William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
Shakespeare’s reputation is world-wide, but very little is known about who he was
or how he lived.
Information comes from dull documentary records of dates and facts, and
from the references in the works of his contemporaries. So we know that he was the
third child of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, and was baptized on 26 April 1564
in Stratford-on-Avon. Both his parents came from families of yeomen –small
landowning farmers. In Warwickshire. His father was a prosperous glover, and a
leading member of the little commnunity of Stratford.
Owing to his father’s wealth and position it is probable that Shakespeare
attended university. His education, though not extensive, was adequate. He learnt
grammar, logic and rhetoric, on a firm Latin base.
At the end of 1576 his father was overtaken by financial difficulties, and the
family went through a hard period. William probably helped his father at his trade
after living school. There is also a report that he may have worked as an assistant
master at the grammar school.
In 1582 a licence to marry was issued to William Shakespeare and Anne
Hatthaway, and five months later a daughter, Susanna, was baptized. Twins Judith
and Hamnet were born and baptized in 1585.
Nothing certain is know about Shakespeare’s experiences in the years
between 1585 and 1592. It is possible that he joined one of the wandering troupes of
professional actors who travelled under the patronage of important noblemen and
performed almost yearly in Stratford. In 1587 at least five companies passed through
Stratford on a route that ultimately took them to London, a town dazzling with the
splendour of the English Renaissance.
There is evidence of his living in London in 1592, when Robert Greene
wrote a letter to three of his friends, lamenting that uneducated dramatists were
more successful in the theatre than university men like himself.
There are several records of Shakespeare’s name in the years that followed,
including the mention for the publication of a poem, Venus and Adonis, in 1593. This
year saw the closing of the theatres owing to the plague, and in 1594 Shakespeare
published his second poem, The Rape of Lucrece. It is probable tht in the years that
followed he joined a theatrical company called Lord Chamberlain’s Men, and the link
continued as long as he worked for the theatre.
1596 saw Hamnet’s death. The loss of his child must have affected
Shakespeare deeply; in a work written at that time, King John, a character says:
(1)
... I have heard you say
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven.
If that be true, I shall see my boy again. (...)
1. from King John,
Act III, Scene IV.
Young Prince Arthur
has been imprisoned
and his mother,
foreboding his
murder, already
mourns him as if he
was dead.
Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form. (...)
O Lord! My boy, my Arthur, my fair son!
My life, my joy, my food, my all the world!
These touching words are Shakespeare’s own words; the sorrow here expressed is
his own sorrow for Hamnet’s death.
In the same year the poet’s father obtained a coat of arms, and a year later William
bought a house in Stratford. Documents also mention the purchase of several acres of
land and a cottage in 1602.
1609 is the year of publication of the Sonnets, the composition of which
probably started in the early 1590s.
In 1612 Shakespeare was involved as a witness in a domestic lawsuit, and
he signed the documents concerning his interrogatories.
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quarto: in quarto, a
volume made up of
sheets
of
paper
folded twice.
folio: in folio, a
volume made up of
sheets
of
paper
folded
once;
a
volume of the largest
size.
1616 saw the execution of his will, each sheet of which he signed, and in the
same year the poet died and was buried in Stratford Parish Church on 25 April.
Shakespeare’s dramatic production covered a period of about twenty years,
from 1591 to 1611. No manuscripts of his plays exist. Some unauthorized editions
appeared in quarto form during his life, but the first complete edition of his works is
universally considered the First Folio of 1623. This edition does not contain any
indication as to the dates of composition, and the only scanty evidence of chronology
comes from records of performances; besides, some guesses can be attempted on the
basis of the editions issued during his lifetime or immediately after his death, and
critics do not always agree on such dates.
1590-1
Henry VI, Part 2
History
Henry VI, Part 3
1591-2
Henry VI, Part 1
1592-3
Richard III
History
The Comedy of Errors
Comedy
1593-4
Titus Andronicus
Tragedy
The Taming of the Shrew
Comedy
1594-5
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Comedy
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Comedy
Romeo and Juliet
Tragedy
1595-6
Richard II
History
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Comedy
1596-7
King John
History
The Merchant of Venice
Comedy
1597-8
Henry IV, Part 1
History
Henry IV, Part 2
1598-9
Much Ado about Nothing
Comedy
Henry V
History
1599-600 Julius Caesar
Tragedy
As You Like It
Comedy
Twelfth Night
Comedy
1600-1
Hamlet
Tragedy
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Comedy
1601-2
Troilus and Cressida
Problem Play
1602-3
All’s Well That Ends Well
Problem Play
1604-5
Measure for Measure
Problem Play
Othello
Tragedy
1605-6
King Lear
Tragedy
Macbeth
Tragedy
1606-7
Antony and Cleopatra
Tragedy
1607-8
Coriolanus
Tragedy
Timon of Athens
Tragedy
1608-9
Pericles
Tragedy
1609-10 Cymbeline
Romance
1610-11 The Winter’s Tale
Romance
1611-12 The Tempest
Romance
1612-13 Henry VIII
History
The Two Noble Kinsmen
Romance
(written by John Fletcher with Shakespeare’s collaboration)
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(1600–1601)
The king of Denmark –Hamlet’s father- has died suddenly in tragic circumstances;
his brother Claudius has succeeded him and married his widow, Gertrude, before
two months have gone by.
The court is assembled; the new king talks to various people, receives suits, then
he addresses Hamlet.
PRELIMINARY TASK
Consider Hamlet’s situation. What do you expect his state of mind to be? And his
attitude to the new king?
cousin: kinsman,
relative.
kin: kinsman.
kind: kinsman; ‘kind’
also emphasixes the
mutual feeling that
unites members of
the same family.
thine: (arch.) your.
Denmark: the king of
Denmark.
vailed: (arch.)
lowered.
ay: yes.
of forc’d breath:
emitted with force.
haviour: expression.
trappings: exterior
ornaments.
woe: sorrow, grief.
TEXT A
(KING): But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son –
HAMLET: A little more than kin, and less than kind.
KING: How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
HAMLET: Not so, my lord, I am too much in the sun.
QUEEN: Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
5
and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou know’st ‘tis common: all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.
10
HAMLET: Ay, madam, it is common.
QUEEN:
If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee?
HAMLET: Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not ‘seems’.
‘Tis not alome my inky cloak, good mother,
15
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forc’d breath.
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
20
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passes show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
(from Act I, Scene II)
TASKS
1. Read the text and focus on Hamlet’s lines. Find the metaphor describing
Hamlet’s mood, and explain it in your own words.
Is he please to be called ‘son’? How would you define his attitude to Claudius?
83
2. Focus on the introduction, consider what you have gathered so far, and discuss
what particular circumstance – besides his father’s death – must have affected
Hamlet so deeply.
3.
In his second answer to the queen, Hamlet mentions the ‘trappings and the
suits of woe’, i.e. the exterior manifestations of sorrow, like black clothes and sad
behaviour. He states that they cannot denote him truly because they are actions
that a man might perform. What really counts is what he feels.
All this points to a major contrast:
seem - __________________________________________________________________
appearance - _____________________________________________________________
4. Similarly, his first two answers (lines 2 and 4) are more profound than they first
appear. They contain two puns: kin / kind and ‘in the sun’ (sun / son). Explain their
meanings and discuss what aspect of Hamlet’s personality is here revealed.
More kin than kind: More than a relative (= kin) because _______ but not loving
(= kind) because _________________________________________.
I am too much in the sun: a) There are no clouds over me.
b) I have now become your son, and this is too much
for me.
5. Highlight the metaphors and discuss their contribution to the interpretation of
meaning.
6. In Elizabethan times the expression “in the sun” with reference to a sovereign
probably acquired particular relevance. Refer to the section The English
Renaissance and state why.
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Some officers have seen a strange apparition while they were on their night watch.
The apparition resembled the dead king, so they inform Hamlet, who immediately
resolves to watch that very night and speak to the spirit, if it appears again. And so it
happens.
PRELIMINARY TASKS
What is a ghost normally associated with?
Where may it come from, Heaven or Hell? Why?
Do you think that in special circumstances ghosts really appear, or are they just
seen by certain people? Can’t they rather be the projection of these people’s fears,
or wishes, or remorse?
Make hypotheses on the apparition in Hamlet: What do you think it can be?
whither wilt thou:
(arch.) where will
you. When the ghost
appeared, he did not
say a single word,
but beckoned Hamlet
to follow him to an
isolated place.
render up: present.
thy: (arch.) your.
unfold: reveal.
bound: prepared.
doom’d: doomed:
condemned
but that I am forbid:
if I were not
forbidden.
harrow up: wound,
fill with anguish.
knotted and
combined locks: tied
up and wound
together hair.
an: (arch.) on.
quills: spines.
fretful porpentine:
bad-tempered
porcupine.
eternal blazon:
revelation of things
belonging to eternity.
thou didst: (arch.)
you did.
foul: (here)
abominable, cruel,
dirty.
Haste me know’t: let
me know it quickly.
TEXT B
Enter GHOST and HAMLET.
HAMLET: Whither wilt thou lead me? Speak, I’ll go no further.
GHOST: Mark me.
HAMLET:
I will .
1st:
GHOST:
My hour is almost come.
When I to sulph’rous and tormenting flames
Must render up myself.
HAMLET:
Alas, poor ghost. 2nd:
GHOST: Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing.
To what I shall unfold.
HAMLET: Speak, I am bound to hear. 3rd:
GHOST: So art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear.
HAMLET: What?
4th:
GHOST: I am thy father’s spirit,
Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confin’d to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purg’d away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand an end
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love –
HAMLET: O God!
5th:
GHOST: Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
HAMLET: Murder!
6th:
GHOST: Murder most foul, as in the best it is,
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.
HAMLET: Haste me to know’t that I with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love
May sweep to my revenge. 7th:
5
10
15
20
25
30
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apt: clever and quick.
duller shouldst thou
be: (arch.) you
should be more
sluggish, inert.
Lethe: mythological
river producing
forgetfulness
wouldst thou not
stir: (arch.) if you
were not moved.
forged process:
invented account.
rankly: shamelessly
witchcraft: magic
practice.
lust: uncontrolled
sexual desire.
vow: solemn, holy
promise.
wretch: poor,
miserable person.
to: when compared
to
lewdness: impurity,
licentiousness.
prey on garbage:
find
its nourishment in
filth, rubbish.
stole: came silently.
hebenon: poison
derived from a plant.
leperous: producing
effects like those of
leprosy.
quicksilver:
mercury.
doth: (arch.) does.
posset: (here)
coagulate
tetter: skin eruption.
lazar-like: leper-like.
unhousel’d,
disappointed,
unanel’d: without
having received the
eucharist, the
preparation (i.e.
absolution), the
extreme unction.
sent to my account:
sent to answer for my
deeds, to be judged.
taint not: do not
corrupt, do not stain.
contrive: devise.
aught: (arch.)
anything.
GHOST:
I find thee apt.
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear.
‘Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,
35
A serpent stung me – so the whole ear of Denmark
is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abus’d – but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.
40
HAMLET: O my prophetic soul! My uncle!
8th:
GHOST: Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts –
O wicked wit, and gifts that have the power
So to seduce! – won to his shameful lust
45
The will of my most seeming – virtuous queen.
O Hamlet, what a falling off was there,
From me, whose love was of that dignity
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage, and to decline
50
Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine.
But virtue, as it never will be mov’d,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel link’d,
55
Will sate itself in a celestial bed
And prey on garbage.
But soft, methinks I scent the morning air:
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard,
My custom always of the afternoon,
60
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment, whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
65
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body,
And with a sudden vigour it doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine,
70
And a most instant tetter bark’d about
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand
Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatch’d
75
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousel’d, disappointed, unanel’d
No reck’ning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.
O horrible! O horrible! most horrible!
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If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not,
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But howsomever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy mind nor let thy soul contrive
85
Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven,
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once:
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near
And gins to pale his uneffectual fire.
90
Adieu, adieu, adieu. Remember me. (Exit)
(from Act I, Scene V)
86
TASKS
1.
The following notes form the outline of the ghost’s tale; they are in jumbled
order. Arrange them according to the sequence they have in the text.
[
] He mentions the person who killed him.
[
] The ghost hints at the horrors of his punishment.
[
] He mentions the consequences of his murder.
[
] He begs Hamlet to listen carefully.
[
] He gives details of his murder.
[
] He reveals that he did not die naturally, but was murdered.
[
] He asks to be revenged.
[
] He reveals his identity.
[
] He invites Hamlet to convince his mother to break the link with Claudius.
[
] He mentions the guilty relationship between Claudius and the queen.
2.
Focus on Hamlet´s answers, and define the attitude expressed in each of them;
you can use these items and write each next to the corresponding line/s (they are
numbered for you).
[ pity]
[ surprise ] [determination to hear]
[emotion]
[confirmation of his suspicion] [wish for revenge]
[amazement]
[agreement]
3.
Write the name of the murderer of Hamlet´s father, and point out the
expression proving that Hamlet unconsciously suspected this person.
Name:
Expression:
Now list the adjectives with which the ghost defines his murder, and explain why
it deserves such particular execration.
4. Write in one sentence how the crime was committed.
5.
Besides the murder, another revelation can be inferred from the ghost’s tale:
focus on lines 42-57 and state in your own words what fact is hinted at here.
William Blake
Hamlet and His
Father’s Ghost (1806)
87
6. Do you think the ghost is reliable?
Discuss with your partner, then list the arguments in favour and those against.
RELIABLE
UNRELIABLE
Henry Fuseli, Ghost
7. For three times the ghost mentions the fact that he is allowed to appear only at
night: see lines 10-11, 58-59, 89-90. Why is this detail reported? What is
traditionally associated with the night?
8. A very effective metaphor is expressed in lines 39-40. It brilliantly compresses
Eugéne Delacroix,
Hamlet sees the Ghost
of His Father
complex meanings in a single sentence. What does the image of the snake convey?
Point out other metaphors –or similes- that have impressed you. Focus on the
adjectives, the repetitions and any other stylistic devices, and highlight those that
you consider particularly effective.
9.
Several themes emerge from this text: death, ambition, revenge, sin and
expiation, fratricide, lust, the supernatural. Find the elements that point to each of
them . One has already been indicated.
death = ghost; report of the king’s assassination.
ambition =
revenge =
sin and expiation =
fratricide =
lust =
Which of these themes particularly appealed to an Elizabethan audience?
Find reference in the section The Elizabethan Drama and give reasons for your
answer.
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John Gielgud as
Hamlet’s father’s
Ghost.
This scene is also an example of Shakespeare’s mastery in stagecraft. It not only
involves the public emotionally –the crime reported by the victim is very appealing,
and the apparition of the ghost creates emotion and fear– but it brilliantly serves
other purposes. The ghost’s tale allows the dramatist to inform the audience of a
previous event. What elese did Shakespeare have at his disposal for this purpose? He
could letHamlet overhear a soliloquy of Claudius, in which he confessed his crime, or
maybe a compromising dialogue betweeb Claudius and an accomplice. or, the
murder might have been witnessed by someone who then decided to reveal things.
But in all these cases the audience –and Hamlet- would be certain of Claudius’s guilt,
thus eliminating doubts and removing all interest for the audience. Hamlet would
rush to his revenge, and the tragedy would be a standard revenge play.
With this stratagem –a touch of Shakespeare’s genius- all the play revolves around
the problem posed by the legitimacy of Hamlet’s revenge, the reliability of the ghost’s
tale, and Hamlet’s necessity to prove the king’s guilt. It is this ambiguity that gives
the play much of its significance and intrigues the public, called to interpret things,
make hypotheses, side with one or the other of the characters…
In short, the theatre carries out one of its functions.
10.
Finally consider the impact of this revelation on Hamlet, and predict the
possible development of his actions. Will he keep in line with the tradition of the
revenge plays?
Here are some possibilities. Discuss them, and choose what you consider the most
convincing. Add more if you wish.
____ Hamlet believes the ghost’s tale, but hesitates to take action.
____ Hamlet unconditionally believes the ghost’s tale and rushes to his revenge.
____ On second thoughts, with the help of reason and calm, Hamlet decides that the
ghost is not reliable.
____ Hamlet is shocked: the impact of the revelation is too much for him, and his
nervous system breaks down.
____ Hamlet commits suicide out of despair.
Hamlet and the Ghost
____ Hamlet is inclined to believe the ghost’s tale, but considers the possibility that
the ghost is a creature of the devil, so he wants some evidence of Claudiu’s guilt.
After the ghost’s revelation Hamlet’s behaviour begins to be very strange, and many
people at court suspect this derives from his love for Ophelia, the gentle daughter of
Polonius, Lord Chamberlain. In obedience to her father and brother –who oppose her
relationship with Hamlet out of the conviction that he does not really love herOphelia has sent back his letters and has refused to see him.
Hamlet meets Polonius.
TEXT C
QUEEN: But look where sadly the poor wretch comes reading.
POLONIUS: Away, I do beseech you both, away.
beseech: implore.
fishmonger: literally,
one who sells fish. It
may also mean a
seller of women’s
chastity, thus
suggesting that
Polonius makes a
market of his
daughter.
I’ll board him presently. O give me leave.
Exeunt King and Queen [and Attendants].
How does my good Lord Hamlet?
HAMLET: Well, God-a-mercy.
POLONIUS: Do you know me, my lord?
HAMLET: Excellent well, you are a fishmonger.
POLONIUS: Not I, my lord.
HAMLET: Then I would you were so honest a man.
POLONIUS: Honest, my lord?
HAMLET: Ay sir. To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man
picked out of ten thousand.
POLONIUS: That’s very true, my lord.
5
10
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maggots: worms,
larvae.
carrion: dead, rotting
flesh.
Conception: two
meanings: forming
ideas in the mind,
and also becoming
pregnant. So this is a
pun.
How… that?: What
do you say about
that? This is said
aside, as a sort of
comment to the
audience.
harping on: talking
persistenly about.
a: he.
A is far gone: He is
far gone.
Words, words,
words: this has
become a famous
expression, often
used to indicate
something worthless.
rogue: rascal,
dishonest fellow.
pregnant: (here) full
of meaning.
a happiness… on: a
fortune that madness
often meets, which
does not come
equally well from a
mind that reasons
well (Remember Don
Quijote).
that I… withal:
from which I will
separate more
willingly (the double
negative was
common).
HAMLET:
For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good
kissing carrion – Have you a daughter?
15
POLONIUS: I have, my lord.
HAMLET: Let her not walk i’th’ sun. Conception is a blessing, but
as your daughter mau conceive –friend, look to’t.
POLONIUS [aside]: How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter.
Yet he knew me not at first; a said I was a fishmonger. A is far gone. And
20
truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love, very near this. I’ll
speak to him again. –what do you read, my lord?
HAMLET: Words, words, words.
POLONIUS: What is the matter, my lord?
HAMLET: Between who?
25
POLONIUS: I mean the matter that you read, my lord.
HAMLET: Slanders, sir. For the satirical rogue says here that old men
have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick
amber and plum-tree-gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit,
together with most weak hams –all which, sir, though I most powerfully
30
and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down.
For yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am –if like a crab you could go
backward.
POLONIUS [aside]: Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.
–Will you walk out of the air, my lord?
35
HAMLET: Into my grave?
POLONIUS: Indeed, that’s out of the air. – [aside] How pregnant
sometimes his replies are –a happiness that often madness hits on, which
reason and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of. I will leave
him and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my
40
daughter. -My–Lord, I will take my leave of you.
HAMLET: You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will not more
willingly part withal –except my life.
POLONIUS: Fare you well, my lord.
HAMLET: These tedious old fools.
(from Act II, Scene II).
TASKS
1. Read the text and point out the ideas that seems to obsess Hamlet’s mind.
2. There are two references to death, the second of which is emphasized by a
beautiful triple repetition. Find them, and state if Hamlet’s attitude to death is
positive or negative.
3. Focus on Hamlet’s answers to Polonius, and draw your own conclusions about
the prince.
Is he really mad?
Is he only feigning madness?
How do you explain his dislike of Polonius?
List the circumstances which have added up to affect his balance.
What opinion of women’s constancy can he have, in this period of his life?
If he is only pretending to be mad, what can his purpose be?
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The play The
Murder of Gonzago
is based on the
murder of the duke
of Urbino. It
presents similarities
with the situation in
Hamlet, because the
queen marries the
murderer of her
husband.
The king and the queen are not sure that rejected love is the cause of Hamlet’s
madness, and the king summons to court two young courtiers, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, to spy on him. The two young men have been brought up with
Hamlet, and may be able to discover the true cause of his behaviour.
Meanwhile a travelling company of players arrive at the castle: Hamlet warmly
welcomes them, and asks them to say a few lines for him. He himself suggests an
extract from a play dealing with ancient Greece, and precisely the part where Pyrrhus
killed Priam to avenge his father, Achilles, while Hecuba watches the scene in
anguish. Hamlet is profoundly moved by the performance of the first player, and
asks him to act a play called The Murder of Gonzago the day after, inserting a short
passage that he himself will write.
PRELIMINARY TASK
Go back to your prediction in task 10, text B, and read the text until you find
evidence to decide if Hamlet has carried out his revenge, or not. Underline the
expressions that are a clue to your answer.
TEXT D
rogue: tramp,
vagabond.
but: only.
a fiction: an
imagined situation.
his own conceit:
something existing
only in his mind.
function: activity.
had he: if he had.
cue: stimulus,
motivation.
cleave: (fig) split,
break.
appal: shock, fill with
horror.
the free: those who
are not guilty (i.e.
free from guilt)
confound: cast into
confusion.
muddy-mettled
rascal: a dishonest
man, a scoundrel,
whose vigour is like
mud.
peak: pine away,
languish.
John-a-dreams: name
jokingly given to
inactive, absentminded people.
defeat: ruin,
destruction.
… Now I am alone.
O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann’d,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What’s Hecuba to him, or he to her,
That he should weep for her? What would he do
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears,
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing – no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damn’d defeat was made. Am I a coward?
5
10
15
20
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pate: head.
tweaks: sharply,
pinches.
‘swounds: (arch.)
oath, deriving rom
‘by God’s wounds’,
with reference to
Christ on the Cross.
it cannot be but: the
only reason can be
that.
pigeon-livere’d:
popular belief
considered pigeons
extremely mild
animals, whose liver
contained no gall.
gall: fluid substance
produced by liver;
traditionally gall is
associated with
resentment, asperity,
bitterness.
kites: large birds of
prey.
offal: internal parts
of animals (heart,
liver, etc.).
bawdy: obscene.
lecherous: lustful.
kindless: lacking
natural affection for
members of his
family.
whore: prostitute.
Drab: prostitute.
scullion: (arch.)
person who washes
dishes.
fie: shame.
cunning: skill.
tent him to the
quick: (fig)
investigate into him
thoroughly.
If a do blench: (read:
if he but blench) if he
only draws back in
fear.
Who calls me villain, breaks my pate across,
Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face,
Tweaks me by the nose, gives me the lie i’th’throat
As deep as to the lungs – who does me this?
Ha!
‘Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver’d and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should ha’ fatted all the region kites
With this slave’s offal. Bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder’d,
prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must like a whore unpack my heart with words
And fall a-cursing like a very drab,
A scullion! Fie upon’t! Foh!
About, my brains. Hum – I have heard
That guilty creatures sitting at a play
have, by the very cunning of the scene,
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim’d their malefactions.
For murder, thought it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ. I’ll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father
Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks;
I’ll tent him to the quick. I a do blench,
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen
may be a devil, and the devil hath power
T’assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps,
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds
More relative than this. The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King. [Exit]
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
(from Act II, Scene II)
TASKS
1. The first part of this soliloquy is a violent outburst of anger. Read from line 1
to line 35 and state who/what has inspired it.
2. When his anger abates and Hamlet is again in rational control of feelings, he
reproaches himself (“what an ass am I!”) for giving vent to his bitterness instead of
planning effective action (lines 36-41). Then he works out a scheme. Read the final
part of the soliloquy (lines 42-59) and state what his scheme consists of.
3. This passage is built on a pun. Think about the two main meanings of the verb
‘to act’ (1: to perform or represent a part; 2: to take action) and explain the pun.
The parallel between the actor and Hamlet, between real passion and apparent – or
performed - passion, leads to the contrast theatre-life, fiction-reality, and hence to
the dramatic contrast which has already been presented in text A, and which
Hamlet perceives so keenly.
What contrast is it?
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4.
Focus on the last couplet, and in particular on the expression “catch the
conscience”. In a broader way, this couplet could indicate that the theatre has also
the function of awakening conscience. But the theatre is not only this. What is the
theatre? What is its role in society?
Discuss with your neighbour, and jot down as many ideas as you can think of.
Then in groups of four compare your lists, and choose the definitions or functions
of the theatre that you consider of primary importance.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell the king that they have not been able to gather
from Hamlet the reasons of his state. Therefore Claudius and Polonius plan a
meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia, and hide behind an arras to listen and find
out if his madness has been caused by rejected love.
Hamlet enters, and at first does not see Ophelia.
PRELIMINARY TASK
This is perhaps the best known soliloquy that Shakespeare wrote. Look up in the
Dossier Drama the definition of soliloquy; consider the examples that you have
already read, and think of the possible reasons why an author chooses the
soliloquy rather than the dialogue; then state the function/s of this stage device.
Tick the answer/s that you consider suitable; add more if you wish.
It represents amoment of lyrical beauty in the drama.
It allows the audience to have access to the thoughts and feelings of
a character.
slings: sling; strap
used for throwing
stones with force.
that flesh is heir to:
that are part of
human life.
consummation: end,
goal, conclusion.
rub: hindrance,
obstacle.
shuffled off: moved
off, got rid of.
coil: spiral loops;
whirlwind;
whirlpool; turmoil;
(here) the human
body, that keeps the
soul imprisoned and
linked to the earth;
the troubles and
responsibilities of
everyday life.
makes calamity of so
long life: gives
calamity such long
duration.
It allows the main actor to perform alone and show his value.
No other character must know the facts or ideas expressed.
It prepares the audience for successive developments.
TEXT D
Enter Hamlet
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of trouble
And by opposing end them. To die – to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay , there’s the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must five us pause – there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
HAMLET:
5
10
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pangs: pang: sharp
pain.
spurns:
comtemptuous
rejections.
his quietus make:
(law) have his
quittance, or
statement that he is
free from his debt.
bodkin: weapon like
a stiletto.
born: (arch.) limit,
boundary.
but that dread… did
not puzzle: if the
dread… did not
puzzle.
hue: colour (the
complexion of
resolute people is
red).
pitch: height.
turn awry: bend, turn
from straight.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th’oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of dispriz’d love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th’unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.
15
20
25
30
(from Act III, Scene I)
TASKS
1. The following is the outline of Hamlet’s thought.
Read it, then read the soliloquy and write each item of the list next to the line/s
that correspond to it.
statement of alternative
passive acceptance of evils versus fight against them
death as a solution
negative aspect of death
reason for bearing adversity
rhetorical question
list of trials and tribulations
suicide as an escape
repetition of rhetorical question
fear of the after-death
consciousness produces cowardice
loss of determination hinders action
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2. In posing his question Hamlet uses the metaphors “to suffer the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune” and “to take arms against a sea of troubles…”. What
are they associated with?
Consider the expression “a sea of troubles”. Think of the overwhelming and
uncontrollable power of the sea, and state the significance of taking arms against
the sea.
3.
Focus on lines 5-9. What is death associated with? Define Hamlet’s attitude to
death, and state if it contradicts or confirms the opinion he has already expressed.
A sort of syllogism “To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream” introduces the
consideration on dreams. Read carefully lines 10-13, and explain what dreams
represent.
4. When referring to the human body, Hamlet uses the expression “mortal coil”.
Focus on the various meaning of “coil”, and state what he wants to emphasize
with the metaphor “shuffled off this mortal coil”.
These considerations place Hamlet in the tradition of
____ mediaeval philosophy
____ religion
____ asceticism
____ the Renaissance
____ stoicism
____ Platonism
Look up for information, discuss with the class and your teacher, then tick as you
consider appropriate.
5. With a rhetorical question “who would bear…” Hamlet lists the troubles that
afflict mankind. Read them carefully, and state how many of them still hold today.
The meaning of this question is: ‘Who would bear all the troubles of life when he
could release himself with a dagger?’
What idea is conveyed by the reference to arms?
6. The concept of the total mystery of what happens after death, already present
in line 11, is emphasized later on through a very effective metaphor. Find it and
write it down below. Then, comment on its meaning. Where in the play have you
found a hint at the horrors that can lie in wait for us after death?
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7. The soliloquy ends with the acknowledgement of human incapacity to make
resolutions and pass to action. Man does not so much choose, in life, but passively
accepts what happens for fear of facing something worse.
The motive of thought versus action is very important in Shakespeare. Discuss
with the class and your teacher, and point out another moment in the play where
Hamlet deprecates lack of action.
Note the imagery which refers to manifestations of health conditions (lines 29-30).
What is associated with red complexion? And what renders man pale and sick?
8. This soliloquy is built on considerations on the opposites of life and death, and
balances a double attitude to each:
longing for death, but fear of ______________________________________
wish to escape from ___________________________ but ultimate acceptance.
How would you define Hamlet’s vision of suicide? Do you think it is in line with
traditional opinion?
9. Work in groups. Imagine that you direct Hamlet (film or play).
Give instructions for this scene as regards:
.
the setting (i.e. where is Hamlet when he is making this speech?)
(ex.: in a hall, in a garden, in his closet…)
. Hamlet’s movements/What Hamlet does during his speech (ex. He walks up and
down, he sits still, at first he is lying down, then… , he does not utter words, but his
voice is heard…)
. sound effects (ex.: background music, sound of the waves, sound of the wind…)
. special technological devices in the case of the film (ex.: flash-backs of the ghost, of
Ophelia rejecting him… )
What critics say
The Shakespearean soliloquy, which reaches its maturity in Hamlet, is not merely
an expansion of the conventional ‘aside’ or a simple speaking aloud of a coherent
stream of thought. It is a poetic rendering of a character’s complete mental and
emotional state at a critical point in his development, drawing on all the resources
of imagery and rhythmic movement for its total expression. For this is poetic
drama, not ‘realistica’ drama, and the recurrence of related images, the rise and fall
of certain rhythms, the sounding of certain overtones of meaning and suggestion,
are as important in building up the total significance of the play as the mere
sequence of events or paraphrasable content of the speeches.
Containing something of the larger dimensions of life within the limiting
formality of art, Hamlet, perhaps more than any other of Shakespeare’s stragedies,
lends itself to a variety of interpretations. Hamlet is both the ideal Renaissance
prince and the conventional malcontent, the traditional avenger and the sensitive
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idealist in a brutal world, and other things besides. And, in lesser degree, the same
multiple description can be given of the other characters. The play is not, however,
simply a series of portraits; the action is what gives it shape and primary meaning,
and it is a mistake to remove the characters from the action and speculate about
them as though they are characters in a psychologist’s case-book (though the fact
the critics have been tempted to do this is surely a tribute to Shakespeare’s
dramatic skill). Of the many meanings that can be extracted from the action of
Hamlet, perhaps the most tragic, and the one which fits in best with what appears
to be Shakespeare’s view of the essential tragedy of human life at this time, is that
here is a presentation of the paradox of guilt and justice. Justice demands
appropriate action where a crime has been committed, but in fact no action is ever
appropriate.
(from D. Daiches, A Critical History of English Literature, Secker & Warburg, 1971)
Each of the plays is so made that it can appeal to different audiences at different
levels of intelligence. Hamlet is a story of murder, suicide, madness, to those who
call for melodrama, but for others it is a most subtle analysis of character, and a
play in which verse is used with great skill.
Hamlet, the earliest of the great tragedies, is the most self-conscious. The
renaissance atmosphere of art, ostentation, learning, and crime, governs a play in
which the central character is himself a renaissance scholar-prince, clever,
melancholic, introspective. Like a character in life itself, Hamlet may not be
capable of full interpretation, though it is clear that through him Shakespeare
exploored the whole problem of action and the reflective mind.
(from I. Evans, A Short History of English Literature, Penguin, 1971).
This is how the play develops:
The players perform the scene of the murder of Hamlet’s father before the court, and
Hamlet obtains the proof of his uncle’s guilt, but at the expense of revealing his own
knowledge of it: the king is not only upset, but also alarmed, and will soon take
action against him.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that the queen wishes to see him, and
take the opportunity to ask him the cause of his mental disorder. Hamlet mocks their
attempt to find out his secret (and solve the riddle of his personality). Then he goes to
talk to the queen, and Polonius decides to hide behind an arras and listen to the
conversation.
Claudius is left alone; for a moment he feels remorse for the crime he has
committed and tries to pray. Hamlet arrives and draws his sword to kill him. But
killing Claudius when he is praying could mean sending him to Heaven; if Hamlet
wants to perform a true revenge he must wait and kill Claudius when he is in a state
of sin.
Hamlet goes to his mother’s room, and once again gives evidence of his quick and
harsh spirit:
HAMLET: Now, mother, what’s the matter.
QUEEN: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
HAMLET: Mother, you have my father much offended.
Hamlet then tries to get the queen to understand what wrong she has done, but
she feels threatened and shouts for help. Polonius in his turn is frightened and
shouts. At this Hamlet, thinking that the king is behind the arras, instantly plunges
his sword through the arras and kills Polonius.
In the course of the dramatic discussion that follows, the ghost appears again and
reminds Hamlet of his purpose. But he is visible to the prince only. The queen cannot
see or hear him, and believes that her son has a hallucination.
This stage stratagem is very effective because it poses several questions:
1) Who is right, Hamlet who sees the ghost, or the queen who sees her son
speaking to the air?
2) Does the ghost choose to be visible only to Hamlet? And why not to the queen
who was his legitimate wife? Is it because she has not been faithful to him? Or is it
because the ghost does not want to frighten her?
3) Does Hamlet only believe that he sees a ghost, because his reason has nearly
been overturned by the tragic events?
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Here is what an established critic has written on this scene.
This remarkable scene –the only one in which we see the Hamlet family together,
father, mother, and son- has a strange kind of pathos, with the queen unable because
of her guilt to see her husband’s spirit so that the ghost, after a vain effort to
reestablish the family unit, as it were, departs in silence forever.
(from D. Daiches, A Critical History of English Literature, Secker & Warburg, 1971)
Claudius realizes that Hamlet intended to murder him and not Polonius, and hastens
to remove him from the court: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will take him to
England and here, following the king’s instructions, he will be murdered. However,
pirates attack the ship and Hamlet can thus return to Denmark.
Meanwhile Ophelia becomes insane and dies, falling into a brook, and Laertes, her
brother, is determined to avenge her death and that of Polonius. A duel is organized
between Hamlet and Laertes; the latter, at the suggestion of the king, uses a foil with
a poisoned tip and kills Hamlet who, however, has mortally wounded both Laertes
and the king. Meanwhile the queen drinks a cup of poisoned wine, that Claudius had
prepared for Hamlet.
Fortinbras, prince of Norway, will succeed to the throne of Denmark.
CONCLUDING TASKS
1. Point out the main features of the Elizabethan tragedy. How does Hamlet
compare to it?
It is commonly agreed that Hamlet is not in line with the standard treatment of
revenge. Discuss this point.
2. How do you explain the immense success of this play, which is regularly
performed in theatres of all the world, and also the subject of numerous films?
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