HAMLET ACT III

ACT Three—The Climax This is the turning point in the play. Scene 1: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet will not tell them why he has lost interest in everything. Claudius and Polonius put their plan to determine if Hamlet is love crazy into action. Later, Claudius talks to himself about the terrible guilt he feels.

Scene One “To be or not to be” = Hamlet wondering if it is better to live or die The trouble with dying is that we do not know what happens after death – it could be worse than any misery we feel while living.

Scene One Continued Hamlet sees Ophelia and when she tries to give back gift he gave her he denies them and denies loving her. He makes fun of her and calls her names. “Get thee to a nunnery.” Hamlet shows his hatred for women “God has given you one face and you make yourselves another.” Hamlet talking about the evils of women (makeup)

Scene One Continued Claudius does not think Hamlet is love crazy, but he believes that Hamlet is up to something dangerous. To avoid this he will send Hamlet to England Polonius asks to have Gertrude try to get Hamlet to tell her his feelings before he is sent to England.

Scene Two Hamlet is worried about how the actors will perform, so he gives them very detailed instructions about how to act. Hamlet also wants Horatio to watch Claudius’s reaction to the play so he can determine whether or not Claudius really killed King Hamlet. Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius and Ophelia are all there to see the play and Hamlet is rude to Ophelia.

Scene Two Continued Before the play begins the actors mime what the play will be about and they act out King Hamlet’s murder and the queen’s remarriage to the killer The lines that Hamlet writes for the actors are also intended to make Gertrude feel bad for her quick remarriage Hamlet tells Claudius that the name of the play is “The Mousetrap,” which has an obvious double meaning

Scene Two Continued Claudius reacts to the murder scene by standing up, stopping the play and leaving the room very upset Hamlet believes this is proof of his guilt, but Horatio does not agree or disagree. Hamlet will go see his mother and use words like “daggers.”

Scene Three Claudius will send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England with Hamlet in order to make sure he gets there When Claudius is alone he talks about murdering King Hamlet “But oh, what form of prayer can serve my turn, ‘Forgive me my foul murder?’” “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” - Claudius Claudius wants to pray for forgiveness of his sin, but he feels he cannot because he is still retaining the benefits of his crime (crown and queen)

Hamlet’s Delay In Act III, Hamlet reacts strongly to the player’s performance of Queen Hecuba’s grief for her murdered husband. He compares the player’s theatrical grief to his own situation. However, after this scene, Hamlet further delays by deciding to find out whether the ghost was telling the truth about the murder, for the first time expressing doubts about the ghost’s story. Is this a real concern or another delaying tactic? In his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet gives another reason for his delay: his own conscience. “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… “ (III, 1)

Scene Three Continued Hamlet sees Claudius praying, and probably did not hear his confession, and wants to kill him but he does not “And am I then revenged to take him in the purging of his soul when he is fit and seasoned for his passage? No.” Hamlet refuses to kill Claudius when he is repenting and may go to heaven.

Hamlet’s Delay In III, 3, Hamlet finally has a “golden opportunity” to kill Claudius while he is praying. He is convinced of Claudius’s guilt, and his mood is “murderous.” However, he chooses not to act, afraid that Claudius’s soul will go to Heaven, and decides to wait until he can catch him in a sinful act. Is Hamlet rationalizing another delay, or is this a legitimate reason? One of the worst aspects of Claudius’s crime is that King Hamlet was killed with no chance to repent his earthly sins. Contrast Hamlet’s behavior in this scene to his impulsive murder of Polonius in the next scene. Claudius at Prayer, Eugene Delacroix, 1844

Scene 4 Polonius is hiding behind a tapestry in Gertrude’s room when Hamlet comes in. Gertrude is trying to question him about his behavior, but Hamlet will not answer – he will only accuse her of killing King Hamlet “You shall not budge. You go not till I set you up a glass where you may see the inmost part of you.” Gertrude is frightened of Hamlet and yells for help Polonius yells for help from his hiding place and Hamlet kills him without knowing who it is he is killing.

Scene 4 Continued Hamlet seems unconcerned that he killed Polonius. He is yelling at Gertrude and trying to get her to confess to her worst sin of marrying Claudius--He holds up a picture of King Hamlet and one of Claudius and compares the two while yelling at his mother. Gertrude begs him to stop

Scene 4 Continued The ghost appears and tells Hamlet to leave Gertrude alone and focus on his revenge. Gertrude does not see or hear the ghost and believes that Hamlet is crazy Hamlet believes he is not crazy and tells Gertrude not to tell Claudius that she thinks he is crazy – he threatens her He is going to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and hints that he is planning more violence