William Shakespeare exploits Hamlets wit and intellect
from the very moment he walks on stage. This is done through his dialogue with
the Kings counsel; Polonius. Hamlet insults him with phrases that could
potentially have double meaning and he does so whilst also reading a book which
leaves Polonius perplexed as to whom Hamlets words are directed to and he
persists on making sense of them. I feel as if this draws the audience into the
play and introduces them to Hamlets calibre of thought, height of wit, and
ability to make even an advisor look like a fool.
After Hamlets banter session with Rosencratz and
Guildenstern, Hamlet becomes more serious and starts to reflect on his own
melancholy state. He refers to both his parents as "uncle-father and aunt-mother" and
this, in my opinion, is a perfect summation of how emotionally attached he
feels to both of them - calling them aunt and uncle shows that he feels no
nuclear family connection to them. This also shows that at times he feels mad
but at other times he feels sane. He is psychologically stretched to two
different extremes of mental well-being and cause of all this is the idea that
his father might want vengeance. Hamlet decides to settle this by commanding
the actors re-enact the alleged murder scene and hope for a response from
Claudius. Players and actors were expected to perform for the royalties during
Shakespearean era; an idea that has been nicely interweaved with the storyline.
In his soliloquy, Hamlet compares his indecisiveness to bad actors.
Like Hamlet, Fortinbras is the grieving son of a dead king, a
prince whose uncle inherited the throne in his place. But where Hamlet has sunk
into despair, Fortinbras has devoted himself to the pursuit of revenge. Here,
it is important mainly to note that Fortinbras’s uncle has forbidden him to
attack Denmark but has given him permission to ride through Denmark on his way
to attack Poland. It is notable that Claudius appears indifferent to the fact
that a powerful enemy will be riding through his country with a large army in
tow. Claudius seems much more worried about Hamlet’s madness, indicating that
where King Hamlet was a powerful warrior who sought to expand Denmark’s power
abroad, Claudius is a politician who is more concerned about threats from
within his state. This highlights where the kings priorities lie and the
fragility of his relationships within his own household.
