Hamlet: Through the Looking Glass

     Hamlet is one of the most complicated characters that Shakespeare ever created. His character has lots of layers and he is filled with emotions including grief and confusion. Though what makes Hamlet so complex, is his intelligence. He uses his mind to take on the persona of a trickster but it often causes him to over think situations which leads to a lack of action. Hamlet's most controversial soliloquy in the play is the "To be, or not to be" speech (III.1.56-89). Many have argued over his awareness of being watched.

     It is apparent throughout this famous speech that Hamlet is aware that he is being spied on. Previous events could have helped him clue in. For example, he had been spied on before by his former friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. After a forced confession in Act 2, he discovered that The King had hired them for the job. Hamlet would not just let this betrayal slip his mind. Also, it seemed suspicious that it was The King called upon Hamlet, yet when he met somebody in the foyer, it was Ophelia. This was even more shocking because Ophelia had been ignoring and avoiding him recently and then she had just conveniently shown up alone where Hamlet was. Since Hamlet is portrayed by Shakespeare to be so intelligent, it is normal to assume that he should have picked up on some of these suspicious coincidences.

     Throughout the play, Hamlet puts on acts of different personalities to everyone. The only time he is truthfully acting as himself is when he is with Horatio, his best friend. It would therefore be odd that Hamlet would speak all of his true feelings out loud in the middle of the castle, where virtually anybody could hear him. Knowing the complexity of his previous schemes, this would be a simple-minded way to ruin all of his plans. This is especially true considering he is aware of The King's interest in him from the previous incident with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

     In the soliloquy, Hamlet talks in depth about suicide. This can be perceived by the audience many ways. When Hamlet speaks of this, he seems to be speaking directly to Claudius. He says that suicide would "take arms against a sea of troubles/ And by opposing end them" (III.i.59-60). This line could be Hamlet trying to persuade Claudius to kill himself. He is explaining how ending his life could also put an end to any suffering that Claudius may face in the near future, a possible threat from Hamlet. Another threat is revealed when Hamlet speaks of "the whips and scorns of time" (III.i.70). He could also be referring to the possible guilt that The King will eventually face. The idea of Hamlet trying to convince Claudius to kill himself is completely plausible because it would be the perfect revenge for his father. Since suicide is the ultimate sin, Claudius would be guaranteed a ticket for hell. That is why Hamlet tried to make suicide sound like a reasonable choice in his speech.

     Hamlet contradicts himself many times in his soliloquy. It makes it very difficult to uncover Hamlet's true thoughts, which may be his ultimate plan. Since Hamlet knows that he is being surveyed, he talks of suicide and uses confusion to further convince the spies of his madness. This could further Claudius' fear of Hamlet because he is aware of what he knows now, and he could still think that he is crazy. Hamlet is clever to use this contradicting manor in his speech.

     Another reason that supports his awareness of the others in the room is his delivery of the speech. If Hamlet truly thought he was alone he would have been freaking out and very anxious. Since he knows people are watching, he acts very calm when speaking, hoping to frighten Claudius with his confidence. This is proven because in the speech, he does not yell or scream, as there is no punctuation in the lines. Also, in the movie, the character of Hamlet is played by Kenneth Branagh, and he acts very calm and collected. This proves that he is not nervous, and may be putting on another act for his audience of Claudius and Polonius.

     When Hamlet sees Ophelia, he says, "Soft you now,/ The fair Ophelia!" (III.i.88-89). He immediately stops what he is saying and quickly greets her. A reasoning behind this abrupt change may be because he knows The King is watching, and so he does not want him to see him let Ophelia in on any of his thoughts. He wants to keep her protected. This may also be why he is so harsh on her in their following conversation. Hamlet knows that The King is watching, so ending any relationship with Ophelia and showing how little he cares for her in front of Claudius and her father will keep her safe from The King in the future. Also, Hamlet hints that he knows exactly where Claudius is when he asks Ophelia, "Where is your father?" (III.i.130-131). This line is most likely present to let the audience know that Hamlet is aware of Claudius' whereabouts.

     All of these pieces present in Hamlet's speech prove that he is intelligent enough to know that Claudius and Polonius are present in the room. Shakespeare created this soliloquy so it could be directed directly at Claudius, and possibly foreshadow his futuristic death.


RE: Becky
I agree with your position on Hamlet's awareness. I also believe that he knows The King is watching him. I did not catch the correlation you made between the ghost's lines in act 1 and the line from Hamlet's soliloquy, but I agree that they relate. I also think that we can prove that his speech is directed at Claudius because in the movie, Hamlet's character points a dagger right at Claudius through a one way mirror, which could signal that he knows he is behind there, and is giving him a warning.

I also agree with your paragraph about Hamlet trying to protect Ophelia. I touched on that in one of my paragraphs, but I did not mention the nunnery as you did. I think it was risky for Hamlet to say the things about going to a nunnery and not believing him, because Claudius could have caught on to these tricks. In my opinion, that could have been a lethal mistake made by Hamlet, because if his true feelings were discovered, it could have put Ophelia in danger.