Hamlet Act III Scene IV, Act IV Scenes I-IV

Last night's reading was a series of unfortunate events. Our reading begins with a conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude in her room. They do not talk for long before he gives his mother fright, and exposes a hidden Polonius and immediately murders him, believing it to be the King. Yikes. After the corpse is revealed, Hamlet proceeds to scold his mother on her present husband, compare his father and uncle, and speak to Gertrude's untamed sexual desires. This scene is significant because we finally see Hamlet and Gertrude's interact one-on-one without influence from Claudius. Hamlet continues to express his disgust in his mother's sexuality, and his remarks reflect his beliefs of all females.

The Ghost of King Hamlet joins the pair and reminds Hamlet of his mission. Though the Ghost is invisible to Gertrude, it commands Hamlet to comfort her, showing his continued love for her. Hamlet begs his mother to repent and to not sleep with Claudius tonight, or any night afterwards for that matter. Hamlet claims to be disgusted by sex, but because he brings it up so often, it seems to form into an obsession. Before Hamlet departs, he asks Gertrude to not reveal his act of madness to Claudius, and then reveals his plan to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as he knows they plotted against him with Claudius.

In the following scene, Gertrude reveals to Claudius that Hamlet murdered Polonius. Claudius speaks out of both sides of his mouth, as he always does, discussing both his “love” for Hamlet and his plan to send him to England ASAP. Claudius seems to be more preoccupied with his own reputation following the death of Polonius rather than the sadness of a lost friend. He calls for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to aid him in sending Hamlet to England. Hamlet sarcastically toys with his school friends about the whereabouts of Polonius’s corpse.

Claudius tells Hamlet of a ship and attendants that will take him to England. Hamlet says “good” and bids farewell to his “dear mother”. Hamlet exits and Claudius reveals his plan for Hamlet’s execution upon his arrival to England.

After a conversation with a ship captain, Hamlet criticizes his failure of not killing Claudius yet. He questions his courage and eventually decides to move quickly in his revenge. He ends the scene saying “Oh from this time forth/My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth” (4.4.65-66).

So obviously, we have a lot to talk about. I find the interaction between Hamlet and Gertrude very interesting, and I would like to discuss it further in class, as well as Hamlet’s interesting farewell to Claudius and his final monologue.