You've Got Your Eyes On Me

Charlene Rhemtulla  Wednesday, March 26, 2014

#hamletknowswhatyouaredoinginthecourtyard #cladiusistheworstspyever #mygrandmacouldspybetter

Throughout the play Hamlet, the main character (whose name should be very obvious due to the fact that it’s the title of the play), Hamlet, develops characteristics that lead us to believe that he is quite the expert at tricking people to achieve what he wants. At most times in the play one can understand what he is doing and why he is doing that, but there are points in the play where it is easy to get confused. One of these moments is when Hamlet is performing his famous “To Be Or Not to Be” soliloquy (III.ii.56-90). In my opinion, I think that Hamlet most definitely knew that he was being watched and that everything he said was meant to be heard by Claudius and Polonius to further help his plan.    

As an audience it is hard to decide whether or not Hamlet organized the speech because he knows he is being watched by Polonius and the King or if he is just saying the speech as the emotions come to his mind. If you take a look at the speech, it seems like it is  said to aid him with his plan, meaning that he knows he is being watched. “To be or not to be, that is the question.” says Hamlet. In this line we see that Hamlet is contemplating whether or not it is worth the time and effort to live. If Claudius were listening he would automatically feel that Hamlet is becoming sadder and closer to the choice of suicide, which is exactly what Hamlet wants him to believe. This speech is literally Hamlet showing emotions that would make him seem crazy and suicidal, which is exactly what he is trying to get Claudius to believe. However; assuming that Hamlet wishes to kill only himself is not the only way to look at what he is saying. One can also interpret that Hamlet is saying that he wishes to murder someone. Hamlet says,
“For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? (III.i.70-76)

What he is saying here is that why put up with all of the bad things around us, such as rude and ignorant people who think they are better than you or hurt you, when you could just end everything with anything that is good enough to stab with? Going further you can either assume that he is talking about killing himself or killing everyone that causes the problem. If you were to interpret it like the latter, account for the fact that we know that Claudius has hurt Hamlet, and consider the fact that Hamlet might actually know that he is being watched by Claudius it would be Hamlet’s way of saying “haha got you” right in Claudius’ face in the sense that he is literally foreshadowing that he is going to kill Claudius (sucks to suck for him I guess).  

Throughout the play Hamlet does many things that make him a trickster that is a few steps ahead of everyone, so it would be no surprise that he is smart enough to knows that he is being watched. For example, during his first soliloquy Hamlet says, 
"With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father
Before my uncle. I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent him to the quick. If'a do blench
I know my course." (II.ii.581-585)
This means that Hamlet is devising a plan to find out to make sure Claudius killed his father by putting on a play that reenacts the death of his father and seeing how Claudius reacts to it. The fact that he wants to make sure that Claudius is the actual murdered of his father shows us that he thinks about every step he does to make sure it will only help, not hurt, his plan. Hamlet thinking about every action carefully indicates that everything he says and does will relate back to the bigger plan. had he not known that Claudius and Polonius were watching he might not have acted they way he did because it would not matter to hims as much because it would not change anything about his plan for revenge.

Post-soliloquy, Ophelia arrives to see Hamlet just as planned by Claudius and Polonius. By observing how Hamlet speaks to Ophelia in this scene and the relationship between the two of them it gives us a better idea as to whether or not Hamlet knows he is being watched. Hamlet says to Ophelia, “You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not.” (III.i.117-119). In this quotation Hamlet is saying that he does not love her at all and that he never actually did in the first place. If one were to quickly look at what he is saying they would say that he does not want anything to do with her anymore. But if you look deeper, the fact that he is claiming this is very weird because we see moments before and after this conversation that he actually does like her. For example, during the play Mousetrap, he flirts with her openly saying things like “Lady shall I lie in your lap?” (III.ii.107). It seems like he is saying that he does not love Ophelia in this scene to protect from Claudius because if Claudius knows that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia he could do something to hurt her. It just does not make sense for a person to seem so in love with someone, and then suddenly just stop so quickly.

After looking at all the evidence from the play and the "To Be Or Not to Be" soliloquy (III.ii.56-90), such as the emotions found in the soliloquy, how he interacts with Ophelia, and his trickster personality I think it is safe to say that Hamlet did indeed know that he was being watched. 

RE: Mitchell Mason

Whoa! When you made that connection between the lines “To die, to sleep, / No more-and by a sleep to say we end / The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wished!”(III.i.61-65) and Claudius killing Hamlet Senior that blew my mind. Although it is a good observation I think you’ve read into the text too much (SO DEEP YOU’RE ALMOST IN CHINA). I do agree with the fact that Hamlet knew he was being watched while, but I feel like this this observation is too good to be true and a bit too specific. I believe that this quotation does lean more to fact that Hamlet is trying to convince Claudius that he is acting crazy.

RE: Connor Kucharic

I really liked how you mentioned that Hamlet would be getting vibes that someone is watching him. It's almost like the feeling you get when watching scary movies, such as the Scream series, because you just get that sense that you know someone is there and you are usually bang on with that thought! I also really liked the point you made about how weird it was for Ophelia to just randomly have the love letters from Hamlet on hand. It is possible that she is just that obsessed with him (I mean it is Shakespeare, a lot of crazy things happen), but I think makes a lot more the way you explained it.

*Duly note that anything that has been italicized is there for amusement of course and not actually part of my points… maybe