Hi everyone,
Here’s my rough Act III notes, just to help you remember what is going on….
Hamlet Act III Notes…
III.i
This scene opens with Hamlet’s good buddies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern reporting back to the King and Queen that they can not find out the cause of Hamlet’s madness (III.i.5+). It is a crafty kind of madness, apparently.
They also note that Hamlet got excited about the players coming to town and invite the King and Queen to the play. The King makes and ironic move here in stating they should encourage him to go ahead with the play. I think we all know why it is ironic…
The King and Polonius put their little plot into action by letting Ophelia loose and watching from hiding. I find it interesting to note that Ophelia is actually in on this plot (41+)…hmmm….perhaps she isn’t as innocent as she seems to be…
The King also makse an aside suggesting he is feeling a little guilty (59-60)
Hamlet makes his great and famous ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy (63+), I wish I could think like that out loud! WOW! He spots Ophelia and then we have this strange interaction between them where it seems that for the first part Hamlet is acting umm…real, then he seems to notice someone, or this is implied, that is spying, and gets suspicious…up comes the ‘mad’ Hamlet again and Hamlet goes on about telling Ophelia to ‘get thee to a nunnery’ (131) – a nasty pun with two very different meanings!
Ophelia agrees that he is mad (162)
The King seems to think that it isn’t love that made Hamlet mad, but sees finding it out as being very dangerous (178-80)-> This is where the great idea of shipping him off to England is introduced (for what seems to be nice reasons}. Why not, I say!
Polonius also puts his bothering nose into the action again by saying he will easedrop on Hamlet and Gertrude when they have a discussion. He seems to suspect that Mom’s opinion may be clouded by her love for Hamlet.
III.ii
This opens with Hamlet giving some great stage directions or ‘how to act without overdoing it’ to the players.
He also enlists his buddy, Horatio, to observe Claudius during the play so they can compare notes at the end (III.ii.77+).
We have the dumb-show…sort of a ‘whats coming up’ kind of thing, then the real play takes place. During the play, Hamlet makes some very snide and not nice comments to Ophelia (150ish).
The King’s reaction is a classic! Hamlet and Horatio meet to compare notes, which are very similar….
there is also mention of Hamlet being next in line for the throne (334-5)
Hamlet meets with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and basically reveals he knows they are playing him for a fool and informing on him (350) Then we have a bit with Polonius and Hamlet where Polonius goes along with everything Hamlet says…everything…like a little puppet.
At the end of this scene, Hamlet states his intentions for his mom: he will convict her of her wrong, but not harm her (381+)
III.iii
The King enlists Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to go with Hamlet to England. He seems to feel threatened by Hamlet and his actions (III.iii.5+)
The King lets on that he is guilty and makes reference to the sin of Cain…aha!!! (39+) He questions if there is grace for him when he is still enjoying the fruits of his sin…Can’t ask for forgiveness when he still holds onto this.
Another irony: Hamlet enters upon the king ‘trying’ to pray and almost does him in right there!! But reconsiders as this would let him go to heaven with a clean conscience .
III.iv
Hamlet chats it up with mom…well, more like fights it up with her. A big blow out about how she is married to his Uncle, especially so soon after Hamlet’s dad was killed.
In the midst of it all, we have Polonius hidden and listening in…there is this part where Gertrude says something to the effect of ‘are you going to kill me?’ and Polonius reacts…Hamlet, thinking it is Claudius, runs him through with his sword. Exit Polonius.
Hamlet really encourages his mom to stay away from Claudius, even telling her to not go to bed with him or have sex with him anymore….
We also have another appearance from the ghost, which Hamlet sees, but Gertrude does not…this seems to solidify his insanity in her head, as he appears to be seeing things. The ghost encourages Hamlet to talk nicely to his mom.
Hamlet leaves dragging the body of Polonius behind him…
