Act I
- The ghost of the king may have returned as a way of bringing bad news to the country according to Horatio
- Guards are keeping watch because it is their duty to guard the castle. At the same time, the country is about to go to war and so they have to be ready for anything.
- In Act I Scene IV, there is foreshadowing where Hamlet’s father appears to him as a ghost and tells him about his murder.
Pathetic fallacy is seen when Francisco says that “its bitter cold and I am sick at heart” he is connecting the weather and his sickness. He is talking about his condition with reference to an external factor.
Metaphor- Hamlet says “foils of reason” which means strengths of the mind and intelligence which are harmed by psychological disturbances
- Hamlet is upset because his father was murdered as explained by the appearance of the ghost of his father and therefore was experiencing grief. At the same time, he is mourning the death of his father as explained by the fact that he is also wearing black
- The marriage between Claudius and Gertrude is incestuous because she was the wife of King Hamlet, brother to King Claudius. They are also of the same flesh and blood.
- On Hamlet’s grief, Claudius says that hamlet is insulting God because he seems not to accept his father’s death. He also tells him that he should forget everything and move on and also, that it is ungodly to cry. He also compares himself to the late King Hamlet
- Hamlet compares his mother to Niabe because unlike his mother who got married immediately after her husband’s death, Niabe wept so much. At the same time Hamlet compares his own father to Hyperion because they are one of a kind.
- According to Leartes, Ophelia should be wary of hamlet’s affections because they might be false and unreliable because she does not have royal blood. Also, because she is getting married to a prince, she needs to be a virgin and if she is not she will be rejected hence suffer humiliation.
- Polonius advice to Leartes is still relevant today because it is important that one keeps their thoughts to themselves lest people take advantage of them. At the same time, he is a successful man and so, his advise can be meaningful to anyone who wants to be successful today.
- The evidence of the supernatural is seen through the ghost of King Hamlet
- Elements of Greek mythology seen in Act I are seen in the way revenge is presented through Hamlet
Act II
- Hamlet is similar to Oedipus in that they are princes and their father figures are taken away from them. They are also tragic heroes
- Polonius is given most profound thoughts so as to bring in the voice soberness and humor.
- Hamlet and his friends are typical young men because of their optimism and resolute. They also talk and act like ordinary people who are very happy.
- Hamlet seems to play with Ophelia’s heart because he acts as a madman.
- Yes Polonius could be too controlling of his children especially Leartes because he is spying on him and he also advises Ophelia to stay away from hamlet
- Hamlet’s madness has sense because he just pretends as he calculates his revenge on King Claudius
- Foreshadowing of Leartes death is seen as his father takes on an investigator to try him using lies in order to put his morals to test.
- The play is a product of its time because of the use of royal courts which was something that was common at the time. also women are treated as inferior and they depend so much on men.
Act III
- Hamlet compares the value of life and death, “to be or not to be.” he also alludes that the world is full of troubles and that dying is better but no one knows how the world is after dying.
- When Claudius asks whether Hamlet is fine, Hamlet answers in a crafty way. Hamlet’s affections for Ophelia were not the cause of his madness
- Hamlet teases Ophelia with some oblique sexual references and Ophelia could naturally think that Hamlet does not really love her. He also treats her harshly and so she becomes disappointed.
- Hamlet wishes that the play would show signs of guilt which will be prove that he is the one who murdered King Hamlet. Also, if the king will not show guilt, then Hamlet will assume that he was just distracted by his own thoughts.
- The player King and Player Queen discuss about the eventuality of the Queen if her husband dies and that she will never become queen again. The queen says that she will never remarry.
- His expressions and erotic puns on Ophelia depict him as mad. He also acted crazy in order to provoke the thoughts of Claudius
- Hamlet confronts his mother and for marrying Claudius and tells her that she has offended his father for doing so. Her marriage is also comparable to the incestuous marriage between Oedipus and his mother
- If Hamlet could have killed the King when he had the chance, he might have become king himself and he wanted to protect his mother. Claudius himself wanted hamlet to kill him so that he can go to heaven. The cons are that Claudius was popular and the people may have turned against her and his mother may have hated her forever
- Disease imagery is used in this act so as to present the way in which Hamlet plots for the revenge of the death of his father and also to bring out the gloom that is seen all through the play.
Act IV
- The King was shocked of Polonius death and for a moment he thought that it may have been him. He now saw Hamlet as a threat.
- Hamlet does not trust his friends more especially Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because they were a part of the plot that was supposed to kill him.
- Fortinbras and Hamlet go through similar experiences of losing their fathers. While one of them is thoughtful, hamlet, Fortinbras is rash. Fortinbras also prepares to go to war with Poland whereas could not even take revenge for his father’s death.
- Ophelia goes mad because she cannot come to terms to the death of her father and that Hamlet is unreliable for emotional comfort.
- Leartes is not justified to take revenge because he does not know the cause of his father’s death.
Act V
- Hamlet has right to profess his love for Ophelia because he jumped into his grave as sign of his love for her and by saying that he loves her more than he loves forty brothers, he means it because Hamlet is not in the habit of lying. Also, he is not the cause of his death. His abusive behavior towards her was just part of the plot to revenge for his father’s death and to distract her too.
- While at Sea, Hamlet realized that there was a plot to have him killed. They encountered pirates who eventually helped him go back to Denmark
- The ending is true tragedy because of the death of the main characters
