LEAVING CERT ENGLISH - HONOURS
HAMLET - OPENING SCENES
(Xmas) HAMLET A Towey
Elsinore, the battlements of the castle, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears.
Hamlet is the young prince of Denmark. His uncle Claudius has ascended the throne and married the dead king’s widow, Gertrude, young Hamlet’s mother. In this first scene we also meet Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, a cool-headed, loyal friend, much admired by Hamlet
Act 1, Scene 2 is a key scene in establishing Hamlet an outsider, standing apart.
Claudius speaks of recent events, his marriage to Gertrude “Our sometime sister, now our queen”. He explains his mixed emotions and the paradox of rejoicing in marriage while mourning the death of his brother the King “With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage”
We meet Polonius, the king’s counsellor, and his son Laertes—who wants permission to return to France . Polonius has a daughter, Ophelia, to whom Hamlet pays court.
Claudius speaks with the ambassadors to Norway and then addresses Hamlet:
“And now my cousin Hamlet, and my son..”
This apparent hypocrisy is too much for Hamlet. He mutters in an aside “A little more than kin, and less than kind” (double meaning on “kind”)i.e. related but not quite…
We see his resentment in these opening words at his uncle’s hasty marriage to his widowed mother, and his refusal to play Claudius’ game, or engage in smooth, diplomatic small-talk.
“How is it that the clouds still hang on you?”
“Not so my Lord. I am too much I’ the sun” (double meaning on sun/son)
Now his mother Gertrude joins in, trying to cheer Hamlet up, and to accept the inevitability of his father’s death. It was quite natural and he must accept it: “All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity”. Note Hamlet’s sarcastic reply “Ay, madam, it is common”.
Hamlet answers his mother with honesty and also with anger. Unlike the others at the court he cannot pretend, or engage in outward show. His grief for his father is deep and sincere: “Seems, madam…I know not seems” “But I have that within which passes show / These but the trappings and the suits of woe”
Claudius wants Hamlet to keep his grief in proportion “But you must know your father lost a father…” He calls Hamlet’s mourning “…stubbornness” and “…unmanly grief” and “A fault against the dead”. He wants Hamlet to stay in Denmark, not to return to university in Wittenberg. His mother also begs him to stay. Note that he answers only his mother; “I shall in all my best obey you, madam”
Left alone, Hamlet expresses his rage, anger, grief and his suicidal thoughts. All that prevents him taking his life is his belief in God “Oh that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter”. “But two months dead…” This is what haunts him---his mother’s betrayal in marrying Claudius so soon. He turns his anger and disgust on women in general “Frailty, thy name is woman” He feels isolated, trapped, alone “But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue”
He jokes grimly with Horatio, pretending that it was to save money on the catering that the wedding was held so soon after the funeral “Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage table”
Act 1, Scene 3. The role of women……
In this scene Ophelia receives much brotherly and fatherly advice from Polonius and Laertes. Hamlet is more important than she is. He is a young prince, yet he too is trapped. He cannot marry whoever he chooses “ On his choice depends the safety and health of this whole state”. Laertes tells Ophelia that “Best safety lies in fear”. He is embarking on his travels to France, but Ophelia must remain, and guard her “treasure”. She must be careful not to compromise herself, or lose her chance of marriage by allowing Hamlet to become intimate with her.
Ophelia herself sees the hypocrisy in this advice. Laertes will not have to follow the same rules that he lays down for his sister. She jokes with him: . He will show her “the steep and thorny way to Heaven” while he himself “the primrose path of dalliance treads” . Polonius now gives advice to his daughter. He thinks Ophelia is too innocent and girlish in her dealings with Hamlet “Think yourself a baby”….”a green girl”. She must listen to the wisdom of her father, who knows the ways of the world.
His message is clear. Hamlet is a young man “And with a larger tedder may he walk than may be given you”. Ophelia is constrained, trapped, reined in by her womanhood. The freedom of the world is for men---her brother Laertes who has just embarked on his journey to France, and her lover, Hamlet
Typical of women of her time, Ophelia does not rebel or seriously question her lowly state. She is obedient and accepting “ I shall obey, my Lord”
Elsinore, the battlements of the castle, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears.
Hamlet is the young prince of Denmark. His uncle Claudius has ascended the throne and married the dead king’s widow, Gertrude, young Hamlet’s mother. In this first scene we also meet Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, a cool-headed, loyal friend, much admired by Hamlet
Act 1, Scene 2 is a key scene in establishing Hamlet an outsider, standing apart.
Claudius speaks of recent events, his marriage to Gertrude “Our sometime sister, now our queen”. He explains his mixed emotions and the paradox of rejoicing in marriage while mourning the death of his brother the King “With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage”
We meet Polonius, the king’s counsellor, and his son Laertes—who wants permission to return to France . Polonius has a daughter, Ophelia, to whom Hamlet pays court.
Claudius speaks with the ambassadors to Norway and then addresses Hamlet:
“And now my cousin Hamlet, and my son..”
This apparent hypocrisy is too much for Hamlet. He mutters in an aside “A little more than kin, and less than kind” (double meaning on “kind”)i.e. related but not quite…
We see his resentment in these opening words at his uncle’s hasty marriage to his widowed mother, and his refusal to play Claudius’ game, or engage in smooth, diplomatic small-talk.
“How is it that the clouds still hang on you?”
“Not so my Lord. I am too much I’ the sun” (double meaning on sun/son)
Now his mother Gertrude joins in, trying to cheer Hamlet up, and to accept the inevitability of his father’s death. It was quite natural and he must accept it: “All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity”. Note Hamlet’s sarcastic reply “Ay, madam, it is common”.
Hamlet answers his mother with honesty and also with anger. Unlike the others at the court he cannot pretend, or engage in outward show. His grief for his father is deep and sincere: “Seems, madam…I know not seems” “But I have that within which passes show / These but the trappings and the suits of woe”
Claudius wants Hamlet to keep his grief in proportion “But you must know your father lost a father…” He calls Hamlet’s mourning “…stubbornness” and “…unmanly grief” and “A fault against the dead”. He wants Hamlet to stay in Denmark, not to return to university in Wittenberg. His mother also begs him to stay. Note that he answers only his mother; “I shall in all my best obey you, madam”
Left alone, Hamlet expresses his rage, anger, grief and his suicidal thoughts. All that prevents him taking his life is his belief in God “Oh that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter”. “But two months dead…” This is what haunts him---his mother’s betrayal in marrying Claudius so soon. He turns his anger and disgust on women in general “Frailty, thy name is woman” He feels isolated, trapped, alone “But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue”
He jokes grimly with Horatio, pretending that it was to save money on the catering that the wedding was held so soon after the funeral “Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage table”
Act 1, Scene 3. The role of women……
In this scene Ophelia receives much brotherly and fatherly advice from Polonius and Laertes. Hamlet is more important than she is. He is a young prince, yet he too is trapped. He cannot marry whoever he chooses “ On his choice depends the safety and health of this whole state”. Laertes tells Ophelia that “Best safety lies in fear”. He is embarking on his travels to France, but Ophelia must remain, and guard her “treasure”. She must be careful not to compromise herself, or lose her chance of marriage by allowing Hamlet to become intimate with her.
Ophelia herself sees the hypocrisy in this advice. Laertes will not have to follow the same rules that he lays down for his sister. She jokes with him: . He will show her “the steep and thorny way to Heaven” while he himself “the primrose path of dalliance treads” . Polonius now gives advice to his daughter. He thinks Ophelia is too innocent and girlish in her dealings with Hamlet “Think yourself a baby”….”a green girl”. She must listen to the wisdom of her father, who knows the ways of the world.
His message is clear. Hamlet is a young man “And with a larger tedder may he walk than may be given you”. Ophelia is constrained, trapped, reined in by her womanhood. The freedom of the world is for men---her brother Laertes who has just embarked on his journey to France, and her lover, Hamlet
Typical of women of her time, Ophelia does not rebel or seriously question her lowly state. She is obedient and accepting “ I shall obey, my Lord”