Hamlet: Act IV
Episode 56
Professor Pipes is back for revenge! Revenge on the penultimate act of Shakespeare's timeless Hamlet, that is. Hamlet's exile to England begins, only to be cut short when he hitches a ride with some unusually cool and not murder-y off stage pirates. Claudius and Laertes plot to murder Hamlet thrice over with a stabbing and a double poisoning for good measure. Ophelia gets way too into flowers to distract herself from her father's death, but she ends up losing grip of her sanity, as well as a tree branch, leading to her death.
TRIGGER WARNING: Death, Murder, Death of a Parent, Mental Illness, Suicide
Transcript
Introduction:
Hello and welcome to Piper’s Paraphrases. I’m Professor Pipes, and today I’m here to tell you what NOT to do if your uncle killed your dad and married your mom. That is, I’m here to talk about Hamlet, specifically Act 4. And things are gonna get dark. And sad.
Previously:
Previously in Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s dad died and his ghost told Hamlet that the murderer was his uncle, Claudius, who married Hamlet’s mom and became king. Hamlet vowed revenge, but decided to “act crazy” to ensure that no one suspected his plans. Meanwhile, Claudius ordered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old friends of Hamlet, to take him to England. The king’s advisor, Polonius, made his daughter, Ophelia, break up with Hamlet while he and Claudius spied on them. Still unsatisfied with what Hamlet’s behavior could mean, Polonius told Gertrude to talk with her son while he hid. Unfortunately, Hamlet’s wild behavior caused Polonius to call out, and Hamlet killed him, thinking he was Uncle Claudius.
Plot Summary:
At the start of Scene 1, Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern walk into the crime scene that is Gertrude’s room, so she sends the loser lackeys away. Gertrude explains that Hamlet is “mad,” killed Polonius through the tapestry, and left to dispose of the body. Self-involved Claudius realizes his life is at stake, since he could have been behind the curtain, and he tells Gertrude they must send Hamlet away by dawn. He calls in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and tells them to find Hamlet and take the body to the chapel. In addition to worrying about his untimely demise, Claudius worries about how they’re going to tell everyone about Polonius’ death without facing any blame himself. Hmm… perfect reaction to your best bud’s murder.
Scene 2 begins after Hamlet hid the body. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come in and demand that Hamlet tell them where it is, aaaand he doesn’t. Instead, he makes his disdain for his former friends clear, calling them sponges that suck up everything Claudius says before he leaves them out to dry. Unsurprisingly, they don’t get it. Not the smartest sponges in Bikini Bottom. They order Hamlet to come with them to see the king, and he agrees, but then he’s like Sike! And runs away!
In Scene 3, Claudius explains to some attendants that he can’t just kill Hamlet, since he’s so popular, and instead plans to exile him. Aww, how merciful. Apparently Rosencrantz and Guildenstern won the game of tag, because they drag Hamlet in, but he still won’t say where the body of Polonius is. Instead he makes crass – yet witty – comments about rotting flesh and says they should seek Polonius in hell… And also the lobby. Claudius tells Hamlet that he’s shipping him off to England and hints that he has some secret plan at work. Hamlet leaves, and everyone else is sent to hurry him to the boat. Then Claudius reveals the secret plan: he’s sending a letter to the King of England telling him to kill Hamlet! Dun dun DUN!
In Scene 4, we meet Fortinbras. Wazzup. He sends a captain to remind the Danish – no, not that kind of Danish, Cooper – the Danish KING that he and his army are marching through Denmark. The captain runs into Hamlet and his ex-friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet asks where the troops are going, and the captain says that they’re headed to war with Poland over an admittedly tiny, worthless scrap of land. Great. As Rosencrantz and Guildenstern continue on, Hamlet lags behind and delivers another important soliloquy. He compares Fortinbras and his army, rushing onward for honor without any real reason, with himself, since he’s been stuck in thought instead of taking action and seeking revenge. Finally, he vows that from now on, his thoughts will be BLOODY!
Scene 5 starts with Gertrude refusing to see Ophelia. Rude! However, after someone explains that she’s mumbling to herself and making no sense, and after Horatio points out that Ophelia’s speech might freak people out, Gertrude reluctantly agrees. When Ophelia enters, it’s clear she’s in the midst of a mental break. She sings songs to herself about a lover and then about someone dead. Claudius comes in and assumes that Ophelia’s mental distress is because of her father’s death, and Ophelia continues singing, this time about a woman losing her virginity on Valentine’s Day. I got nothin’. Eventually she leaves and Horatio follows. Claudius laments about all the terrible things happening lately which are seriously stressing him out! Poor Claudius! *EYE ROLL* Just then, a messenger announces that Laertes is back and the people want him to be king! Better than Claudius. Laertes busts down the door and demands that Claudius give him his father! Claudius plays all calm and innocent like, “What’s up?” Suddenly, Ophelia enters again, starts passing out flowers, sings happily about death, and leaves. Claudius just skips right over this and says that Laertes can have his revenge. Uh oh.
In Scene 6, Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet, who explains that their ship to England was attacked by pirates, and he was taken hostage, but they took pity on him and are bringing him home. Convenient. He goes on to say that an enclosed letter should be given to the king and that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are still on their way to England. He asks Horatio to hurry up and come to him, since he has lots more tea to spill. Exciting!
Scene 7 begins with Laertes and Claudius talking about Hamlet. Laertes wonders why Claudius didn’t have him killed, but Claudius claims that his love for his wife is so strong that he just couldn’t bear to hurt her. Also, the commoners love him. He leaves out his murder plan. Must have forgotten! Just then, a messenger arrives with Hamlet’s letter, which announces that he’s back, baby! So Laertes and Claudius plot his murder. But wait – I thought you loved your wife too much to do that! Claudius says that Laertes should challenge Hamlet to a fencing duel, but should sharpen his own sword so he can “accidentally” stab and kill Hamlet. Whoops! Laertes loves the idea and decides that he’ll also poison the tip of his sword. Finally, just to be super duper sure that they’ll kill him, Claudius says that he’ll poison Hamlet’s drink. Mwahaha! Then Gertrude enters and announces that Ophelia drowned after falling from a branch into a brook. Laertes leaves, totally heartbroken, and Claudius and Gertrude follow.
Characterization:
Gertrude is really not so great in this act. She doesn’t want to see Ophelia after her dad died and she kind of seems to value her husband over her son. She doesn’t object to his exile, and when Laertes comes in clearly ready to attack Claudius, she literally holds him back, risking her own life. When Claudius admits that Polonius is dead, she quickly says that Claudius didn’t kill him. She’s also still onstage when Claudius tells Laertes that he’ll have his revenge… At least she kind of feels guilty, saying “To my sick soul (as sin’s true nature is) / Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss.”
In this act, Claudius is as selfish and villainous as ever. When he learns about Polonius’ death, his first reaction is to point out “It had been so with us, had we been there,” suggesting that his only concern is his own safety. Then he asks, “Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answered? / It will be laid to us,” meaning his next worry is that he’ll be blamed for the death of Polonius, since he should have dealt with Hamlet sooner. And even though Claudius tells his wife that his plan is to send Hamlet away, he secretly plans to have him killed, and when that doesn’t work, he comes up with a new murder plot with Laertes, and he makes sure that Laertes is the one who will physically commit the murder, leaving himself blameless.
Laertes, meanwhile, serves as a foil to Hamlet in this act. While Hamlet is still lost in thought, Laertes immediately takes action to honor his father by avenging his death. He literally breaks through the doors like a dang superhero with a mob of followers ready to attack the king. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes isn’t worried about the morality of his decision, even saying, “Vows, to the blackest devil! / Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! / I dare damnation.” And when he learns that Hamlet killed his dad, Laertes immediately works to figure out a revenge plan with Claudius.
Meanwhile, it has taken four acts for Hamlet to declare, “Oh, from this time forth, / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” In other words, he’s finally ready to take action and avenge his father’s death. This act also shows increasingly callous behavior from Hamlet. Even Gertrude said that after Hamlet killed Polonius in act 3, “He [wept] for what is done,” but now he doesn’t seem to feel bad about it at all. He hides the body and, for unknown reasons, decides to keep its location a secret. He calls his former friends foolish and looks down on them, asking “What replication should be / made by the son of a king?” Then he’s particularly cruel when he talks about Polonius’ death, saying he’s at supper. Supper for worms and maggots. He describes in disgusting detail how we all will eventually be eaten by worms, which are eaten by fish, eaten by people, so “a king may go a progress / through the guts of a beggar.” Hamlet also basically tells Claudius to go to hell, saying that’s where he can look for Polonius.
Analysis:
This act is all about Thought vs Action and Honor. Several characters are placed in contrast with Hamlet, since they choose to take action, while he’s still enveloped in his thoughts and moral dilemma. Laertes is quick to anger, saying, “That drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard,” meaning that if he could be even a little bit calm, it would mean he wasn’t his father’s son. He must seek Revenge immediately in order to honor his father. Similarly, when he’s reflecting on Fortinbras, Hamlet points out that “Rightly to be great / Is not to stir without great argument, / But greatly to find quarrel in a straw / When honor’s at the stake.” In other words, greatness is not about taking action for no good reason, but instead about defending your honor even if the cause seems trivial. Even though “Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats” might be lost in the war with Poland, he’s impressed with Fortinbras’ choice to take action, since it’s not about the land; it's about his honor. Meanwhile, Hamlet knows that he has good reasons to fight, but hasn’t done anything. He decides that his “thoughts will be bloody,” but that’s exactly the problem. His thoughts have been bloody, but his actions haven’t been.
Next up, we have Mental Health and Grief. We see three people dealing with grief and loss, and all three react very differently. Laertes gets mad in the way we’d use the word today. He’s angry and immediately wants revenge. He’s all about an eye for an eye and wants to kill the killer. Hamlet seems to be spiraling. Sometimes his behavior seems manic or even purposeless, like hiding the body of Polonius and refusing to say where it is, even when he’s told that they want to take it to the chapel. Is he in some way hiding from his own guilt? He treats it almost like a game, running away at the end of the act and calling for them to chase him. Hamlet also seems to know what Claudius has planned for him in England, and yet he agrees to go and even boards the ship after he decides to get revenge. Has he accepted his own death instead? He has kind of retreated from the world into his thoughts and certainly is wracked with guilt, not so much for killing Polonius, but instead for not having killed Claudius yet. He points out that he has “a father killed, a mother stained, / Excitements of my reason and my blood, / And let all sleep.” By the end of the act, his grief and concerns about honor have made him decide that, like Laertes, he has to seek revenge. Finally, Ophelia grieves for her father and her relationship with Hamlet, as evidenced by her songs about both death and unrequited love. Her response to these losses could be characterized as psychosis or a mental breakdown, as she has mostly lost touch with reality. She doesn’t really respond to what others are saying. She sings about death with traditionally happy lyrics, like “Hey, non nonny, nonny.” She hands out flowers to everyone, and often this is staged with her imagining the flowers, handing out thin air, as further evidence of her difficulty separating fantasy from reality. And although Gertrude says that Ophelia fell in the water when a branch broke, her death might have been a suicide, given her fragile mental state and the fact that, instead of trying to swim or get out of the water, she “chanted snatches of old lauds / As one incapable of her own distress.” Either she could not recognize the danger or she intentionally gave in to it. Unfortunately, Ophelia is a completely innocent victim of Hamlet’s reaction to grief and plans for revenge.
Now let’s talk some more about Ophelia’s Flowers. Now you might be thinking, “A rose is a rose” as you buy your partner flowers from the grocery store, but different flowers actually have different traditional meanings, and a bouquet could provide a sort of hidden message back during Shakespeare’s time, so let’s take a look at their meanings. When she discusses rosemary, she mentions that they are for remembrance, and says “Pray you, love, remember.” She could be offering these to her brother, whom she loves, or the absent Hamlet, whom she wants to remember her, especially considering that rosemary was often associated with both weddings and funerals. Pansies, which she mentions next, represented thoughts or remembrance as well. She next gives someone both fennel and columbine, both of which have negative meanings: flattery and disloyalty or cheating. Are they given to Claudius because he betrayed his brother and seduced Gertrude? Or are they given to Gertrude for her disloyalty to her first husband and son? Daisies are symbolic of innocence. She doesn’t specifically mention giving it to anyone, so she might be suggesting that no one is innocent. However, she could also be keeping the flower for herself, the innocent victim, or her brother, who hasn’t done anything wrong… yet. Different colors of violets have different meanings, including faithfulness, innocence, and thoughts of love. She says that they withered when her father died, which makes sense since his death meant that her lover, Hamlet, betrayed her and is no longer innocent. Now to rue, the most interesting one. It’s also known as the “herb of grace,” as Ophelia says, and different sources suggest it was used for protection, something they all need. However, it also symbolizes regret. Again, most of the characters should be filled with regret, so it could be given to anyone. Ophelia also keeps one for herself, and mentions that the two people who wear the rue will do so for different reasons. Ophelia might regret her relationship with Hamlet, but she might also be referencing the fact that rue can cause a miscarriage and, historically, was used to end unwanted pregnancies. We know that Hamlet made lots of sexual references to Ophelia, and she herself sang “Then up he rose, and donned his clothes, / And dupped the chamber door, / Let in the maid that out a maid / Never departed more.” Her song could be about her own relationship with Hamlet, especially since she uses the first person “I” to describe the maid. It is possible that she is pregnant, and she’s been abandoned by Hamlet. Unmarried mothers were seen as shameful and might be disowned by their families. Sadly, this might have been a contributing factor in Ophelia’s death.
Food for Thought:
Before we get to the final act of the play, I’ll leave you with some food for thought.
First, there’s been a lot of discussion of death, decay, and rot throughout the play, including Hamlet’s vivid description of worms eating corpses. Why do you think it’s used so much? What is the effect of such imagery?
Second, consider Gertrude’s role in Act 4. How does her behavior and dialogue contribute to our understanding of her character and her relationships with other characters?
Third, how has Hamlet changed throughout the play? In what ways has he become more of an anti-hero than a traditional hero?
Fourth, consider how “madness” is portrayed by both Hamlet and Ophelia in this act. In what ways are their portrayals different, and what thematic purpose might this serve?
Finally, consider the meanings of the different flowers Ophelia mentions. How would you stage that scene? Would you use real flowers or have her imagine them? To whom would she give each flower and why?
Thanks for watching this episode of Piper’s Paraphrases. Now go forth, read a bunch, and be good people who don’t plot murder.
Resources for Flower Information:
*The Illuminated Language of Flowers, by Jean Marsh and Kate Greenway
“Ruta graveolens” on Wikipedia
*Note: This book is from the 1800’s, but many of these floral “meanings” date back hundreds of years
