Comedy

Comedy in Hamlet - Hamlet's Humour & Clowns

It may seem odd to focus on the use of comedy in Hamlet – Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy – but it is an integral part of the play.

Johnson & Barton on comedy

The 18th Century critic Dr Johnson praised the play for its “variety” and how scenes move seamlessly from “merriment” to “solemnity”.
More recently, Anne Barton, an editor of the play, has commented that Hamlet “seems to be the only one of Shakespeare’s tragic protagonists… who possesses - and demonstrates – a sense of humour”.

Do clowns feature in Hamlet?

When the travelling ‘players’ arrive at Elsinore, there is no clown among them and they are described as “the tragedians of the city”.
Hamlet’s advice to the players includes a complaint over “clowns” who improvise scenes for laughs and distract from the play itself. However, it has been argued that there are aspects of Hamlet’s behaviour which are clown-like.

Hamlet's use of puns

Hamlet’s first lines in the play are full of sardonic humour, expressed through puns.
His first line, an aside to the audience in response to Claudius describing him as “my son” is "A little more than kin, and less than kind" (A1S2).
The play on the words “kin” (family) and “kind” reveals Hamlet’s bitterness towards his new stepfather, as does his second line which complains that he is “too much I’ the sun”, this time punning on ‘sun’ with ‘son’.

Draudt: "bitter court jester"

The critic Manfred Draudt has described Hamlet as behaving like a “bitter court jester” in these lines, making jokes at Claudius’ expense and establishing a comic relationship with his audience through the use of asides that only the audience can hear.

Hamlet's humorous actions

We also see Hamlet’s “sense of humour” in the verbal jousts he has with other characters. These allow him to show off his sharp wit.
Immediately before the performance of ‘The Murder of Gonzago’, Hamlet engages in sexual innuendo with Ophelia and clowns around by lying at her feet.
He then engages in black humour when toying with Rosencrantz and Claudius on the whereabouts of Polonius’ dead body, particularly when describing how Polonius is “At supper… Not where he eats, but where he is eaten.”

Comedy in Hamlet - Polonius, Osric & Gravediggers

Polonius is often the butt of Hamlet’s jokes. Osric is another comic creation. Shakespeare uses comedy to the most effect in the ‘graveyard scene’ (A5S1).

The mocking of Polonius

Some critics have suggested that Polonius can be seen as a traditional comic character – the interfering parent-figure who acts as a ‘block’ between the young lovers: Hamlet and Ophelia.
Hamlet seems to enjoy mocking him, even after he has killed him. Productions of the play often aim for laughs at Polonius’ expense, particularly during his long-winded speeches which even the queen seems to grow irritated by, pleading with him to get to the point.

Osric as a comic character

A stage direction in the first published version of the play describes him as a “braggart”, a recognisable comic type of the arrogant and pretentious young man.
Hamlet toys with Osric in the moments before his fencing match, mocking the young man’s inflated sense of importance.

Comedy in the graveyard scene

The lead gravedigger would have been played by Robert Armin, the new clown (or fool) at Shakespeare’s theatre company.
The role of the clown had been to simply cause laughter. Shakespeare gives his gravediggers a riddle, four songs and lots of witty dialogue to entertain his audience. However, Shakespeare uses the gravediggers to achieve something more sophisticated.

Gravediggers & death theme

Through their songs and dialogue, the gravediggers amplify what has now become a key theme of the play – the inevitability of death.
Hamlet has dwelt on suicide and death from A1S2. But it is only in his exchange with the lead gravedigger and his nonsense logic that Hamlet comes to accept death.

Helps Hamlet to accept death

The gravedigger is more than a match for Hamlet’s wit. Through his treatment of death as just another fact of life, Hamlet comes to accept death as the great leveller: we all, like Yorick, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar will all end up as dust.
Hamlet is now able to laugh at the absurdity of life and face up to his destiny.

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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