Act 1, Scenes 4-5

Key Events in Act 1, Scenes 4-5

The Ghost appears once more. It tells Hamlet of how he was murdered by Claudius, his brother, and commands Hamlet to take revenge on the new king.

The Ghost describes his death

The Ghost tells Hamlet that his brother poisoned him while he lay sleeping in an orchard.
The Ghost reveals both the crime which overshadows the whole play (the regicide of old King Hamlet) and its perpetrator, the “traitorous” Claudius.

Hamlet's view of Claudius

Hamlet: “O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!”
- In Hamlet’s second soliloquy, the frenzied repetition of “villain” suggests he has momentarily lost his composure and is reeling from the Ghost’s revelation of (and his disgust at) his uncle’s crime.
- The verb “smiling” relates to Claudius’ deception of the Danish court.
- In the next sentence, Hamlet reflects that, in Denmark, “one may smile, and smile, and be a villain”. This reinforces the theme of duplicity.

The Ghost's desire for revenge

The Ghost commands Hamlet to avenge his murder.
- The Ghost’s call to action introduces the revenge motive into the play.
- But Hamlet’s role as revenge hero is immediately complicated by the almost contradictory demands made of him: Hamlet must take revenge on Claudius but keep his “mind” and “soul” free from any negative feelings towards Gertrude, despite the Ghost’s railing against their “damned incest” only two lines earlier.

Unsuited as revenge hero?

Hamlet: “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift / As meditation or the thoughts of love / May sweep to my revenge.”
- Hamlet's language could show that he is unsuited to the role of revenge hero.

Time vs meditation imagery

The temporal references (e.g. references to speed, such as Hamlet promising to take “swift” revenge and impatiently urging the Ghost to make “haste”) and the imagery of Hamlet prepared to “sweep” majestically into action are undermined by the puzzling simile he uses to describe his response.
He says he will react “as swift / As meditation”, suggesting that he may waste time by brooding over the consequences of any actions he should take.

Hamlet withholds old Hamlet's murder

Hamlet withholds information about old Hamlet’s murder from his companions and insists they swear to be “secret”.
- Hamlet warns his companions to expect some strange behaviour from him in the coming days and suggests he may even “put an antic disposition on” (i.e. pretend to be mad).
- This admission makes Hamlet’s subsequent behaviour difficult to judge – is he really mad or simply putting on a show?

Details of Hamlet's aside

Hamlet: “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right.”
- Act One ends with a short aside in which Hamlet reveals to the audience the thoughts he keeps secret from his companions.
- The “out of joint” reference introduces the imagery of pain and dislocation, as if the body politic of Denmark has suffered a traumatic injury with the old King’s murder.

The revenge hero curse

Hamlet knows that he alone must be the one to “set it right” and, as physician, restore Denmark to full health.
But Hamlet sees his new role as revenge hero as a curse and bemoans his very existence (“That ever I was born…”), echoing his sentiments in his first soliloquy (Act 1, Scene 2) that his “too sullied flesh” would melt away.

Key Ideas in Act 1, Scenes 4-5 - Punishment & Politics

Punishment and the body politic of Denmark are key features of Act 1, Scenes 4-5.

Eternal punishment and Purgatory

The Ghost of old Hamlet is being punished in the afterlife, condemned to return to the “sulph’rous and tormenting flames” of Purgatory because of the sins he committed in life.
The Ghost raises the issue of eternal punishment (the Christian belief that God will hold all souls to account on the Day of Judgement), an idea which will later complicate Hamlet’s decision on whether or not to act out his revenge on Claudius.

The Claudius & Gertrude dilemma

The Ghost makes Hamlet “swear” to punish Claudius. This sets in motion the revenge motive which will drive the rest of the play.
But Hamlet’s mission is complicated by the instruction not to punish Gertrude and to instead “leave her to heaven”.
The dilemma of how to punish Claudius but protect Gertrude will delay Hamlet’s revenge.

Body metaphor for the State

Throughout Act One, Shakespeare employs the metaphor of the State (government) being a human body. This metaphor was commonly used in the Elizabethan age.
- Claudius describes the “whole kingdom” of Denmark as “contracted in one brow of woe” because of old Hamlet's death, portraying the kingdom as united in grief.
- The Ghost refers to Claudius pouring poison into “the whole ear of Denmark”, portraying old Hamlet as the embodiment of Denmark.

Motif: Denmark as diseased

The body/State metaphor is linked to the imagery of corruption and decay to create the motif of the state (Denmark) being diseased and blighted.
- Laertes tells Ophelia that “the sanity and health of the whole state” depends upon Hamlet and, throughout Act One, various characters voice ideas about a sickness taking hold in the Danish state.
  - E.g. Marcellus asserts that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”.

1Introduction

1.1Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1Introduction to Hamlet

1.1.2The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story

1.1.3Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet

1.1.4Introduction to Social Issues Raised

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1Act 1, Scene 1

2.1.2Act 1, Scene 2

2.1.3Act 1, Scene 3

2.1.4Act 1, Scenes 4-5

2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1Act 2, Scene 1

2.2.2Act 2, Scene 2

2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events

2.3.2Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas

2.3.3Act 3, Scene 2

2.3.4Act 3, Scene 3

2.3.5Act 3, Scene 4

2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1Act 4, Scene 1

2.4.2Act 4, Scenes 2-3

2.4.3Act 4, Scene 4

2.4.4Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

2.4.5Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas

2.4.6Act 4, Scene 6

2.4.7Act 4, Scene 7

2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

2.5.2Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events

2.5.3Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas

3Character Profiles

3.1Hamlet

3.1.1Hamlet's Speech & Mind

3.1.2Hamlet's Heroic Status

3.1.3Hamlet's State of Mind

3.1.4Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking

3.2Claudius

3.2.1Claudius' Crime

3.2.2Changing Impressions of Claudius

3.3Gertrude

3.3.1Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude

3.3.2Gertrude's Character

3.3.3Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet

3.4Ophelia

3.4.1Ophelia

3.5Polonius

3.5.1Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia

3.5.2Polonius' Spying & Death

3.6Laertes

3.6.1Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia

3.6.2Laertes' Character Traits

4Key Themes

4.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.2Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1Madness in Hamlet

4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1Guilt in Hamlet

4.3.2Punishment in Hamlet

4.4Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure of Hamlet

5.1.2'Play Within a Play' Structure

5.1.3Play-Acting Motif

5.2Form

5.2.1Soliloquy

5.2.2Comedy

5.3Imagery

5.3.1Imagery of Corruption & Decay

5.3.2Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

5.4Language

5.4.1Word Usage & Hendiadys

5.4.2Questions & Classical Allusions

6Context

6.1Social & Historical Context

6.1.1Elizabeth I & Succession

6.1.2Cosmic & Social Hierarchy

6.1.3Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism

6.1.4Regicide

6.1.5The Reformation

6.2Literary Context

6.2.1Seneca Tragedy

6.2.2The Revenge Tragedy

6.3Performance & Textual History

6.3.1Performance History of Hamlet

6.3.2Textual History of Hamlet

7Critical Debates

7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1Introduction to Critical Debates

7.1.218th Century Commentary on Hamlet

7.1.3Romantic Commentary on Hamlet

7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1Freudian Response to Hamlet

7.2.2Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1Introduction to Feminist Criticism

7.3.2Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.3Presentation of Ophelia

7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1Introduction to Marxist Criticisms

7.4.2Marxist Readings of Hamlet

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