Hamlet Act III

I think that it is safe to say that anything I could write in this post would not do Act III of Hamlet justice. The act begins with one of the most famous soliloquies of Shakespeare's works. Hamlet ponders, "To be, or not to be, that is the question-" (3.1.56) and continues the theme of contemplation of suicide that has been carried throughout the play so far. However this time, Hamlet considers suicide as a concept: why people do not commit it, what it means, etc. He believes that people "grunt and sweat under a weary life," (3.1.77) solely because of "the dread of something after death" (3.1.78).  This connects to the question that was consistently explored in Shakespeare Uncovered . Why is a play that is so old and about such dramatic things such as murder and royalty so relevant today? The portrayal of contemplation of existence is chillingly accurate. As we grow, we begin to wonder what our purpose is, and as we experience tragedies in our own lives, we wonder why it is worth it, just as Hamlet does in this soliloquy.

This translates into scene three as well. The audience sees the toll that this tragedy has affected Claudius as he goes to pray for his sins. However, Claudius exposes the truth of human nature in asking "May one be pardoned and retain th'offence?" (3.3.56) essentially saying that though he regrets murdering his own brother, he does not want to lose what he has gained by doing so. It is almost disappointing how Claudius reacts. We want people to be good, even if they make a mistake. Hamlet enters upon Claudius praying and immediately thinks of avenging his father's death. However, he realizes as he was about to murder Claudius, that he does not seem capable of it. He excuses it by saying that if he kills Claudius while he is praying, Claudius will surely go to heaven. That would hardly be the revenge that his father would want.

The last scene drew me to a conclusion about the ghost of King Hamlet (probably a stretch). Though Hamlet presents his madness as "an act", I believe there is some truth behind it. If we think practically, there is no ghost of Hamlet's father. This is proven when Gertrude cannot see him when Hamlet is speaking with him in her chambers. I think that the ghost is a coping mechanism for Hamlet to finally grieve properly. In other words, the ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his death because that is what Hamlet believes is right.

Changing theme, another motif that stuck out to me in this act was the blatant misogyny on Hamlet's part. In scene 1, Hamlet violently attacks the character of Ophelia and of women as a whole. He tells Ophelia that she should go to a nunnery and essentially accuses her of being a temptress. Structurally, during this interaction, Ophelia and Hamlet speak to each other in prose, depicting their contempt for each other in the moment. Hamlet's outright sexism makes it hard to root for him as a character. I understand that he is grieving  and he is doing that as a manifestation of his anger for his mother,
but I also think that if he is as mad at the human race as he says he is, he should not specifically target the traits of women. Conversely, I always like to try and understand the motives of complex characters like Hamlet. I wonder if my opinion will be swayed as the play comes to a close.