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social, and domestic. Although
this may seem justifiable,
prioritizing Laertes and his wish
to travel abroad above Hamlet’s
obvious grief seems irresponsible
and callous in Hamlet’s eyes.
This explains the bitterness of
his opening words in the play,
which are a response to
THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN
Claudius calling him “son”:
“A little more than kin and
less than kind” (1.2.65).
Despite his dark mood and
somber appearance, Hamlet
commands love and respect from
his peers. He is the first person
Horatio thinks to tell about the
appearance of the ghost, and it is
Hamlet, not the king, whom the
players first greet at court. In the
play’s closing scene, Horatio states
that Hamlet has “a noble heart”
(5.2.311), echoing Ophelia’s early
claim that he has “a noble mind”
(3.1.153). In fact, Ophelia speaks of
Hamlet as though he is a symbol of
hope, calling him “Th’expectancy
and rose of the fair state, / The
glass of fashion and the mould of
form, / Th’observed of all observers”
(3.1.155 –157).Unstable Hamlet
Hamlet is also described in less
positive terms. He is full of “turbulent
and dangerous lunacy” (3.1.4), ❯❯O, vengeance! Why, what
an ass am I? Ay, sure this is
most brave, That I, the son
of the dear murderèd,
Prompted to my revenge
by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack
my heart with words
And fall a-cursing like
a very drab,
A scullion!
Hamlet
Act 2, Scene 2Elsinore castle, the setting for the play,
is in fact Kronborg, an ancient fortress
on the Danish island of Zealand. It was
rebuilt in the 1580s and appears here
as it did in Shakespeare’s day.Prayer scene
During the 19th century,
scholars and actors went
to great lengths to excuse
Hamlet of wickedness in
his pursuit of vengeance.
The prayer scene, in which
Claudius confesses his
guilt and Hamlet stalls his
vengeance, was removed
from the play until the 1880s.
At this moment, Hamlet
begins to speak in violent
and disturbing terms of
damnation, a topic of great
debate both in the 16th and
19th centuries. Wishing to
damn someone to eternal
hellfire is not a Christian
sentiment, and whether or
not such an attitude might be
thought justifiable in Hamlet’s
search for vengeance,
Victorian audiences did not
wish to hear these words
spoken on the stage.
Notable modern
performances of the scene
include David Tennant’s
Hamlet (2009, above). This hit
stage production was filmed
for a special TV version by
the BBC. Hovering his dagger
above the head of Patrick
Stewart’s Claudius, in the film
version, he delivers the speech
as a voiceover rather than
directly to the audience.