To see, or not to see?

To see, or not to see?

Hamlet is clever in so many ways, such that it is hard to get anything past him.  Hamlet fools his friends, family and foes to help him in the success of his plan for revenge on his father.  His cleverness also makes it difficult for his audience to understand him and what his intentions are.  He keeps on changing his mind and attitude towards Ophelia and eventually we get to the famous “To be, or not to be?” speech where Hamlet cannot make up his mind on whether it is best to live or be dead.  During this speech, Polonius and Claudius are listening to Hamlet’s every word and later, his conversation with Ophelia.  Since Hamlet’s actions are hard to follow and he is always changing his mind, as an audience it is difficult to decide if Hamlet knows he is being watched or not, for the duration of this speech.  Older opinions would say that Hamlet thinks he is alone when performing this speech however, there is also evidence to prove that he knew Polonius and Claudius were watching him.  

I however, agree with both ideas in a way.  I believe that Hamlet thought he was alone during the speech however, he came to realize he was being watched as soon as he asked Ophelia, “Where’s your father?” (III.i.130-131).  First of all, we already know that Hamlet is a clever man so he is always thinking ahead and in this case, he is suspecting that he might have someone watching him either directly, or a spy for the king.  We also know from previous encounters that Hamlet doesn’t care about or respect Polonius when he mocks him saying “You are a fishmonger” (II.ii.174) and by referring to Polonius as a “...tedious old fool…” (II.ii.219).  If Hamlet has this lack of respect for Polonius, then why on earth would he care about the whereabouts of him?  Hamlet obviously had suspicions about Polonius sneaking around.  Now that Hamlet has asked what I think was a rhetorical question, he knows from this point on that he is being watched.  

On the other side of the argument, I also would agree that Hamlet did not know he was being watched for the duration of his soliloquy in this scene.  Hamlet performs this soliloquy before the players have acted out his “mousetrap play”, which means that Hamlet does not know at this point in the play whether the ghost of Hamlet Sr. was real or not.  Since Hamlet loved his father so much and is also a very clever man, he would not do anything that would jeopardize his revenge plan in the slightest bit.  During this soliloquy, Hamlet says “...to take arms against a sea of troubles. And by opposing end them. To die…When he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin?” (III.i.59-76).  If Hamlet wanted his plan to work, he would not say anything that could be interpreted in the slightest about him killing another man.  Hamlet questions himself combatting all the troubles in his life and ending them all by settling his “final battle”.  Hamlet took all this time to make sure his plan would work correctly and that he would pay back Claudius with such a terrible punishment that Hamlet would not just give up any hints about it knowingly.

Hamlet only came to realize he was being watched after the soliloquy passed and this is also evident after Hamlet asked Ophelia the whereabouts of Polonius.  Immediately after Ophelia tells Hamlet that Polonius is at home he responds with “Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in’s own house” (III.i.133-134).  This is different because Hamlet has never called Polonius a fool in front of Ophelia, which makes it feel like Hamlet knows Polonius is there and is mocking him even now.  Hamlet also keeps on nagging Ophelia, “Get thee to a nunnery” (III.i.121) about five times which makes it seem as if he is talking directly to Polonius by giving him advice.  We have already seen Hamlet trying to encourage Polonius to protect Ophelia before when he says “Let [Ophelia] not walk i’th’ sun” (II.ii.184).  Although a debate on Hamlet’s feelings for Ophelia could last paragraphs more, we can see that Hamlet is encouraging Polonius to protect Ophelia.

Whether Hamlet knew that he was being watched or not, could change the entire meaning of the soliloquy so it is most important to dig deep into this part of the play to find out the truth.  Hamlet spoke his soliloquy unknowingly of any spies, but later came to brilliant conclusions that he must have been being watched either by spies, or the king and Polonius themselves.  Does Hamlet see right through Ophelia’s lies about Polonius’ whereabouts, or is he oblivious to it all?

RE: Keeana

I agree with your opinions for the most part.  I really like how you incorporated Hamlets emotions into all of the soliloquies and related them to this one in particular and why it is different from the first two.  There are so many emotions to consider and so many ways they can affect the meanings and outcomes from this speech.  I also used the “bare bodkin” quotation in my post so I can easily agree with your point about Hamlet sending a message to Claudius there even though I did not entirely agree with the fact that Hamlet could see Claudius during the soliloquy.  Even though I used that quotation for a completely different purpose, I like your idea and it is almost making me want to change opinions again!