Themes in Hamlet.
Melancholy, madness and memory.
The modern psychological label of bipolar disorder (manic depression) fits Hamlet very well. It was a mental state recognized at the time blamed on melancholy caused by excessive introspection.
Melancholy (the word means “black bible” was considered an unnatural state, a physical disease caused by an imbalance between the four elemental fluids or bodily humours in the human body.
A tradition of revenge tragedy was that the aggrieved character should become mad with rage-madness being a response to two opposing irreconcilable forces that the mind cannot cope with. Mad individuals no longer have to feel any responsibility for their actions, which can be attributed to another self (as with Hamlet excusing himself to Laertes in Act V scene 2.) It was also believed that madness fluctuated with the weather and wind direction, southerly breezes being the more wholesome to the afflicted mind, hence Hamlet’s comment of (II. 2 377-378) It was also thought that moods and madness were affected by the moon’s cycles and were especially prevalent and violent at a full moon, hence the word “lunacy” Fits and remissions in the hero’s lunacy were a feature of the source play, The Spanish Tragedy.
Madness in the play Hamlet.
Passion was considered to be both a manifestation and a cause of madness, a kind of delirium often called an “ecstasie.” This meant a loss of control by the rational mind. Ophelia’s madness is a classic case of the mind being overloaded with emotion and passion and is ironic compared to Hamlet’s method of coping with the similar anguish of grief and betrayal.
In classic literature and cinema, the fool with childlike innocence (the divine idiot) is actually closer to God and has a greater insight than mere mortals. This was a particular feature of medieval romance and sensitive young noblemen were often driven mad by unrequited or rejected love.
Polonius is certain that this is the cause of Hamlet’s lunacy. Grief, however, is an extreme emotion that can present itself as a physical or mental breakdown. Gertrude attributes her son’s madness to “His father’s death and our o’erhasty marriage” (II.2.57)
Madness also has a comic mask, as displayed by Hamlet when playing the fool as the court jester while in “antic disposition” mode. This links with the plays theme of performing for an audience and wearing a false face.
Fools were master of the pun and double entendre (as self-protection against their employers taking offence.) Madness, real or affected, disguises a person’s thoughts and intentions and could therefore be a threat to others; Claudius is certain that “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.” (III.1.189.)
The alter-ego.
Madness gives Hamlet an alter ego that reinforces the doubleness motif in the play and makes him a metaphor for out-of-joint Denmark. The poison has spread from Claudius and everyone who has had contact with him, has become infected. Madness is an actualization of the metaphor sickness in the play; “My wits diseased” (III. 2.329-30) This reinforces the recurring imagery of falling and decline. This also adds further doubt for the audience, who cannot be certain how fake Hamlets madness is.
Ophelia’s madness.
Hamlet’s supposed madness provides an opposite parallel for Ophelia’s genuine madness. Her madness is precipitated by double grief- her father’s death and her lover’s exile, made even worse by the fact that her lover is her father’s murderer. Women’s minds were considered weaker at the time because they were controlled by their menstruation and wombs. When Hamlet leaves, the role of crazy person in court become vacant and, as Ophelia takes the role, the idea of doubles comes up yet again. They are doubles as both of them lose their fathers in violent circumstances, both find memory and the comparison of what was and what is, unbearable. Both are also imprisoned and both suffer from the awful conspiracy of Claudius and Polonius.
Ophelia’s situation is worse than Hamlet’s as she now has no future prospects and most likely would have ended up in the nunnery that Hamlets wanted to send her to (her father is dead, her lover has rejected her.) Ophelia reveals this madness through her songs whilst Hamlet uses madness to conceal.
The power of memory.
Memory was seen as a duty or a mental faculty that separated humans from animals and a means of respecting the dead. Hamlet, therefore, is furious when Claudius lectures him to forget his dead father in Act 1 scene 2 and also when his mother having forgotten his father so quickly; “a beast that wants discourse of reason/Would have mourned longer” ( I.2.150-1)
Memory can also be a painful burden, weighing down on the spirits. The refusal by Claudius and his mother to remember his father causes Hamlet to resent of them, before he even learns of the murder. Memory is all that links the living and the dead. As Hamlet demonstrates, the body rots. The Ghost begs Hamlet to ‘Remember me” ( I.5.91) Therefore, it is unnatural to attempt to forget. This is why Hamlet must force his mother to access her memories and why in Act 1 scene 5, Hamlet writes down something he has learned “That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain”(I.5.108)
Players, playing and acting.
Hamlet uses the idea of acting and putting on a show as intrinsic themes, as the play contains a play within a play. This metaphor is also used in Macbeth. In Act II, scene 2 there are puns on theatre names, such as The Globe and Fortune, in addition the names of child actors. There are extra levels of irony in a work that abhors deception and disguise that Hamlet’s own play and role involve play acting.
Acting
The play within the play is the structural centre of Hamlet. This also brings the actions of revenge and marriage together and forces them into a joint crisis. When the Ghost appears to Hamlet after the play and Polonius is killed, the second revenge cycle begins, which reverse the roles and turns Laertes into his avenger.
Performing a deed, performing to spectators, pretending or taking initiative are all forms of acting in the play. The word “act” and it’s synonyms appears throughout the play (play, prompted, audience, stage, show, applaud) An irony of the theme of performance is that an actor appears to be the author of his words and actions, but, in fact, the script has been written by someone else. This is the point Hamlet makes when reflecting on the First Player’s acting “What’s Hecuba to him, or he to her/ That he should weep for her?” (II.2. 556-57) and when he tells his mother that outward shows of grief “are actions that a man might play.” (I.2.84)
Playing a part.
Claudius is a showman and performs from his first presence in the play. He pretends to be concerned about the welfare of others but is only concerned about self-interest. Gertrude seems to be pretending that the situation at the court is better than it actually is and buries her head in the sand. Though she does not know her new mate has killed her previous husband, she does not attempt to talk to Hamlet about his distrust of the marriage.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are forced to play the role of spies, which means that everything they say to Hamlet is lies. They are actually players in someone else’s play.
Polonius becomes a parody of himself. Hamlet sees him as the fool in the play. Polonius sees himself as the director in the play and gives instructions to Ophelia and Gertrude and to Laertes.
Laertes seems to be overacting at Ophelia’s funeral and he comes across as insincere and angrier at the damage done to his family’s honour.
Hamlet’s main objection to women is that they are all actors- they paint their faces and ‘jig” “amble” and “lisp” to deceive men. He believes that honour demands that one should “Suit the action to the word, the word to the action” ( III. 2.17-18) This playacting allows the audience to feel that Horatio is someone who can be trusted.
Hamlet’s role.
Hamlet does not want to play the role of the stock avenger. Indeed, Hamlet hates stereotypical roles of any kind and mocks Polonius for being a stereotype. Hamlet has a reflective and moral temperament and violence of word and deed does not come easily to him. Hamlet wants, like his father, to play the dignified role of man. He should be a poet, a soldier, a courtier and a scholar. Ophelia originally sees Hamlet as reaching this pinnacle of excellence when in her speech she states that Hamlet is: “rose of the fair state” (III. 1.153)
Hamlet refuses to believe that man should give into his baser instincts of sex, food, drink and sleep, and so then becoming a beast. He criticizes Claudius for doing so and bringing Denmark into disrepute. He gives up his role as Ophelia’s suitor and refuses to play that of son to his uncle. Hamlet thinks that being Ophelia’s suitor is “out of joint” and the latter would be a betrayal of his father’s memory.
One role Hamlet does take is the one of holding up a mirror to nature. (e.g. when he gets his mother to see the error of her ways.) He believes it is his job to discover and reveal the truth about everyone. On his death, he hands over this role to Horatio. He thinks heaven has appointed him “scourge and minister” (punisher and priest-a contradictory role) and that he is responsible for the salvation of others. At last he is an avenger, but not one motivated by a vendetta. (His father is not mentioned after the closet scene.)
Hamlet is actually acting in his role in purging Denmark of evil and restoring justice; a job which he recognized was his when he cursed his fate at the end of scene 1. This is a role he finally accepts and performs with grace and without jeopardy to his soul.
Internal audiences.
This is a play within a play, with an audience within scenes throughout the play. The stage audiences are either in public view (as when the whole court watches the fencing match) or hidden when the performance is happening (Polonius hiding.) In The Mousetrap, there is a parallel between the theatre audience watching a play and Hamlet and Horatio watching the king’s reaction as a member of that audience. This theme of putting on a performance creates uncertainty for the real audience and we are left with the question-Would the characters be doing or saying the same thing if they were not being watched? (As with Hamlet and the “nunnery” scene- he knows he is being watched.)
This constant theme of doubling, doubt and spying are made concrete and an atmosphere of suspicion and treachery is reinforced. (This increases our sympathy for Hamlet, as we realize that he is a target for contriving.) Characters often misread situations (like Hamlet with Claudius praying) which means that the audience cannot always trust the evidence of their own eyes-we cannot be sure of anything.
Other themes.
Binary opposite- This is the idea of two apparently conflicting personalities or figures are set against each other, often with conflict in mind. Ironically, these two figures often appear to be the complete opposite, but share features and are often drawn to each other. Death is the man theme of the play, but doubling also occurs in characterization- Hamlet and Claudius –they seem opposites, but both are riddled with uncertainty.
Heaven and hell are opposed from the beginning of the play, where Christmas is seen as a time where evil spirits roam the castle. High and low is the fundamental opposition behind these themes. Action versus words creates the necessary tension in the play.
The opposing pairs:
Human nature and mind and body, reason and passion, god and beast, words and deeds, heaven and hell, good and evil, sin and absolution, salvation and damnation, rising and falling, conception and decomposition.
Customs.
This theme occurs frequently throughout the play and is reinforced by the repetition and unquestioning observance of customs. Hamlet criticizes Claudius for observing the custom of heavy drinking and revelry, saying : “ More honoured in the breach than the observance.” (I.4.16) He also tells his mother: “Assume a virtue, if you have it not” (III. 4.161) , meaning that the custom of celibacy will soon become a habit- the mask will become the reality. Moderation and abstinence are noble habits, but Hamlet is disgusted by the bestial appetites of the court. This links to the idea of humanity having opposing sides,
Imprisonment.
This theme is often alluded to with simple words: (Mousetrap, nutshell, between heaven and earth, grave, confine, not being able to go back to Germany, of always being spied upon.) Hamlet is trapped by his emotions and his situation (the unhappy family set up.) He is also trapped between the old and new order, between natural and supernatural worlds and is effectively under house arrest. Denmark is a prison from which he can only escape in a coffin.
Spying.
This theme is reflected by the numerous references to go-betweens and informers in the play, with the imagery of secrecy and withholding information. This begins with the voyeuristic watching of the guard and their references to secret preparations. Characters then spy on each other or are simply on watch. The spies include Polonius, Reynaldo, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Ophelia, Gertrude-even Horatio (they are all asked to report on what they have seen.)
Indeed, Hamlet is “Th’observed of all observers.” ( III.1.155) We always know more than Hamlet, as we have seen more and noted the plots being hatched, but Hamlet has a way of seeing that defies mere watching. He has a “prophetic soul” that marks him out as an intuitive perceiver, and the audience can hardly keep up with him.
Testing.
The concepts of “probation” and “proof” are introduced early in the play (I.1.157) and tie in with those of judging, being on trial and being tempted. Many legal terms are used in the text and legal issues are often touched upon, such as claims to the throne and marriage with one’s brother’s wife.