Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

Key Events in Act 4, Scene 5

Ophelia enters in a state of madness, singing snatches of songs about death, love and betrayal. Her brother, Laertes, dramatically enters, demanding to know how his father died and vowing revenge.

Ophelia's appearance & 'madness'

Ophelia enters, her appearance and behaviour much changed.
- The audience is prepared for Ophelia’s 'madness' by the Gentleman’s account of her strange speech and behaviour. However, Ophelia’s appearance (as indicated by a stage direction in the earliest published version of the play) also signals her breakdown – Elizabethan audiences would have recognised Ophelia’s hair being down and her dishevelled state of dress as conventional literary indications of 'madness'.

Ophelia's thoughts in song

Ophelia (singing): “He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and gone.”
- Ophelia communicates through fragments of different songs. The lines above suggest she is brooding over the death of her father. However, the following lines describing the subject’s grave and “shroud” may suggest her distress over Hamlet’s neglect in giving Polonius a respectful, Christian burial.

Love, sex and betrayal in song

Ophelia’s song fragments also touch on the subjects of love, sex and betrayal.
- Critics have suggested that these lines betray feelings of guilt, betrayal and self-disgust after Hamlet’s cruelty towards her.

Male exploitation of a lover

Ophelia (singing): “Quoth she, ‘Before you tumbled me / You promised me to wed’”
- These lines seem to come from a song describing a young man’s sexual exploitation of his lover. The man has “promised” to marry the narrator but he abandons her after he has “tumbled” (had sex with) her and, in the couplet which follows, blames the young woman herself for her loss of honour.

Subconscious guilt & shame

This fragment of song may again show Ophelia subconsciously processing feelings of guilt and shame caused by Hamlet’s cruel and highly sexualised insults towards her.

More Key Events in Act 4, Scene 5

Laertes enters in a fury, demanding to know what has happened to his father.

Laertes vs Hamlet: revenge hero

Laertes, like Hamlet, now has the role of revenge hero thrust upon him.
However, unlike Hamlet, he is portrayed as a man of action - impatient and restless to fulfil his duty as son to a murdered father.

Laertes' approach to revenge

Laertes (to Claudius): “Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged”.
- Laertes has “only” one thing in mind: revenge for his father’s death. This single-mindedness and lack of distraction contrasts with what we have seen from Hamlet. Rather than complicate his revenge mission with thoughts of consequences, Laertes vows to accept “what comes” from avenging Polonius.

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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