“ Hamlet” Key themes are: Seeming and Being Madness Revenge Retribution Responsibility Procrastination

Are the characters dysfunctional? Hamlet, before his father’s death, was a normal intellectual with no real problems. Laertes was a ‘lad’, who was ‘streetwise’; the deaths of his family turn him into a revenger as he is emotionally damaged by their loss- falls prey to Claudius. Ophelia was a dutiful daughter, who took her father’s advice; she becomes a victim.

Dysfunctional Characters Gertrude is weak and easily persuaded: she opts for security with Claudius; she was probably not aware of Old Hamlet’s murder. Horatio is the one constant; he has to be as he is left to report all. Polonius is self-important, but not strange- he has an important role in court.

Guilty Ros and Guild: simply tools exploited by the king; they ‘make love to their employment’as they are sycophantic around royalty. Claudius: the villain- ambitious, greedy, but conscience- stricken. He lives in dread and fear; he has to remove Hamlet-or be removed.

PROCRASTINATION Why does Hamlet defer avenging his father? He mistrusts the Ghost as the Devil can assume another’s body; he has to be sure. The Mousetrap is the conclusive proof for Hamlet, but he still does not kill Claudius.Why? He thinks C. is praying and will go to Heaven- he’ll kill him later, but he’s sent to England. When he’s on the ship he acts very quickly: he rewrites the letter so R&J are killed on arrival.

CHARACTER SHIFT On his return from the ship incident, H. is a different person: he has become calmer, accepting of his duty and prepared to face ‘the undiscovered country’. He is not fearful of death: ‘ the readiness is all’. He rages at the graveside but is in control after that, even back to his old ironic wit with Osric.

REVENGE A popular theme for plays in Sh.’s time. ‘H’ differs in some ways from some features of the genre. There is not just H who seeks revenge: Laertes and Fortinbras also avenge. Both men are more dynamic and swift acting than H. This is Sh’s way of exploring the complexity of personality that is Hamlet, the philosopher student rather than the man of action.

REVENGE TRAGEDY Involves someone taking the law into their own hands. It was God’s duty to punish:’ Vengeance is mine ‘ saith the Lord. Previous revenge plays were evil doers being punished by the people they had hurt in some way. A lot of earlier plays had ranting and passionate, graphic language and an exciting plot. Seneca- a greek writer in very early times wrote revenge plots. A stock character was the ghost who in earlier plays prompted others to take sensational action.

REVENGE There was a huge interest in Latin and Greek writing in Elizabeth’s reign and that is where playwrights saw a golden opportunity to get people into theatres. The gripping plots made money! Often there were themes of madness and desperation. ‘H’ is a very different form of revenge play: there is a lot of thinking and not a lot of desperate action. Abstract ideas are weighed up in soliloquies and very little violent action is seen until the murder of Polonius.

MADNESS Does Hamlet ‘go mad’? He admits himself he has ‘ put on an antic disposition’ and ‘knows a hawk from a handsaw’. He is seeming and being; his ‘madness’ throws people off the scent. Ophelia, ironically, is the one who is truly mad, destroyed by her father’s death. The gravediggers describe Hamlet as mad and ‘sent to England’. Public knowledge then, put about by Claudius.