Questions on Act Three
The Plot
Polonius and Claudius secrete themselves behind an arras
while Hamlet encounters Ophelia, who has been given a
prayer-book to 'colour [her] loneliness'. In an aside,
the King admits his guilt. Hamlet soliloquises on the
relative merits of bearing troubles or fighting them,
staying alive or committing suicide. When he encounters
Ophelia, Hamlet insists she go 'to a nunnery' in order
to avoid giving birth to sinners and recounts how the
debauched behaviour of women has 'made [him] mad'. When
he leaves, we see reaction of pity and sorrow from
Ophelia, suspicion and practicality from Claudius, and
sheer nosiness from Polonius.
Hamlet advises the players not to overstep the bounds of
natural behaviour in their performance and praises
Horatio for his steadfast rationality, asking him to
watch the king during the play. As the players make
ready, Hamlet is 'merry', 'idle' and 'naught', insulting
and embarrassing everyone else in the process. The dumb
show provokes no reaction from Claudius and, though the
Player Queen's protestations of eternal fidelity
apparently annoy the King and Queen, there is no sign of
Claudius breaking down. When the poisoner, Lucianus,
murders the Player King, however, Claudius calls for
lights and exits, leaving Hamlet to rejoice in his
apparent victory. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and then
Polonius, call Hamlet to his mother, as per Polonius'
plan. Hamlet soliloquises on his readiness to commit
wicked deeds and warns himself not to kill his mother.
ACT 5
Claudius plans to send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
along with Hamlet to England and receives a report from
Polonius who is to watch the interview between Hamlet
and his mother. Alone, the King debates whether or not
to pray. The intensity of his guilt makes him afraid.
But he reasons that heaven and prayer exist in order to
give forgiveness. Then he realises that he does not
truly repent, since he has no intention of giving up the
'effects' of his crime. Realising that heavenly justice
cannot be evaded in the way earthly justice can,
Claudius calls upon the angels to soften his hard heart
and give him the strength to repent. As the King
(apparently) prays, Hamlet enters. (What is he doing
here? he's supposed to be seeing his mother.) It seems
that this is the perfect opportunity to murder the King,
but the Prince talks himself out of this course of
action within five lines. If Claudius is praying, he
reasons, then his soul will go to heaven. He decides to
wait until such a time that Claudius' soul is black with
sin in order to secure his eternal damnation.
Polonius advises the Queen to tell Hamlet off firmly and
then (ironically) 'silences' himself behind another
convenient arras. Gertrude's attempts to be firm with
Hamlet last for around six lines before he, typically,
turns the situation on its head and vows to set up a
mirror in order to show her the blackness of her soul.
Gertrude's fear makes Polonius shout out and Hamlet
stabs him through the arras. He does not regret this
deed. Discovering that the body is not the King's,
Hamlet claims that he is God's 'scourge and minister'.
Showing her two pictures, Hamlet compares his father and
uncle, aghast at the insanity which has led Gertrude to
Claudius. The Queen is quickly convinced, but such is
the height of Hamlet's rage, he cannot stop. Hamlet's
description of his mother and uncle atop the 'nasty sty'
that is their marriage bed lingers on offensive details
in a way that is most disturbing. The Ghost appears,
provoking fear from Hamlet that he is to be chided for
his 'tardiness' in killing his uncle. The Ghost obliges,
telling Hamlet that he has wasted his anger on Gertrude
whom the Ghost advises Hamlet to help in her spiritual
struggle. The Queen has seen nothing and is sure her son
is mad. Hamlet is thus forced to resume his tirade
against his mother's sinfulness and is able to
reconvince her very quickly, though not without a
gratuitous resumption of his description of the
incestuous bed. Hamlet concludes by swearing the Queen
to silence and dragging the 'guts' of the dead Polonius
away with him.
What? Why? How?
1. What do Claudius and Polonius do in scene
one, that Hamlet and Horatio do in scene two,
that Hamlet does in scene three and Polonius
does in scene four?
2. In what respects is the 'Play Scene'
(III.ii) a turning point in the play? How is
this turn compounded by Hamlet's actions in
the 'Closet Scene' (III.iv)?
3. What does the fact that Hamlet's soliloquy
in the 'Prayer Scene' (III.iii) was cut from
performances of the play for nearly 200 years
tell us about Shakespeare's likely intentions
in writing this speech for the prince?
4. Does Claudius' soliloquy revise or compound
your opinion of this character?
5. Hamlet is often thought to have a lot of
soliloquies, though in actual fact, he has
fewer than Macbeth and around the same number
as Othello, who are thought to be men of
action rather than meditation. How does the
placing and subject of Hamlet's soliloquies in
this act encourage the idea of a meditative
prince?
6. 'I essentially am not in madness' says
Hamlet (III.iv.188). Name four lines spoken by
Hamlet in this act which might make you doubt
this.
7. Is Hamlet at his worst in scene three or
scene four of this act?
8. How do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem to
have become more immoral since their first
appearance in II.ii.?
9. For what reasons might you think that the
Ghost in III.iv is an hallucination, and for
what reasons might you think it is real?
10. After III.ii., the next time we see
Ophelia she is mad. How are the seeds for this
planted in this act?
Stagecraft
1. Name three dramatic surprises in this act.
2. Name two sections which successfully create
tension.
Language and Imagery
1. Find three references to disease or
rottenness.
Ian Delaney.
Copyright © 1997
Shakespearean Education
Last Updated: Monday, 23-Feb-98 11:34:13 EST
email: ian@hamlet.hypermart.net