Hamlet thread is here... Some readings to start you off:
Readings:
“Corruption” Readings:-The Malevolent UniverseThe Ghost: The vision of humanity of the universe in Denmark is one immersed in an abominable horror. Far from the divine sight of “angels” at Hamlet’s end, the universe presented in Hamlet’s encounters with his surroundings and the Ghost are characterised merely by the unholy “witchcraft of wit” and “garbage”, and as the Ghost infuses Hamlet’s “whole ear” with words as poisonous as that which caused his death, what Shakespeare depicts on-stage seems almost a parody of any essential grandeur which mankind may hope to find. For Hamlet himself, the audience recognizes that there is furthermore nowhere to be safe in the physical and the metaphysical properties of the universe, and just as the Ghost is confined to the shadows in the face of “the morning air”, so too is Hamlet a victim in the corrupt state of the world around him. For humanity, the implication is thus: in merely existing, there is no light to be found. Instead, the universe is a cesspool of darkness, a landscape tying its inhabitants to a flux of hopelessness.
-The Corrupt Physical WorldAct 3, Scene 1: In instances such as Ophelia’s allusion to divinity in “O heavenly powers, restore him!” and “O, help him, you sweet heavens!”, the audience understands that for Hamlet to overcome the foul state of his surroundings, what is needed is a transcendence into a realm beyond the defiled state around him; by remaining merely in the confines of Denmark, Hamlet will only fall further into insanity, as the increasingly chaotic events of the play explicate to the abhorrent state of Hamlet’s surroundings. By extension then, Shakespeare is constructing the very essence of humanity’s own leap beyond mere understanding: the audience is made to realise that like Hamlet himself, mankind’s only security in existence is through bridging the realms of the physical and the metaphysical. Hamlet is thus endorsing the role of the ethereal, with the resplendent purity of the spiritual realm being the only means of overcoming the defilement of mankind’s chaotically uncertain universe.
Act 4, Scene 7: Beyond merely presenting a foil to Hamlet in the reappearance of Laertes, Act 4 is crafting the path towards transcendence. Although not yet appearing, the “sudden and strange return” of Hamlet will bring with it an escape from the sheer malevolence existing within Denmark. Far from the dark corruption of Claudius and Laertes, the “naked” Hamlet which is yet to come is emblematic of the true nature of grandeur in humanity, a removal from physical defilement into something beyond the unholy influence of a sinful state and a vile King. As the action of Hamlet shifts from the chaos of plotting and hatred to the transformation of the returning Hamlet, the splendour humanity may attain within its spiritual purity is thus revealed, with the signals of providence which are yet to come alluding to the essence of mankind’s existence.
“Human Condition” Readings:-The Search for the Self“To thine own self be true”: Hamlet is indicating the nature of humanity’s search for the self. Polonius’ ultimate maxim, “This above all: to thine own self be true” embodies perhaps the greatest tragedy prevalent throughout Hamlet: from Laertes to Polonius to even the off-stage Dane, there is a continual and mostly ineffectual search for the true essence of the individual, made all the more futile by the hypocrisy within his words being so prevalent. In all this, Shakespeare is effectively alerting to the audience the cause for much of the play’s failure and death, with characters’ lack of self-awareness continually causing the chaos of much of the play. The failure of humanity thus lies in its inability to comprehend the very nature of its soul; as Shakespeare purports, it is only with an authentic and coherent notion of the self that mankind is capable of realising the wonder within its very existence.
-A Reality of ChaosClaudius and Diplomacy: Within Claudius’ illegitimate rule over Denmark, Shakespeare is embodying the very ambiguity which characterises human experience. Throughout Hamlet, Claudius’s continual attempts towards establishing order are futile; come the play’s denouement, all of his machinations will fall apart, and his kingdom is left ultimately left in tatters by forces beyond his control. And it is this which acts to produce much of the tragedy of Denmark, with Hamlet and Claudius being unable to see the dire consequences which their actions will produce and with all actions marking a step into the unknown. As Hamlet reflects, humanity is thus a victim of the chaotic caprices of its universe, unable to attain any certainty with its experience in living being marked only by murkiness and an unforeseeable future.
-The Quintessence of Dust“What a piece of work is a man!”: Hamlet’s speech to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is essentially exploring the banalities of, and the need for transcendence from a purely physical existence. Hamlet’s dissatisfaction is built merely upon a lack of wonder in his immediate reality: with the earth reduced to the image of a “sterile promontory”, the mankind which Hamlet represents is left with nothing. Instead, a move to the realms of the internal and the metaphysical leads to the greater fulfilment of being: just as Hamlet places “apprehension” as being more glorious than “action”, so too does the audience realise that the splendour of thought is a more majestic triumph for man than the impotence of merely having “form and moving”. An entirely corporal existence is thus the grounds for an existence as mere dust: as Shakespeare exemplifies within Hamlet, the truly magnificent state of humanity is in a sighting of the faculties of mind, for it is only in the art of thinking that mankind attains its place as the paragon of animals.
“Observation” Readings:-Surveying Reality Act 1 Scene 1: The opening of the play is essentially elaborating upon the discrepancy between the physical and the metaphysical. Just as Horatio, the human scholar, is “dumb to” the Ghost, so too is the Ghost unable to coexist with the inhabitants of Denmark. Shakespeare is thus constructing a set of incompatible antitheses, denied the harmony of peace in the presence of one another. Of course, this separates the spiritual from the natural; beyond this, however, the audience further understands that the totality of Denmark is self-conflicting, its subject making a “malicious mockery” of one another. Denmark thus acts as a microcosm for the macrocosm of the universe: just as Horatio can do nothing but “impart…Unto young Hamlet” what he has witnessed, so too is humanity itself made a fool by the incomprehensible state of its reality, where the natural meets the unnatural, where the tangible meets the intangible, and where the body meets the soul.
-Observation and Understanding Act 2-4: Hamlet is a critique of surveillance, reflecting the inability of humanity to discern meaning in a universe governed by physicality. The continual hypothesising of Claudius, Polonius and Gertrude throughout the play of Hamlet’s condition is simply a subset of the cat-and-mouse between Hamlet’s observations and the court’s; what is lacking in this case, however, is the source itself. In no way are the internalised thoughts of Hamlet unveiled to anybody other than himself, and ultimately, it appears foolish to even consider plucking out the heart of Hamlet’s mystery from the empiricism of Denmark. By remaining strictly in the corporal, mankind is hence unable to glean the essence of its surroundings; the truth of the universe is a realm unsuited to the gaze of the eyes, instead necessitating the guidance of the metaphysical soul.
“Eloquent music”: In the greater scheme of Hamlet, what is thus established is the sublime intricacies of reality beyond the scope of empirical apprehension: in having Hamlet speak the words “You would pluck out the heart of my mystery”, Shakespeare is alerting to his audience the mystery of not only Hamlet, but also of life itself, in a universe which obfuscates its subjects through the acting of Polonius, Guildenstern, and even Hamlet in the company of others. And in this light, the creation of understanding is as intangible as the “eloquent music” which Hamlet alludes to in Act 3 Scene 3, existing within a plane transcendent from the baseness of physicality and the manipulative probing within society. Purely observing hence amounts to nothing more than misunderstanding: as the failure of Denmark within Hamlet exemplifies, the empiricism of the universe is rendered impotent without an understanding of the realm of the spiritual.
“Balance” Readings:-The Bridge between Antithetical Realms
“O that this too too solid flesh would melt”: Although there is a level of progress within Hamlet’s transition from the corruption of Denmark into the sanctum of his mind, there is resplendence yet to be discovered within the combination of the material and the immaterial. Just as an entirely physical reality “cannot come to good”, so too can Hamlet find no solace within thinking “Let me not think on’t”. Instead, what is needed is moderation and temperance gained from the matter of the universe, and as the audience witnesses Hamlet’s transformation from this particular wretched vision of suffering, so too do they realise that there is yet goodness to be found in the base foundations of the earth. Synthesis, combining the spiritual with the tangible, is thus the cornerstone of human fulfilment: like Hamlet, mankind will only find its enlightenment through an acknowledgement of both “heaven and earth”.
“O what a rogue and peasant slave am I”: Although Hamlet is safe from the corruptive forces Claudius represents within the confines of his mind, there is nevertheless recognisable weakness on his behalf in the preoccupation with the mythological “Hecuba” and with the moral implications of his actions. It is from this point visible to the audience that Hamlet must in fact return to some extent to the baseness of the earth, and rather than merely criticise the bestiality of “A stallion”, it seems prudent for Hamlet to consider the merit in approaching the nature of the physical universe. The resplendence of humanity thus necessitates more than its contact with the realms of the transcendental; instead, lest it fall into chaos, the human reality of the earth must be considered in tandem with “heaven and hell”.
“How all occasions do inform against me”: Rather than channel energies into the purely physical or the immaterial, Hamlet purports an amalgamation between mind and matter is the basis for wonder in human existence. Hamlet’s paradoxical exclamation “My thoughts be bloody” within Act 4 Scene 4 suggests neither a keen indulgence in thinking nor a reckless abandon to arms; instead, transcendence is brought about through acknowledging the merits of both “capability and godlike reason” within the universe. Freed from his prison of Denmark, and no longer relying on the sanctuary of his internalised thoughts, the Hamlet following his encounter with Fortinbras, as constructed by Shakespeare, is ready to be apotheosised and prepared to confront the fate which awaits him in the silence of the play’s denouement: the audience thus acknowledges that, like Hamlet, humanity must reconcile the physical and the metaphysical, for it is only with understanding of both that the zenith of reality may manifest in its absolute majesty.
“Hamlet the Dane”: Rather than channel energies entirely into the material or the immaterial, Hamlet hence purports an amalgamation between mind and matter is the basis for wonder in human existence. Hamlet’s following his exclamation “I will fight with him” merely with the hypothetical “Woo’t weep? Woo’t fight?” suggests neither indulgence in thinking nor a reckless abandon to arms; instead, the establishing of Hamlet’s identity, “Hamlet the Dane”, has come about from his melding of his internal authenticity with the realm of the purely physical. And it is this Hamlet who is finally ready to be apotheosised and prepared to confront the fate which awaits him in the silence of the play’s denouement: the audience thus acknowledges that, like Hamlet, humanity must reconcile the physical and the metaphysical, for it is only with understanding of both that the zenith of reality may manifest in its absolute majesty.
“Sanctuary” Readings-The Sanctuary of the Mind“O that this too too solid flesh would melt” or “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I” or “Now might I do it pat”: Although the audience is witnessing grief on stage in Hamlet’s first four soliloquies, the ultimate understanding brought about by them is one of transcendence: beyond the horrific visions of reality presented in the corruption of Denmark, and beyond the forced dialogue in the presence of the court, the soliloquizing Hamlet is an image of the soul itself, untouched and revolted by the brutal universe around it. Hamlet’s tortured remarks and continual delays are not simply signs of a weak and inactive will; rather, Shakespeare is crafting the nature of the mankind, whose solace is found only within a retreat from the darkness of the immortalities of revenge and the world, into the sincerity of the self. It is in knowing this that Hamlet’s relentless melancholy becomes paradoxically emblematic of triumph in the course of human existence: the audience understands that only in the sanctuary of the mind can the soul attain its authenticity, untainted in its wholesome majesty.
“To be or not to be”: In portraying Hamlet’s ponderings, Shakespeare is envisioning transcendence. Although he is yet continually questioning in asking “To be, or not to be”, the more profound ambiguities of existence which Hamlet is encountering within his mind are playing towards the fundamental properties of humanity – death, and being. The audience furthermore recognizes that Hamlet, in his declaration “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all”, is not only expressing a tortured disdain for the mind, but also affirming human experience itself, acknowledging that mankind’s infinite apprehension is the only finite within the course of human experience; beyond the horrific visions of Denmark’s chaos and the observing forces of Claudius and Polonius, this soliloquizing Hamlet is then an image of the soul itself, a realm safe and consolidated within its metaphysical ponderings, and rightfully disinterested in the matters of the purely physical world. It is in knowing this that Hamlet’s relentless melancholy becomes paradoxically emblematic of triumph in the course of human existence: the audience understands that it is only in the sanctuary of the mind that the soul can reach its authenticity, untainted and pure.
“Transcendence” Readings:-Providence“Let be”: The discussions prior to the final duel with Laertes act as an acknowledgement of majesty in the realm of human existence, constructing in Hamlet the essence of otherworldly enlightenment. Appealing to a higher plane in his allusion to “special providence”, Hamlet has recognised the impotence of his own being under the almighty control of causality; paradoxically, however, it is only with this acknowledgement that Hamlet is able to come to any sense of certainty, and with the words “Let be”, Shakespeare is characterising a man who is finally willing to act and fulfil his destiny. Hamlet is thus raised to the zenith of human existence, for in the knowledge of the metaphysical will, mankind is apotheosised, acting no longer within the mere framework of mortality, but rather, under the majestic divinity of fate itself.
-Death“Alas, poor Yorick!”: Between the frailty of humanity’s state throughout the play, Hamlet’s experience in the graveyard an affirmation of the resplendence inherent to the force of living – ironically, death. Having travelled and contemplated the “fellow [with] no feeling of his business” – the Gravedigger -, Hamlet has now come to the understanding that the realm he once feared is the realm of his solace. Upon overcoming the preoccupation with the physical and the metaphysical, with an acceptance of life’s end – embodied on-stage as the Clown “throws up another skull” for Hamlet to contemplate – the Dane is ready to embrace his fate, leaving his being to the controlling will which hangs in the form of mortality. And it is with this recognition that Hamlet is raised to the zenith of human existence, for in the knowledge of life’s end, mankind can sleep easy, even in its quietus.
“The rest is silence”: More than simply “silence”, the ultimate fate of mankind is thus a reality of wonders.
Having transcended the scope of the abominable universe, the deceased Hamlet is now able to rest easy, presented by Shakespeare as sanctified in his intangible finality. And whilst Horatio’s determination to “Truly deliver” Hamlet’s story seems distorted by the mythology Hamlet has left in his wake, this very fact means that the majesty of Hamlet’s death has essentially bridged human experience and the world of the metaphysical. Raised to the zenith of humanity’s existence by the synthesis of his corporal mortality and an otherworldly spirituality, the death of Hamlet is thus set to lead him into an immortal apotheosis. Likewise, the audience is made to confront the paradoxical nature of its own reality, accepting that in the solitude of death, wherein the finite human soul is rendered infinite, mankind is left only to bask in its essential majesty.
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