Act 1- Scenes ii-iii
Hamlet resents his mother and uncle/step-father
AND
Polonius entertains the beginnings of empty-nest syndrome while cautioning his daughter about the troubles of love.
AND
Polonius entertains the beginnings of empty-nest syndrome while cautioning his daughter about the troubles of love.
Act 1-Scene ii
CLAUDIUS'S POLITICAL AGENDA
Claudius gives his first monologue here. We get the sense that Claudius has a political agenda when paraphrasing (and dissecting his speech); the order of his ideas is VERY important to understanding his character:CLAUDIUS'S POLITICAL AGENDA
- he admits that his brother was newly dead when he married his wife ("the memory be green" and "befitted to bear our heart in grief")
- he acknowledges the corruption of his marriage ("wisest sorrow," "Nor have we herein barred your better wisdoms, which have freely gone with this affair along," this is also noted with his use of antithesis-- "mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage"
- he discusses, for most of the monologue, his inherited political agenda against Norway ("colleagued with this dream of his [Old Hamlet's] advantage, he hath not failed to pester us with message," "Now for ourself and for the time of meeting. Thus much business is: we have here writ to Norway")
CLAUDIUS AN UNFAIR RULER?
- When you compare Claudius' treatment of Hamlet and Laertes you start to notice some irony. It becomes obvious that there is tension between Claudius and Hamlet, almost like a power struggle.
- Understanding the difference between "thou" and "you" helps to explain this.
- It's really pretty simple: "thou" is familiar/informal and "you" is formal. "Thou" is an archaic second-person singular pronoun, and "you" was originally a second-person plural pronoun."Thou" was a much more personal and intimate pronoun because it could only refer to a single person.
- When Claudius first talks to Laertes, he uses "thou," only switching to you when he has to act-the-part of king and give permission to go to France. Claudius talks to Hamlet with "you" only.
HAMLET'S AWKWARD TEENAGE ANGST
Hamlet is obviously disturbed by his mother's hasty (only waited one month) marriage to his uncle. It consumes the majority of his first soliloquy, including allusions, metaphors, and imagery to assist in showing the audience how upset he really is. An upset Hamlet blurts, "frailty, they name is woman--" and continues to berate his mother in the following ways:
- analogies (allusions): Hamlet compares his father's rule and Claudius rule as Hyperion (sun god, very masculine) to a satyr (half goat-half man, lecherous). He also says that Claudius is no more like his father than he is like Hercules. This allows the readers to see the importance this problem holds to Hamlet--that the problem is larger than his internal conflict--by his analogy to Gods and mythical creatures, he demonstrates the strength of his passion for the topic.
- metaphor (allusion): Hamlet views the world as an "unweeded garden." This is important to note, as weeds grow out of control, much like the chaos he describes with his mother and uncle finding love in a time of mourning. This unweeded garden is also an allusion the Biblical Garden of Eden (that will be mentioned in Act 1.5 and beyond).
- concept of death and death: Hamlet reveals to the readers in the first few lines of his soliloquy that he wishes to die because of the plot that has revealed itself to him: "or if the Almighty hadn't made a law against suicide." He also reveals his concept of living: "how tiresome, stale, flat, and pointless all the business seems to be." Hamlet is at a loss here!!! He feels that life is pointless because all morals seem to have gone out the window (mother and uncle) and now he can't even escape. His uncle forbid his traveling to Wittenberg.
- imagery (diction): Hamlet uses many instances of imagery to convey his frustration with his mother. For instance, he states, "Within a month, before the salt of her unfaithful tears had stopped reddening her sore eyes, she married." The colors and senses show here convey the sense of deep distress and grief of his mother, but Hamlet's diction creates a sarcastic tone ("unfaithful tears"). Saying it this way, Hamlet makes it sound as if his mother had intended on cheating from the moment she started crying.
Act 1-Scene iii
SEXIST OR JUST PROTECTIVE?
As Laertes is about to leave for France, he and his father give advice to Ophelia about love (specifically about being cautious around Hamlet).- What is interesting to note here, is the implicit nature of what Polonius says to Ophelia... that she has power too. Of course, Ophelia knows this as she says, "I shall the effect of this good lesson keep." This effectively shows that she can fully make her own decisions and she sees her father and brother as somewhat hypocritical when she adds, ""I'll keep your advice, but [...] don't be reckless and ignore your own advice."
- Although Ophelia does not appear the strong female figure that Shakespeare typically writes for his audiences, she is strongly opinionated (at least for now). Her strength will appear differently later on...
In this act, Polonius may seem quite comical. How, you might ask? Well...
- paradox: Polonius is comical in Act 1 Scene 3 because he tells Laertes what he should make sure to do while he is in France, but then contradicts himself every time by saying something that cancels out what he just said! On page 62, he rambles through a long list of things to do, saying things like, "Be friendly..." and "Let your clothes be as expensive as your purse can pay for...". However, he then continues by saying, "...but by no means indiscriminate in your friendships", and, "...but wear nothing too fancy; let it be costly, not gaudy. He even concludes by saying, "May this advice be fruitful". Sadly, it is more confusing than fruitful. (The previous paragraph is credited to Joel).
- This to thine own self be true: After Polonius states his long list of paradoxical advice to Laertes, he tells him to be true to himself only (thus negating any of the advice he just gave him).
- Unsolicited Advice to Ophelia: After Laertes leaves, he gives advice to Ophelia about Hamlet: "From this time / Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence. / Set your entreatments at a higher rate / Than a command to parley." Basically, he is telling Ophelia to play hard-to-get--not necessarily the advice a father gives a daughter.
