‘Hamlet’ Act III Scene I
• Placing of “to be or not to be”: soliloquy is disputed, not sure where it initially
was placed.
• Fourth wall often challenged.
• Why is H so brutal towards O? The audience feels H and O are the tragic
victims of P’s interference and court machinations.
• H allows his views of G to taint his view of women in general? Mistrusts, his
concept of womanhood has been corrupted, awareness of being spied on?
• L36 “I shall obey you”: recurring phrase. Unpleasant thing for a mother to
have to agree to. Always spying. Corruption.
• L41 “To both your honours”: she has faith their relationship is worthwhile
approves → P tells O it won’t last.
• L42 “Ophelia, walk you here.”: objectified, chattle – used as a pawn.
• L46-8 “devotion’s visage / And pious action we do sugar o’er / The devil
himself”: hypocrisy. Deception – appearance of piety.
• SD “aside”: not to characters: speaking to the audience.
• L49 “conscience!”: not something you would associate with Cl – first mention
of it; he is showing guilt? G has shown guilt.
• L52 “my most painted word.”: ‘sees himself as the painted whore beneath
kingly-ness’.
• L53 “O heavy burden!”: weight of guilt.
• C and P spying on H while he gives a soliloquy would be unusual, so it
depends on directors’ interpretations whether they hear it or not.
• L58-61 “Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them;
to die: to sleep – / No more, and by a sleep to say we end / The heartache and
the thousand natural shocks”: lyrical → repetitive ‘s’ sound.
• L58 “Or”: not actually a choice because of impossibility.
• (Third soliloquy) L57/61/65/69/70/71/72/75/76/80/82/84 “slings and
arrows” / “heartache…natural shocks” / “death” / “whips and scorns” /
“oppressor” / “pangs” / “insolence…spurns” / “bodkin…fardels” / “grunt and
swear” / “ills” / “cowards” / “sicklied”: violent imagery of pain.
• L58 “take arms against a sea of troubles”: Caligula reference? (If so, so much
subject crossover it’s like my choices were fate). Impossibility, unachievable.
• L62 “consummation”: complete finality.
• L63 “to be wished – to die: to sleep –”: longing for his suffering to end. “self-
slaughter” is illegal and would send him to hell. What can one make of a life
of suffering? The unknown. The individual (disillusioned late Renaissance).
• L64 “To sleep, perchace to dream”: seductive draw of sleep; dream where he
does what he would like?
o L69 “bear the whips and scorns of time”: contrast; what he wants to
escape?
• Placing of “to be or not to be”: soliloquy is disputed, not sure where it initially
was placed.
• Fourth wall often challenged.
• Why is H so brutal towards O? The audience feels H and O are the tragic
victims of P’s interference and court machinations.
• H allows his views of G to taint his view of women in general? Mistrusts, his
concept of womanhood has been corrupted, awareness of being spied on?
• L36 “I shall obey you”: recurring phrase. Unpleasant thing for a mother to
have to agree to. Always spying. Corruption.
• L41 “To both your honours”: she has faith their relationship is worthwhile
approves → P tells O it won’t last.
• L42 “Ophelia, walk you here.”: objectified, chattle – used as a pawn.
• L46-8 “devotion’s visage / And pious action we do sugar o’er / The devil
himself”: hypocrisy. Deception – appearance of piety.
• SD “aside”: not to characters: speaking to the audience.
• L49 “conscience!”: not something you would associate with Cl – first mention
of it; he is showing guilt? G has shown guilt.
• L52 “my most painted word.”: ‘sees himself as the painted whore beneath
kingly-ness’.
• L53 “O heavy burden!”: weight of guilt.
• C and P spying on H while he gives a soliloquy would be unusual, so it
depends on directors’ interpretations whether they hear it or not.
• L58-61 “Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them;
to die: to sleep – / No more, and by a sleep to say we end / The heartache and
the thousand natural shocks”: lyrical → repetitive ‘s’ sound.
• L58 “Or”: not actually a choice because of impossibility.
• (Third soliloquy) L57/61/65/69/70/71/72/75/76/80/82/84 “slings and
arrows” / “heartache…natural shocks” / “death” / “whips and scorns” /
“oppressor” / “pangs” / “insolence…spurns” / “bodkin…fardels” / “grunt and
swear” / “ills” / “cowards” / “sicklied”: violent imagery of pain.
• L58 “take arms against a sea of troubles”: Caligula reference? (If so, so much
subject crossover it’s like my choices were fate). Impossibility, unachievable.
• L62 “consummation”: complete finality.
• L63 “to be wished – to die: to sleep –”: longing for his suffering to end. “self-
slaughter” is illegal and would send him to hell. What can one make of a life
of suffering? The unknown. The individual (disillusioned late Renaissance).
• L64 “To sleep, perchace to dream”: seductive draw of sleep; dream where he
does what he would like?
o L69 “bear the whips and scorns of time”: contrast; what he wants to
escape?
