Analysis Act 3 Scene 1

P 151 as from line 56

Famous soliloquy of Hamlet: “To be or not to be…”

Hamlet is juxtaposing two models of behaviour: is it better to suffer passively, to compromise or to

Repetition of “to die, to sleep”… we see Hamlet as a man contemplating the value of life and death…

Generally, Hamlet is a man who would prefer to suffer, however, he is also a man of action. Yet, he is
far from rash or impulsive. For him action has to be deliberated upon, has to pass through thinking
first. But then, ‘to think is to suffer’ : thinking brings along its own suffering.

On the other hand, Fortinbras is rash. He does not think before acting. By contrast, Hamlet is always
thinking and judging.

One of the qualities of the tragic hero is that he is uncompromising. But he has to learn to
compromise. The soliloquy shows this dilemma: to compromise or not to compromise? To live or to
die? The element of suicide is inherent here.

Lines 78-82: Reflecting on life and death – death is a place from where no one returns. Death implies
the unknown, the uncertain, that’s why Man prefers to suffer in life rather than embrace death which
is full of mystery and uncertainty. Here, we see how Hamlet’s mind is in turmoil. We have to see
these lines in conjunction with lines 210-215 in Act 5 Scene 2. In Act 5 Scene 2 (lines 210-215), we
see a different man. He is no longer beset by his doubts. He is no longer thinking about life or death
or the future. Rather, in these lines (Act 5 Sc.2), we see open-eyed awareness. We see Hamlet as a
person who has achieved a mature calm. Lines 210-215 in Act 5 Scene 2 are in prose style instead of
verse. This also reveals that the lines are spontaneous (prose style) from Hamlet and reveal genuine
peace of mind and tranquility. Prose style as opposed to verse style: verse style is more elevated but
might be more arranged and might not reflect genuineness.

Lines 83-85: Man suffers because he is a conscious animal, because he is a thinking creature.

Hamlet sees Ophelia: He is already aware that spies are watching him. The way she is waiting for him
does not seem as if she is meeting him by coincidence. It seems clear to him that this is an arranged
meeting. The way he talks to her mostly in a mocking tone reveals that he is aware that she is
allowing herself to be used. She is in a way selling herself to fulfil the needs of the state of Denmark.

Line 115: “I did love you once”. Line 119: “I loved you not”. Hamlet is firm when he says this. For him
Ophelia is too weak. He becomes cruel towards her: “Get thee to a nunnery..”: his harsh tone shows
a certain relentlessness. Lines 124-129: Hamlet cries in self-hatred, which reveals a mind that is sick
and discouraged by pessimism. He does not find life glorifying enough. When he realizes that Ophelia
is allowing herself to be used as a decoy, he breaks into uncontrollable hatred and fury. He repeats
“to a nunnery, go”. “I have heard of your paintings too…” (Line 143-145): referring to make up used
by women to cover the natural. Make up is artificial, it covers the natural and reveals something
artificial. His fury could be both towards his mother, Ophelia and all women as both women who are
present in his life have let him down. They have turned out to be weak and unreliable.

Hamlet has a huge mission in front of him. When he knows what he has to achieve, he is not going to
waste his time with love, with a person who has no respect for herself, a person who allows herself
to be used..
Line 185: Polonius readily volunteers to be the snake under the grass. He surrenders to the wishes of
the king even to the point of intruding into the private conversation between Hamlet and his mother.

Act 3 Scene 2

This scene is important to the plot as there is going to be a play within a play. Hamlet has inserted a
speech that he has written into the play in order to see if Claudius shows signs of guilt. This scene is
central to the play as we meet almost all the characters that we have seen since the start of the play.
Hamlet gives the players instructions so that their acting can be true-to-life. They should avoid
excesses. Hence, it is as if Shakespeare himself giving advice on how art should be. Overacting and
excesses deform the nature of art. The purpose of art is to act as a mirror of life.

Line 55-75: Hamlet also talks to Horatio and we see the high esteem in which he holds Horatio. He
has great faith in Horatio especially considering the way Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are. He asks
Horatio to observe the king during the play so as see signs of guilt.

Line 125: we learn that old King Hamlet died 2 months ago. So the queen really remarried very
quickly but also, Hamlet has met the ghost 2 months ago and he has not yet taken revenge. He has
already delayed 2 months. Line 127: he is being sarcastic.

Line 149: “As woman’s love”: women are fickle. Their love lasts only for a short time.

Line 150: The play within a play: it’s known as the Mouse Trap Scene. Line 255: poison scene: it has
an impact on the king.

Lines 379-390: Hamlet’s soliloquy before he goes to meet his mother. His words show that he is
acting with himself. He seems to be like a Machiavel with a poisoned mind. However, he exercises
restraint. His anger towards her has hardened to a point that he needs to remind himself that he
must not harm her “Let me be cruel, not unnatural”. He ends his soliloquy saying that he will attack
her with words instead of weapons as he has to give her a message.

Act 3 Scene 3

This scene is an important one. It shows that Claudius has been alarmed by the Mouse Trap scene as
well as Hamlet’s general behaviour. He decides to send him off to England. In this scene, we again
see how easily Rosencrantz and Guildenstern offer their services. In Medieval times, it was believed
that Kings had divine rights. They were representatives of God on earth. Lines 7-23: Guildenstern
expresses this idea and he is echoed by Rosencrantz. It is important to protect the king as he
represents the mind which protects the body. The body is the symbol of the people. If something
happens to the king, the people will be left unprotected. The king is like a huge wheel erected on top
of a hill. If it falls, if drags everything down with it. We see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as wanting
to boost the king’s ego and make him feel good about himself. They use flattery.

Polonius announces that he is going to spy on Hamlet while he is with his mother.

Lines 36- 72: We have a long soliloquy by Claudius: his guilt – he talks “primal eldest curse” – Bible
reference to the killing of Cain by Abel. A brother who killed his own brother. “A brother’s murder!”
For the first time, we have proof that he has murdered his brother. He is full of guilt but he is
troubled by his inability to pray. He is unable to pray for repentance. He doesn’t know how to pray,
how to repent as that would mean admitting his crime. If he admits his crime, he will be punished
and he will have to forego all that he has got (kingship, queen, power). We see lots of questions in his
soliloquy. He feels like a trapped bird which gets more and more trapped while struggling to escape.
He makes an effort to kneel and pray. This is when Hamlet comes in and sees him. Hamlet has not
heard his words.

Line 73: Hamlet sees Claudius and maybe draws his sword to kill him but then he stops as killing
Claudius while he is praying and repenting would mean that he will go directly to heaven. That would
not be revenge because at that moment, his soul would be pure. In fact, that would be a reward:
“why this is hire and salary, not revenge.”. Basically, Claudius killed King Hamlet when he was not
prepared to die, he had not yet repented for his sins, so his soul had not been purified. So Hamlet
finds it unjust to let Claudius die with a pure soul. Although the argument seems fair, it also reveals
Hamlet’s pride and arrogance that he will decide when someone should die or in what state that
person should die.

When Claudius rises from his prayer, ironically, he has not been able to pray properly. So, contrary to
Hamlet’s belief, Claudius’ soul has not been purified and if Hamlet had killed him, he might not have
gone to heaven but rather to hell.

Act 3 Scene 4

As the scene opens, we see Polonius acting as a stage manager giving directions to Gertrude about
how she should talk to him. Polonius behaves as if his role is so important. It does not occur to
anyone that Hamlet also might have complaints against his mother or that he may want to say things
privately to her which no one else should hear. We notice that even Gertrude easily complies with
Polonius instructions, same as Ophelia, allowing herself to be manipulated and used.

Hamlet’s starts off quite abruptly announcing that his exchange with his mother would not be easy.
Hamlet’s choice of words and tone (lines 5-15) reveal impatience. The queen hardly knows how to
deal with her son. Line 17: the queen finds that she has lost all authority over her son. He is too
defiant and rude. It’s a particularly embarrassing situation as Polonius can hear everything. Hamlet is
unperturbed, in fact he grabs her and makes her sit forcibly. His roughness at this point startles the
queen. He intends to hold a mirror (figuratively) in front of her to make her see her real nature. The
queen’s shouts of help alert Polonius who shouts in turn. Hamlet does not waste time in killing him.
Here, we see that Hamlet is a man of action.

Line 33 “I took thee for thy better”. He thought it was the king who had been killed.

Line 35: turns towards his mother again, to show her, her real nature. According to Hamlet, getting
married so quickly to Claudius after her husband’s death is a sign of hypocrisy. It reveals that her
marriage vows to old king Hamlet were meaningless if she replaced her husband so easily. Hamlet
makes her see the contrast between the 2 kings. Hamlet compares his father to Roman gods. This
scene is stormy, but it serves to clear the air between them. Hamlet speaks quickly and decisively.
Repetition: “Have you eyes?”

“This was your husband”, “fair mountain”: King Hamlet

“Here is your husband”, “moor”: Claudius

Gertrude is overwhelmed. Her eyes have been opened as her son’s arguments are based on truth. At
the end of the scene, mother and son have got closer. Hamlet leaves the stage with a light heart.