Act 3, Scene 1
Summary
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Claudius and Gertrude that they do not know exactly why Hamlet is acting mad. Polonius tells them that they are all
invited to that evening’s performance, and Claudius readily accepts. Then Ophelia is asked to wait for Hamlet to come by while the King and Polonius
wait behind some curtains. Hamlet enters, speaking his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy. He sees Ophelia and states that he does not love her. After
Hamlet leaves, Claudius and Polonius speak with Ophelia. Polonius thinks Hamlet’s troubles all center on Ophelia, but Claudius thinks that Hamlet
might be upset with his being King. He decides to send Hamlet to England as soon as possible.
Glossary
drift of conference: roundabout methods.
lawful espials spies who are justified in their action.
rub an obstacle hindrance, difficulty, or impediment.
contumely haughty and contemptuous rudeness; insulting and
humiliating treatment or language.
bodkin a dagger or stiletto.
fardels burdens; misfortune.
bourn limit; boundary.
pitch and moment height and importance.
expectancy and rose bright hope ( as future king).
mould of form pattern of manly beauty and behavior.
Analysis
Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern are still trying to discover the cause of Hamlet’s madness.
Claudius is beginning to break down. He can no longer pretend that he cares for Hamlet or wants to help him. Up to this point, Claudius has been
guarded in his attitude towards Hamlet; now he asks pointed questions, and his previous deception becomes apparent. He does not think that Hamlet is
truly mad. Claudius believes that Hamlet’s behavior is designed with a specific purpose in mind, and he implies that Hamlet may pose a danger to the
state. Claudius hopes to discover this supposed purpose.
The queen asks about Hamlet’s “pastime” — the official reason for calling Rozencrantz and Guildenstern to Elsinore in the first place . She wants to
know if the two men have been able to raise Hamlet’s spirits. Gertrude demonstrates again that she is a caring mother. She asks how Hamlet “received”
them . Although she may feel responsible for Hamlet’s depression, Gertrude does not seem to know anything about the murder of her first husband. She
tentatively believes that Hamlet’s madness may have been triggered by Ophelia’s rejection of him, suggesting that Ophelia’s charms may bring Hamlet
back to his senses. In this scene, Claudius first reveals his sense of guilt. In an aside, he calls his “deed” a “heavy burden” (53–54). Claudius has an active
conscience, and his conscience is now bothering him. Without realizing it, he is primed for Hamlet’s plan.
The prince enters as Claudius and Polonius hide themselves in preparation to spy on Ophelia and Hamlet. Polonius has put Ophelia in a compromising
position. She knows that he is watching her; she has no choice but to obey her father. She must wonder what this compliance will mean both for herself
and for Hamlet.
“To be”
Hamlet, seemingly unaware that anyone is listening, now delivers his fourth and best-known soliloquy. His solitary moodiness and his self-reproach have
occupied his thoughts since the night he witnessed the apparition. Hamlet has given up love and any hope for a future and is now resigned to his fate .
This soliloquy is more meditative than angry, more weary than passionate, and its subject is not just Hamlet’s plight but his view of the common plight of
all people. In one way, contemplating suicide at this point is inconsistent with the preparations that Hamlet has made to prick Claudius’s conscience and
the results he hopes to achieve. Rather than speaking earnestly about his own desire to die, Hamlet may be speaking of the choice that all men must make
between suffering the demands and hurts of the world or taking action against those insults. Perhaps the crux of his debate is whether personal revenge
can be justified. But perhaps, despite the plans he has set in place, Hamlet does seriously consider ending his struggle. He searches for some kind of dignity
in life, some kind of meaning in death. He longs to take action, but, until now, he has not had direction. The more he has sought direction, the more
confused and aimless he has became. Hamlet wonders if life is worth living at all in a world filled with anguish and despair. Perhaps suicide is preferable;
but it occurs to him that death is not a way out, because we cannot know what lies beyond life. The passage to death may lead us to eternal sleep, but it
may not; the next life may be worse than the life we know. It is the unknown that deters people from ending their lives. Hamlet wonders if it is morally
better to endure evil passively or if our moral duty requires us to right wrongs, even if we have to use violence to effect that justice. The question is
difficult because church, state, and society teach us that killing is a mortal sin. To kill is to condemn oneself to hell. “Thus,” Hamlet says resignedly,
“conscience does make cowards of us all” (83).
Hamlet’s reverie is broken by the appearance of Ophelia. Hamlet greets her almost reverentially and seems hesitantly happy to see her. Ophelia is happy to
see him; we can assume that she would prefer to talk to him in private. But she knows that they are being observed, and her nature doesn’t allow her to
disobey her father. She asks Hamlet how he has been, and for a moment they are as they were — in love. But Ophelia must perform her duty, and she
