Hamlet - Act III, Scene IV

Act III, Scene IV begins with Polonious telling Gertrude to threaten Hamlet, and then hiding behind a curtain. As Hamlet enters the scene, Gertrude tells him "Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended". This greatly angers Hamlet for various reasons, and he responds back with "Mother, you have my father much offended.". As they continue, Hamlet does something to greatly frighten his mother and she says "What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me?". As Polonious hears this, he cries for help. Hamlet breaks his tradition and impulsively stabs at the curtain, slaying Polonious.

QUEEN: "what hast thou done?"
HAMLET: "Nay, I know not: Is it the king?"

I found these lines out of place. Hamlet asked if he has stabbed the King, but he just left him in his prayers minutes ago. He must know that the King could not be behind that curtain. Could Hamlet possibly be trying to let his mother know of his plans in an indirect way?

After Hamlet discovers he has slain Polonious, he say little about it and continues his psychological assault on his mother. Gertrude pathetically tries to defend her actions, but is immediately and repeatedly shot down by Hamlet's arguments. A very effective part of this scene is when Hamlet makes the comparison between Old Hamlet and Claudius. Gertrude seems to come to terms with her faults and finally side with Hamlet.

The ghost appears for the final time when Hamlet is wringing out his mother, and reminds Hamlet to leave his mother alone, in favour of revenge against Claudius. Hamlet loses all credibility with his mother at this point as he is the only one able to see the ghost. Gertrude insists the ghost is simply the "very coinage of your brain" born from a state of madness. Hamlet tells his mother to refrain from any more sexual activity with his uncle - which I believe is a fair request. Then for the first time admits of his acted antic disposition:

"ravel all this matter out,
That I essentially am not in madness,
But mad in craft"

It's interesting that he chooses to trust his mother with this information - not that it's as imperative to keep it a secret as before - but I believe it shows he places some trust in her still. The scene ends again with some humour between Hamlet and the deceased Polonious.

"This man shall set me packing:
I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room"

"Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you"

Again, these lines are my favourite in the scene because of the humour. The fact that Hamlet keeps his puns about him with Polonious even with his corpse is hilarious. This humour is well placed in the scenes by shakespeare to lighten the drama from the audience.

- Tyler Scott