Hamlet, Act Three, Scenes 3 and 4

1. The play scene is a turning point because this is when it begins to become clear to other characters that Hamlet knows something he's not letting on. This is also the part where we understand that Claudius did indeed murder Old Hamlet as he all but admits it.

2.

Exposition: We are introduced to many of the important characters including, but not limited to, Hamlet, the Ghost, Horatio, Marcellus, Francisco, Barnardo, Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, and Gertrude. We learn from Horatio some of the history of Denmark and the events leading up to the story. Upon entering the wedding scene we are informed that Claudius has married Gertrude and Hamlet is not happy about this at all. We are also introduced to the ghost and the idea that he will not speak to anyone except Hamlet.

Inciting Event: The ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered Old Hamlet.

Rising Action: Hamlet fakes crazy. Hamlet stages the mousetrap play to see Claudius's reaction. Hamlet renounces all love for Ophelia. Hamlet gives up the chance to kill a praying Claudius event though it would be easy.

Scene 3

1. Claudius asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet away to England because, after seeing the play within a play, he knows that Hamlet means to avenge the murder of his father.

2. Polonius plans to spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude.

3.

a. He expresses guilt, remorse, and grief over the murder he has committed. This is the first we see of this in the play.

b. He claims he wants forgiveness, yet does not want to give up what he "earned" from the murder, meaning the kingship and marriage to the queen.

c. He begins to pray, making him an easy target for Hamlet.

4. This is odd because praying shows some type of remorse for his sin, a thing which Hamlet did not believe Claudius possessed. Also, Hamlet believes that this means Claudius might still go to Heaven.

5. Hamlet does not take this opportunity for revenge because he sees that Claudius is praying. He believes that if he murders Claudius now, the man will go to Heaven and live a much better eternity than the ghost he believes to be his father who is seemingly stuck in purgatory. He prefers to wait until Claudius is doing something bad like drinking or having sex to kill him, ensuring that he goes to Hell.

Scene 4

1. Polonius tells Gertrude to really lay into Hamlet. To let him know that his pranks have caused way too much trouble already and he should be ashamed of himself and stop it. He tells her to be blunt with Hamlet.

2. He is saying he believes he hears a rat (spy) behind the curtain, and that he's betting it's a dead rat now. This means his is about to kill the person behind the curtain. He also thinks it's Claudius, or so we are led to believe.

3. He's saying that what he did to Polonius was only almost as bad as what she did by killing Old Hamlet and marrying his brother. He is trying to see what her reaction is and use it to discern whether she was in on the murder of his father or not. It's also odd that the line rhymes, but that's not the answer you were looking for.

4. She is trying to declare her innocence and reestablish her dominance in the mother/son relationship. She's letting him know that she hasn't done anything wrong so he has no right to speak to her that way.

5. He claims that his father looks kind and gentlemanly. Extremely handsome, like a god. He uses many gods such as Mercury, Hyperion, and Jupiter to describe his father. By comparison, he describes Claudius as a moldy ear of corn infecting the good one.

6. He makes the point that Gertrude's first husband was a much better man in every way and that she took a huge step down by making the error in judgment of marrying Claudius.

7. Well, it's disturbing because it's gross. Back then, this marriage would have been considered incest, which is disgusting. It implies that the sexual relationship between Gertrude and Claudius is unnatural and repulsive.

8. The appearance of the ghost stops Hamlet's rant. The figure basically tells Hamlet to regain focus and remember his original mission.

9. In lines 155-157 Hamlet talks about how forming habits can sometimes be a bad thing and sometimes be a good thing. He says that "That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat of habits, is angel yet in this: that to the use of actions fair and good he likewise gives a frock or livery that is aptly put on". This reflects his madness in that he seems to no longer understand what is a good habit and what is a bad one. He claims that you can form habits that allow you to do evil things without remorse, and that this is a bad thing, yet he's just killed Polonius and certainly doesn't seem very guilty. Even after he's said all this, he is still planning to kill Claudius.

10. In act one, the ghost is trying to explain what happened when Claudius murdered Old Hamlet, and that's about it. In act three, the ghost reminds Hamlet that he wants to kill Claudius to avenge his father. He becomes really pushy about this. This reflects Hamlet's madness in that only he can see the ghost this time, leading us to believe it's not really there. In which case, Hamlet is using the ghost of his "father" as an excuse to kill Claudius. This proves that by this point he is no longer acting and has actually gone crazy.