwise corrupt “prison” of Denmark. This is reflected later in the play as Horatio lives and is left to spread the truth of Hamlet’s deeds. |
| Why is Hamlet’s probing and mocking of Ophelia dubious? | If Hamlet is using madness only to try to protect himself from suspicion, why does he mock the King and Queen so obviously? And why mock Ophelia at all? Appearance vs Reality/ Women and Sexuality. |
| Give an example of Hamlet’s use of innuendo towards Ophelia. | “Do you think I meant county matters? I think nothing, my Lord…” Hamlet here is using deliberate innuendo to unsettle Ophelia. “Country matters” is a reference by Hamlet to sex, whilst his questioning places Ophelia directly within the scrutiny of the audience, which demonstrates Hamlet’s dominance and possible cruelty. Ophelia’s short reply in response is an example of sticomythia and thus builds tension and awkwardness as she refuses to bow to Hamlet’s psychological games, maintaining her dignity. |
| Why is Claudius calling for “light” significant? | “light” could reflect realisation or exposure, in this case of his murder to Hamlet. Light could also foreshadow and reflect cleansing or a desperate search for (religious?) purity. |
| Why is Hamlet’s description of Claudius as a “stricken deer” significant? | This suggests Claudius is helpless to defend against Hamlet’s revenge, as Hamlet views that his righteous cause will now triumph. This also portrays Hamlet and Claudius as the hunter and the hunted, which gives a predatory and thus darker nature to Hamlet. |
| Why could Hamlet’s calling for music be seen as significant? | “Ah ha! – Come, some music!” This reflects Hamlet’s love of the unseen. Hamlet previously in the play has discussed the unknown world of death and also his need for escapism through the world of dreams. Here therefore, this is an extension and a continuation of this, but in a more celebratory fashion. |
| How are Hamlet’s values exposed? | R and G try to use the guise of friendship to learn Hamlet’s thoughts. Such dishonesty angers Hamlet. It is not status but character and morals which matter to him. Appearance vs Reality. |
| How does Hamlet show Polonius’s relationship to status? | Hamlet continually mocks Polonius and manipulates his dependance on approval. This also acts as a demonstration to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Hamlet’s true power. |
| How is Hamlet’s reference to “churchyards yawn” significant? | This suggests the paranormal and thus is an allusion to the influence of Old Hamlet. Hamlet therefore suggests that his newfound evidence of the Ghost’s truth inspires his own action. |
HAMLET- Act 3, Scene 2
July 17, 2019