Regicide in Hamlet

The “most foul, strange and unnatural murder” which propels the narrative in Hamlet is of such a magnitude that it disrupts the social and political order of Denmark.

Fratricide & regicide in Hamlet

Claudius’ murder of his brother is not only fratricide (a crime which Claudius, remembering the biblical story of Cain and Abel, recognises as carrying “the primal eldest curse upon’t it - / A brother’s murder”) but also regicide, the murder of a King.
In medieval Christian societies, a King was believed to be anointed by God and have a ‘Divine Right’ to rule. The monarch was an ‘intermediary’ between God and the King’s subjects. Regicide was not only a capital crime but a mortal sin against God.

The 'great chain of being'

Regicide was also considered a crime that would disrupt the natural world.
The medieval belief in a ‘great chain of being’ which still influenced Elizabethan thought held that the world and universe was ordered by God in a cosmic hierarchy where every living thing was ‘ranked’ according to its status.

The cosmic hierarcy

At the top of the cosmic hierarchy was God, followed by the angels, then humankind and descending down further through animals and plant life to minerals.
In society, the King or Queen, appointed by God, was the supreme power in society, followed by the nobility, then common humanity.
As regicide disrupted this order, society and the natural world would suffer horrific consequences.

Ghost: premonition of disorder

The entrance of the Ghost in the opening scene is taken to be a premonition (or portent) of future disorder: Barnardo refers to the spirit as “portentous” while Horatio considers that it may be an “omen”.

Supernatural: foreshadows chaos

The supernatural is used to foreshadow potential chaos or turmoil where the natural world is turned upside down.
Horatio links the Ghost’s visitation to the strange events which were said to occur in Rome before the assassination of Julius Caesar where “The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead / Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets”.
- This reference to one of the most infamous crimes of the classical world, Caesar’s assassination, acts as a foreshadowing of old Hamlet’s murder coming to light.

The Presentation of Old Hamlet's Murder in Hamlet

The “most foul, strange and unnatural murder” which propels the narrative in Hamlet is of such a magnitude that it disrupts the social and political order of Denmark.

Structure of the crime

The structural patterning of the crime in Hamlet is significant.
Old Hamlet is murdered before the opening of the play, although the audience (and main protagonist) only learn of the crime towards the end of Act 1.
This crime drives the action of the play until the bloodbath in the final scene.

Graphical details of murder

In Act 1, Scene 5, the audience is provided with graphic details involved in the murder.
The Ghost describes the agony he experienced after the poison was poured in his ears and the “vile and loathsome” sores erupted over his body.

Imagery of death and decay

The imagery of death and decay is a common motif in Hamlet, as if the death of Claudius has poisoned the whole state of Denmark.
While its most famous usage in the play is by the guard, Marcellus, who senses that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, the imagery is more commonly used by Hamlet as he tries to express his disgust at the corruption (moral as well as physical) in the world.

'Play within a play' form

Unusually, Claudius’ crime is re-enacted in the middle of Hamlet with ‘the play within the play’ – the players’ performance of ‘The Murder of Gonzago’, which Hamlet rewrites to make the parallels with the murder of his father more obvious.

Role of 'play within a play'

The ‘play within the play’ (which Hamlet entitles ‘The Mousetrap’) is intended to “catch the conscience of the King” and provoke a reaction from Claudius to prove his guilt.
The murder is actually re-enacted twice: first as a mimed ‘dumb show’ (which Claudius appears to miss) and then as a conventional performance.

Hamlet must commit regicide

Claudius’ murder of old Hamlet, although central, is only one of the crimes in the play.
- For Hamlet to fulfil his revenge mission, he must also commit the sin of regicide, changing him from victim into criminal.
- If he ignores Divine Justice (the Christian belief in God as ultimate judge) and overrides the State’s legal justice system to take the law into his own hands, then he too must be punished.

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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