Hamlet Act III, Scene 1

Act III, scene 1 contains some of the most iconic Hamlet moments and is painful to read, and the plot becomes tumultuous from multiple perspectives. The act opens with Claudius discussing Hamlet’s strange behavior with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who aren’t able to conclude the source behind Hamlet’s strange actions. They realize that Hamlet is enthusiastic about the actors and theater, so they tell the king and queen about this. They decide to see the play that evening, but are still perplexed as to why Hamlet has been acting in such a disheveled and odd manor. Polonius and Claudius make plans to spy on Hamlet in secret, their mischievous intentions shining through. They want to see if Hamlet’s love, or lack thereof, for Ophelia has driven him mad. Claudius shows guilt in this moment, reflecting on the murder of King Hamlet in an aside: “Oh, tis too true/ How smart a lash that speech that speech doth give my conscience!/ The harlot’s check, beautied with plastering art/ Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it/ Than is my deed to my most painted word/ O heavy burden!” (3.1.49-54).

              As Hamlet enters, he delivers his famous “To be or not to be” speech. He grapples with the idea of committing suicide, wondering if he should fight through his struggles or end his life. Through his words, the reader is able to get a glimpse of how dark Hamlet's mind truly is at this point in the story. He makes points about death and the fact that as people, we ultimately have a will to live because we fear what comes after death. This idea made me wonder about Shakespeare’s late son, Hamnet, who died before the play was written, and how Hamlet’s character was inspired by Shakespeare’s life events. I wonder if Hamlet’s iconic speech was influenced by Shakespeare’s own uncertainty about what comes after death, since the sadness and agonizing tone of the speech is reflective of what Shakespeare must’ve been feeling at the time.

              Ophelia enters as Hamlet is still deep in thought, attempting to return Hamlet’s gifts to her. Hamlet angrily denies giving her the gifts and claims to have loved her, then denying it almost immediately, causing an argumentative tone to emerge from their conversation. Hamlet’s behavior escalades as he criticizes all women before storming out. Claudius and Polonius then emerge, saying that Hamlet’s behavior is a result of insanity, not just love for Ophelia. They make plans to send Hamlet to England in hopes that the vacation will help him act normally again.