Blog Feed

            Act 2, Scene 2: Lines 623-635

For murder, though 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.                           625

I’ll tent him to the quick. If he do blench,

I know my course. The spirit that I have seen

May be the devil, and the devil hath power

T' assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps

Out of my weakness and my melancholy,                           630

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.

Shakespeare, I realized often likes to use exaggeration and he restates his thoughts for the play mainly throughout Hamlet’s soliloquies. This is a sophisticated and difficult strategy because Hamlet’s character throughout the play is not constant. His emotions and inner feelings for other characters change from scene to scene, however this is Shakespeare’s area of expertise and as always he succeeds in making the puzzle pieces fit together with skill and deftness. 

Hamlet still distraught over his fathers death, desperately wants to find the culprit behind his murder. Hamlet believing that his uncle Claudius, is the murderer wants to verify his suspicions. “For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak” (622). Because murder is an action that can not speak for itself, it can never be vocally expressed and Hamlet knows that Claudius will never admit through words that he killed the king,  therefore murder can only be seen. Either the action being committed itself or the admitting of the crime. At this part in the story Hamlet wants to find a way to test his uncle and see the face of the murderer. He believes that his suspicions will confirm the moment the crime speaks through his face expressions. 

Hamlet then formulates a plan to reveal his uncle’s crime. Shakespeare does a very exceptional job as he stirs up a really creative nature into Hamlet’s character in this scene of the play. Hamlet wants to lure his uncle into a trap without giving away his suspicions so he organizes the play. “With most miraculous organ. I’ll have these players / Play something like the murder of my father / Before mine uncle.” (623-625). Again the language theme rises again as Shakespeare orchestrates a play with in a play. He fiddles with the idea that something very unexpected can happen very soon, thus building up the suspense as the audience craves for more knowledge.  

Hamlet knows that Claudius can not gain any information about the specifics behind the play. Because as a king of Denmark a minor play is very insignificant and is not of importance. At the end of Act 2, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz report back to Claudius, and they mention how their will be an extraordinary play being performed later by some players that were roaming around Denmark. Claudius is completely oblivious to the fact that Hamlet has an entire scheme in place behind this play. He thinks that the play is simply entertainment and it will get Hamlet’s mind off of other things such as his fathers death.

The following lines of Hamlet’s soliloquy is “I’ll observe his looks; / I’ll tent him to the quick. If he do blench, / I know my course.” (625-627). Shakespeare continues to make sure the young prince proves himself to be more brilliant as the scene progresses. Hamlet knows that the contents of the play will come as a big shock to the new King. So as stated in the line “I’ll tent him to the quick.” (626) Tent, means to investigate by drawing one into a trap. This is exactly what Hamlet believes his plan will do. Claudius does not expect the play to be about the King’s foul death. Claudius also is not aware of the fact that Hamlet will be keeping an eye on him during the performance, therefore he will not be able to compose his face of any emotions. So Hamlet decides to observe his uncle’s face throughout the performance. If Claudius flinches or make a sudden movement during the killing of the king then Hamlet will know if his plan was a success and if his suspicions about Clausius were accurate. Thus creating a new path for Hamlet to follow. 

Later in the soliloquy Shakespeare meddles with his use of words and allows the readers and audience to come up with their own predictions on what will happen and where Hamlet’s thoughts are leading to. “The spirit that I have seen / May be the devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape.” (627-629). After looking at the kings face Hamlets will know if his uncle was the murderer or actually innocent for the death of the king. If he is innocent it will mean that the ghost of the king was actually the devil. Hamlet strongly states that The devil knows how to trick people by turning into someone that one loves and misses dearly just like Hamlet does his father. “Yea, and perhaps / Out of my weakness and my melancholy, / As he is very potent with such spirits, / Abuses me to damn me.” (629-632). At this point it comes to the attention of the readers and the audience that Hamlet may be going mad. He starts to doubt he ever saw the ghost of his father and that he mistook the devil for his father. Hamlet however admits that he is weak and depressed and it was his state of instability that lead the devil to take advantage of him. 

Hamlet ends his speech with the words “I’ll have grounds / More relative than this. The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” (632-634). The tone of the young prince suggests that play will give him more to work off of. He will have more proof and knowledge on whether to trust Claudius or not. At this point in his life all he cares about is the play. He feels it is crucial that he know more about Claudius’s thoughts.

Throughout this entire speech Shakespeare toys with language as he brings in a new setting to the story. The questions about trust and doubt come up as Hamlet devises his magnificent plan. Shakespeare switches gears to the prince confirming his suspicions instead of going along with fully trusting his ghost father’s words that Claudius killed the King. 

I believe Lord Hamlet, here, is contemplating the value of life and weighing its positives and negatives. To be; live, not to be; die. He processes the option of suicide, which is quite such an extreme option in his circumstances of turmoil. At this point in the play, Hamlet is emotionally spent and he seems a dagger to the heart may be the right answer. The status of this monologue correlates with the beginning of the play. Both start with an intriguing question. In the beginning, Banardo asks, Who's there? This question gives suspense and grabs the audience to wonder what's happening next.

He goes on to say, Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And, by opposing, end them? [Scene 3.1, Line 58-61]

Interestingly enough, Hamlet still has a logical mindset about suicide. He talks about whether it is better to go through life and have bad fortune and try to form a smile during the hard times or don't tarry in life's conflict, when there's an easy way out; suicide. Unlike Hamlet, Greek mythology figure Ajax killed himself over the general consensus that he wasn't worthy enough to get prized amor against Odysseus. Ajax couldn't handle bad fortune against him and he decided to take the easy way out. But, Hamlet is thinking, Why suffer if we are born into bad luck, we can void this by death. Ironically, it seems that Hamlet hints toward Catholicism or Christianity. His belief in soul's returning as ghosts and murderers destined for Hell shows his insinuated religion. If he were to practice any type of Christianity, suicide is something out of his beliefs. Why would he think of such a catastrophic end.

Hamlet continues, To die, to sleep / – No more. [Scene 3.1, Line 60-61]

His thinks all death is is sleep – terminal sleep. It is interesting to see although his has a Christian-esk moral compass, Heaven or Hell does not seem to be his afterlife; dreaming does. It is as if Heaven or Hell does not play into his circumstances. 

Hamlet then said,—and by a sleep to say we end / The heartache and the thousand natural shocks. [Scene 3.1, Line 62-63]

After he's proclaimed that dying is a state of limbo, he says limbo is a closure of the misfortune that happens in life. And, assuming that he vaguely practices Christian beliefs Heaven is not limbo. It does not exist. But, in a state of absence, it seems that that is Hamlet's way of release and he talks about it as if it may be chance at happiness.

After he said,That flesh is heir to – 'tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wished! [Scene 3.1, Line 64-65]

He talks about limbo as if that's where he ultimately wants to be – and soon. And, suicide would get him there on his own time. In lines 60-65, he elaborates on how living is basically worthless because of the bad things that happen. He thinks, instead of dealing with life, and it's trials and tribulation, he'd rather die. 

Hamlet went on; To die, to sleep. / To sleep, perchance to dream. [Scene 3.1, Line 66]

He says that since dying is sleeping, one can also have dreams. It's as if this terminal sleep brings dreams that would become the dead person's new reality. 

He then recoils his argument; ay, there's the rub, / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause. [Scene 3.1, Line 66-69]

Even though death means sleep, and sleeping yields dreams, Hamlet said that there's always a catch, those dreams may not peachy or the ideal. There's no guarantee that dreams will be good and there's always the possibility of them being horrific. So, one needs to be conscience of that in the attempt of suicide, in Hamlet's terms.

The question; is suicide the answer? In this excerpt of Hamlet's monologue, and in this context, he talks about the possibility, the positive and the negatives in his mind. Based on one's interruption, it's up to the reader or audience to decide, but as the monologue progresses, Hamlet contradicts himself.  

For anyone who has read Shakespeare, they know that love always has a conflict to go along with it. In the play Hamlet, the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet is still questioned and complicated. Out of the entire play, there are scenes that show different feelings they have towards each other, along with fights and other characters opinions. In certain sections of the book, there are certain scene that have a deeper meaning to them. 

     In Act two, Scene one, Polonius tells Reynaldo that he has to go spy on Laertes because he has heard there has been some trouble. After, Ophelia comes rushing to her Father, Polonius, telling him that she has been frightened due to Hamlet’s actions that he presented to her while she was sewing. Ophelia’s talk with her father is significant for several reasons. One, It reveals Hamlet’s emotions and reactions for the first time since he has had his interactions with the ghost. It allows you to see how someone else sees him instead of him talking to himself. Secondly, it shows that Ophelia has obeyed her father by staying away from him just as she was told. 

    When Ophelia first enters to talk to her father she explains what happened while she was in her room. Her tone starts out as being frightened, but then starts to be almost happy that Hamlet came to see her, as well as curious as to how her father is going to react. “He falls to such perusal of my face, As he would draw it. Long stayed he so.” To me, Ophelia is saying he stared and focused on her face for such a long time that he could paint it like a picture. Hamlet was at loss for words and his actions are very confusing. If Hamlet had said what was actually wrong, it may have caused even more trouble for everyone.

     Polonius then says, “What said he?” Although, Hamlet never actually spoke to her. The whole time he was in there, his emotions were powerful enough that no words had to be spoken. Hamlet was also so full of emotion that he wasn’t able to get it out, and didn’t want to reveal his insanity. 

     “At last, a little shaking of mine arm, And thrice his head thus waving up and down.” Ophelia’s tone is scared, but also flattered that Hamlet is coming back to see her, and after Hamlet left, she was more confused because it was so unexpected. In these lines, Ophelia could also be mad at Hamlet because him coming to see her, this action can make it even harder to obey her father’s rules. Ophelia may start to form into Hamlet’s plan to feign insanity. She may be worried about him because he’s “missing” her and it’ll make him worse since she had to reject him.

    Overall, Hamlet has been having trouble treating Ophelia well because he almost sees all women as not good due to his mother marrying his uncle. Hamlet also has a hard time of seeing true love as a good thing, but Ophelia believes that he still loves her deeply.

Shakespeare is known for his ability to create characters that resonate with every reader. Hamlet is one of his most famous creations, particularly well known for his “To be, or not to be” monologue. The fame of this piece arises from its resonance as a separate work, taking the monologue out of context does not in any way subtract from it’s meaning. The reason for this is that in the passage, Hamlet addresses a subject that almost everyone throughout human history has had to wonder about at one point in his or her life. Themes in this passage include life after death, the meaning of existence on earth, and whether or not your actions during life matter in the long run. The genius of this passage is that it doesn’t lay these themes out in front of the reader, but guides them down a path of thought that eventually leads to these subjects. What starts as an analysis of Hamlet’s life suddenly becomes much deeper contemplation about the reader’s own existence.

Taken with the rest of the play, Hamlet begins to think these thoughts after a visitation by his father’s ghost. It is revealed to him that his uncle murdered his father, and that his father expects him to take revenge. In the moment, Hamlet agrees but as time goes on he grasps the magnitude of the task. What he needs to do is treason, and he needs to do it alone. As time goes on his responsibility weighs on him. He delays his task for as longs as possible, and becomes secluded and short tempered with other characters at court.

            “To be, or not to be: that is the question” A fitting start to the monologue, as it sets the scene with a summary of what is to come. It comes from a dark place, where Hamlet contemplates suicide. “The question” –whether or not he will end his life there or live on to commit murder– has him torn between his duty to the memory of his father and his own fear of being caught, his hesitance to act. “Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

Hamlet Close Analysis

Merrik Saunders

One of the things that makes good writhing is the use of every line in the story. In Shakespeare’s plays he shows that even the smallest part is important to the play and viewer. The example that shows this is Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This scene is right before Hamlet goes to see the ghost. Horatio, one of the guards with Hamlet, is trying to talk him out of going with the ghost. Horatio isn’t close to one of the important characters of this story but what he has to say in this moment is very important.

In this scene Horatio is trying to get Hamlet to stay and not go with the ghost. “What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff, That beetles o'er his base into the sea,”(lines 77-79). This is the start of Horatio showing his concern towards Hamlet and how the ghost might hurt Hamlet. Horatio is saying that the ghost might drown him or send him off the cliffs. These are generic things that might happen in tragedies and dramas. These lines are used as a masking for the lines that are coming up next. Horatio isn’t a main character and him saying these lines first will make the viewer feel like he is only worried for Hamlet. The lines after these are the lines that are the most important.

Horatio’s small speech is a foreshadow for the whole play. In the next lines he continues to name things that could happen to Hamlet but what Horatio says applies to the rest of the play. “And there assume some other horrible form, Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason, And draw you into madness? Think of it.”(lines 80-82). This section of Horatio’s small speech is saying that the ghost will take Hamlet’s mind and Hamlet will go insane. This is what the rest of the play is about. Hamlet is trying to find out if the ghost is real and if he is going insane. This small part at the beginning of the play has mapped out the entire play. Everyone around Hamlet thinks that he is insane and his actions are irrational. This is what Horatio warned, that Hamlet could go insane from seeing his dead father or just experiencing a paranormal incident. Also Hamlet is carrying the pain and grief of his recent fathers death, mom marrying his uncle with great hast, and Polonius trying to get him away from Ophelia. Seeing his fathers ghost could be the thing that pushed him over the edge. From the beginning of this play Horatio has given an overview of what was to come.

The last part of Horatio’s speech is saying how fear can be stricken into the best and strongest of us. “The very place puts toys of desperation, Without more motive, into every brain That looks so many fathoms to the sea, And hears it roar beneath.” This whole section is saying that even the strongest of people can look over a cliff into the sea and they will be filled with despair. The despair would come from talking with the ghost. Into the play Hamlet starts to question himself and questions if what he is doing is wright. When it comes down to it Hamlet goes through with his plan to kill his uncle but in the process he is filled with fear of himself.

This small section shows that every line and character is important to the story. From the very beginning there was this foreshadowing from Horatio. Horatio tried to stop Hamlet from seeing the ghost. Maybe Horatio was right and Hamlet would have been better off not seeing the ghost. The rest of the play tells that.

Shakespeare is often forgotten or neglected by many people in today’s world. Though Shakespeare is dead, his words are still alive. A lot of people use Shakespeare’s most famous lines without even knowing it. Most people don’t even recognize that the quotes they may be using are Shakespeare’s. Not only does Shakespeare’s words teach people things about life, but they also have a deeper meaning to them.

       In one of Shakespeare’s books, Hamlet, he himself is speaking with friends about Denmark and states, “Why, then, ‘tis none to you, for there is”. (II.ii.) While still being upset about his father’s death and having an intuition on who killed him, Hamlet is having a hard time trying to come to terms with the true Denmark. When Hamlet says, “’tis none to you” He means that to his friends, Denmark is the same wonderful place they grew up in. In a way, Hamlet thinks he’s the only one who can see Denmark for what it is since his dad is gone.

Hamlet feels like everyone is in some type of delusional state of mind where they can’t see what he’s seeing. Hamlet’s father death took such a toll on him that he has to go crazy in order to stay sane. He has to keep on living without having to go through all of the pain he’s experiencing being in Denmark with his mother being remarried to his uncle. By doing so, Hamlet can drive himself to the point where he has to be the one to clean up Denmark because it’s not the same place it once was. It’s “dirty” and he feels as though it’s his duty to keep it clean, the way it was without all the unjustified acts.

Hamlet feels as though he’s supposed to take care of all the wrong that’s being done in Denmark because his father is dead. Denmark is Hamlet’s home and he doesn’t want anyone messing it up. It’s almost like policemen needing to clean the streets of criminals because they are messing up the good that once used to live there. “Nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it” (II.ii.). For criminals, they don’t think what they’re doing is wrong, they think it’s right in their mind sets just as much as we think what they are doing is wrong in our mind sets. These two quotes compliment each other so well that it helps people realize that we all have our different reasons on why we think our opinions are right.

In Hamlet, he states the line, “Nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it” because he realizes that arguing with his friends on whether Denmark is good or bad would get him nowhere. For Hamlet, Denmark was hell and for his friends, they thought Denmark was fine as it always has been. Even today people judge things based on if it’s good or bad. It’s what makes people for who they are. In reality, nothing is really bad nor is it good. Being able to tell the two apart is something, as humans the hardest thing to agree on, so it’s good to have opinion even if they’re not the best ones. Humans will never do anything good or bad because as long as they don’t think what they’re doing is good or bad, it won’t ever truly be.

“So. To me, it is a prison.“ (II.ii) The fact that Hamlet has no one to rely on anymore makes Denmark hell for him. Since his friends don’t see what’s wrong and since Hamlet thinks they’re delusional, Denmark is a prison to him. When Hamlet’s father was still alive he felt as though he was open and that Denmark was a place where he could be free. In a way his dad was his own personal sanctuary and with him gone, his sanctuary would be gone too.

This made Hamlet’s world slowly crash. The thought of him always having someone to go to was gone and so was reason. Having someone so close to you for so long just to leave you alone changes a person. Some people can handle the lost, while others can’t seem to shake it.

The esteemed actor and master playwright, known to us as William Shakespeare, was a writing genius and his book Hamlet he showed that to us in this play many of the lines the characters say have deeper meaning than any of us would really know. This quote “Run barefoot up and down, threatening the flames with bisson rheum;” This to me is saying that Hamlet will be running around spilling the blood of those loyal to the false king of Denmark, this makes me feel like Hamlet is crazy for trying to take on the whole kingdom by himself with that being said the next lines are equally as powerful and potent. 

“A clout upon that head Where late the diadem stood, and for a robe, About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins, A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up” When I read this part of the act over for myself it was telling me that, The false king of Denmark would cover himself and hide so that his fear would not be show to the predator that stalks around the kingdom of lies. Almost all the lines in this part are so creative and moving to the point where I would make you feel like you were standing watching the battle unfold in front of you. 

“ Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep'd, 'Gainst Fortune's State would treason have pronounced:” when I read this line in my mind I took it in as a false “lord” in the kingdom takes the throne and it is looked at as nothing it wrong because it was hidden from public eye. The mastermind that is Shakespeare has placed so many hidden clues that foretell the end of this story or just recap what has happened and this is one of the most powerful ones.

 “ But if the gods themselves did see her then When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs, The instant burst of clamour that she made, Unless things mortal move them not at all, Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven, And passion in the gods.' “ This line tells me that King Hamlet’s Widowed wife was planing or plotting for Claudius to kill King Hamlet, then would dance over his body or the kingdom in happiness of his untimely death. They would both pray that the gods of love did not see them in this act. That would be why they are worried about Hamlet finding out about them he is being seen as the “God of passion” in this line.

 That is the reason I have chosen this act to analyse, because it sums up the story’s main plot as a part of this bigger performance but in just this short part it summed up so much of the story. Many parts in this speech has many meaning and could lead to many outcomes in each person's mind this it what it means to me.

I am analyzing act 1 scene 3 from hamlet and I am focusing on the part when the Polonius begins his speech to Ophelia about hamlet and how he doesn't seeing any good in him and how he doesn't want her involved with him. Before this Laertes was just talking to Ophelia about the same thing and how hamlet doesn't want her because of his stature compared to hers. In the speech that Polonius gives to Ophelia he tells her reasons as to why hamlet doesn't want her or why he thinks that he wouldn't want her. He goes on in his speech and pretty much just says that hamlet is basically a pig and will never love her because he can have any girl he wants and that he has to high of a stature then her and would never be with her. To me I think that Polonius was keeping it real with his daughter and having a deep serious father daughter talk with her about the guy who she seems to be in love with. Even though he may have hurt her feelings with this talk but he got his point across and showed that he cared and didn't want to end up seeing his daughter getting hut by having high hopes for something that wouldn't happen. I think that this was important because if Polonius hadn't had this talk with his daughter Ophelia he may have ended up feeling terrible later on down the line if his daughter were to be hurt by hamlet and he would feel worse since he didn't warn her about something that he knew about. To me I think this shows how much Polonius cares about his daughter and how he doesn't want to see her with her feelings hurt and shows that he is a good father who tries to protect whats his no matter what, because he didn't seem to make this speech as if he was thinking about how his words may have hurt her feelings he just wanted to get his point across the way he saw as right and try his best with all his ability to protect his daughter from being hurt.  When Polonius says "Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers" to Ophelia I think that he is telling her to not listen to things Hamlet tells her because they are lies and that is one of his reasons for him not wanting his daughter to talk to Hamlet. "I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, Have you so slander any moment leisure, As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet." Polonius is clearly and straight forwardly telling Ophelia that he doesn't want her to talk to Hamlet because of the fact that he thinks that Hamlet only wants her for sex because he can have any women that he wants because of his stature and would never be serious about Ophelia and Polonius doesn't want his daughter to get hurt by Hamlet because of this so he clearly states that he forbids her from talking to Hamlet. 

I am: An artist, an adventurer, a hoodlum 

Current Home: South Philly 

To that spot behind Walmart,

That spot behind Walmart, you’ve seen more sides to me than most human beings. It’s crazy how I’ve watched you evolve too. Me and Him explored you when you were still uninhabited, still untouched, rough, rugged. You’ve always treated us so good, giving us a place to escape when just a few blocks away would get too much for us to take. I remember hating that they were changing you, making you bare and concreted. I can’t say you were typically beautiful or that you were ever defined as nature, you had your flaws that included more than a few pieces of trash, or burned rubber, and that old car that made me think of you as a place out of some ridiculously cliche movie. You were ugly but I loved you for it. Remember our anniversary when those stupid kids tried to burn down the rest of you and I put out the flames when no one else cared enough to? I ran to you at my weakest plenty of times and you always gave me the pleasure of silence and faint sounds of the river waves against the dock. I’ve always found the lights from Jersey to be our stars. I visited you recently. You’re dying, almost completely exposed now. Every tree that once lined that path they burned on you in the beginning has withered away. The small forest that gave me the excitement of exploration has become not much more than twigs and browned grass. I still love you. It hurts to go back seeing now what you’ve become, what those memories that I have of you have become. Maybe I’ll see you in the spring and we’ll both be flourishing.

- Cheyenne