Hamlet Quote Essay

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"

-Marcellus

          This quote is important because it is the first instance where a character addresses the conflict in the story. Although the conflict is not directly addressed, it still notifies the reader that the plot is developing and a problem will soon present itself. 

          The quote is uttered by a somewhat of a minor character which is probably done on purpose by Shakespeare to open up the play for the major characters. The scene that follows (almost immediately after the quote) involves the ghost of King Hamlet and Prince Hamlet who further move the plot by creating the scheme to expose the corrupt King Claudius for all of his wrong-doings. It is almost as if the plot was a small pebble on the top of a massive snowy hill and Marcellus' quote was the small nudge to get it rolling into the monstrous snowball it became.

          Not only does the quote carry much meaning and purpose, it also has complex syntax and diction that contains even more significance. First off, the fact that Marcellus only says "something" and not a particular problem leaves a lot of space for the audience to picture what the story could unfold later on. Shakespeare was also very clever to have used the word "rotten" in the quote. Of course the figurative sense is aimed to mean that an element in the story is not as it should be, but there is also a very critical literal sense. The word "rot" originates as a Germanic word and refers to the decomposition of organic matter. By saying "something is rotten" there is a literal meaning that some sort of organic matter is decaying away. This of course refers to the body of King Hamlet, but the audience doesn't know the story behind that yet, which is what makes the quote so brilliant. The syntax of the sentence is also something to be analyzed as it is (like many of the sentences in the play) ordered unusually. "State" is meant as condition obviously, but there is a reason Shakespeare didn't put it, "Something about the state of Denmark is rotten." The original syntax of the quote casts a dark atmosphere on the play and sort of nudges the audience about the play being a tragedy.

HAMLET (THE MADMAN?)

Most people would consider a murderer to be a person of the deranged or insane, and most would be right. The act of murder, even out of a hot-blooded act, is see as a rash, sudden, and superfluous. In the tragedy of Hamlet by the world renown William Shakespeare, Hamlet is an extremely misunderstood man trying to avenge his father's tragic death while dealing with several other irritating problems, especially for a person of his age. While Hamlet may be a killer, his is certainly not nuts. If anything, he is a genius, and even shows his own side of Shakespeare.

Hamlet is a normal teenager much like the rest only with much bigger problems on his plate. Not only is he the former king's son, but his own mother decided to marry the same guy who killed his dad. Aside from that being an incredibly awkward dinner each night, that would take a serious mental toll on any adolescent. Emotions ranging from sadness to anger and to confusion, Hamlet has a lot going on in his head. It would be very understandable to see Hamlet lose his head and lash out on everyone and everything around him, yet, he manages to keep calm throughout the story and bottle his rage so he can formulate a plot to cleverly avenge his predecessor's death. Hamlet's ability to control his madness and lock it behind the curtains of his poker face is a major reason why he is not the madman most believe him to be.

Some may argue that Hamlet is indeed mad for the fact that he acts so strange to the other characters. For example, when Hamlet speaks to Lord Polonius about his daughter in Act II, Scene II. Hamlet acts so odd that is make Polonius say, "...he is far gone, far gone..." While most would argue that the text here is evidence of Hamlet's madness, Hamlet is merely using the mask of madness as a ploy. When around Horatio, or the actor later on in the play, he is completely normal and charismatic. He wants to make sure all of his enemies' guards are down for when he chooses to initiate his diabolical plan. Another argument could be made about Hamlet's reaction to when he kills Polonius. Rather than being shocked at the sight of a different man bleeding to his death, Hamlet's reaction is completely indifferent. Hamlet is more angry about Polonius' intrusion than frightened by how he just killed a man who he did not intend to. While one would say Hamlet is crazy for committing an act of such lunacy, I argue back that he is simply reacting to his environment and bodily emotions. When Hamlet finally talks to his mother about everything he has been bottling up inside him, he explodes in fury. Adrenalin took over as he spewed out vulgar words of hate and disgust giving his mother the thought that he was going to kill her. Hamlet had been so quiet and calm for so long that when he finally got to vent his emotions, he couldn't hold back, much like many other teenagers will tend to do when holding a certain emotion back for too long. So when Lord Polonius show up out of nowhere, Hamlet doesn't take it as much of a shock to see him fall to the ground after stabbing him to death. His eruption of anger, frustration, and adrenalin numbed his ability to empathize at all with the "wretched, rash, intruding fool."

Hamlet is a man with many problems and issues. His psychology however, is still sound. Although he may be a killer and a devious schemer, his "crafty madness" is what makes him such an intelligent character. He is mad, but he is not a madman.

Class Notes

Performative Utterances

• deBoer expands upon J.L Austin's theory of performativity and relating it to Hamlet
• Hamlet has a negative tone throughout the entire story
• When a thought or idea is made in the mind, actions are done to reinforce that that idea
• Hamlet is unsure about his destiny to kill Claudius and reinforces his uncertainty with the soliloquies he utters
• The paper is trying to explain how words can alter a personality or thought or idea
• Raises the question of who we are and if we can truly control our fate
• Polonius is the character who controls the traffic of language in the story and manipulates characters through verbal exchange
• The scene where Hamlet catches Claudius in prayer is important because it shows what Hamlet wants 
• Hamlet didn't kill Claudius yet because he wanted to kill him in a sinful act
• Claudius has sinned so his prayers are not valid to God but Hamlet doesn't want Claudius to die while committing a holy action
• Claudius was confessing his sins to God and how he felt guilty for his actions

Act III Notes

Scene I

• Polonius, Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, Gertrude and Ophelia are all together talking about Hamlet's madness
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern reveal that Hamlet has a lot of interest in the actors for the play which raises a red flag for Claudius although he does not know what Hamlet is is plotting, or if he is even plotting anything
• All but Ophelia exit as Hamlet enters without noticing that Ophelia's presence and delivers his "to be or not to be..." speech
• Hamlet has a short conversation with Ophelia in which he questions her thinking and pretty much leaves her confused
• Polonius and Claudius have been spying on the two, and when Hamlet exits, they come out, talk to Ophelia and decide to send Hamlet off on an educational trip put pf the country to save themselves from whatever trouble Hamlet may be devising

Scene II

• the play begins and Hamlet sits with his family and by Ophelia and has Horatio(who is in on Hamlet's plan) sits in a seat where he can easily observe the king's reaction to the play
• the play goes on and Claudius gets so angry at the play that he orders it to end and Hamlet and Horatio laugh aside from the scene
• After the play, Hamlet's mom wants to speak with him in the chamber and Hamlet plans to be very cold to his mother

Scene III

• Claudius furthers his plan to send Hamlet away to England by having Rosencrantz and Guildenstern give him a nicely written envelope granting Hamlets departure
• Hamlet knows what Claudius is trying to do and spies on Claudius who is praying and admitting to the fact that he killed Hamlet Sr.
• Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius but decides against it because Claudius is praying and will most likely be sent to heaven in the middle of a prayer and decides to kill him later when he is performing some other sinful act

Scene IV

• Hamlet goes to his mother's chamber to talk to her and Polonius hides to spy on them
• Gertrude starts to speak to Hamlet with authority but Hamlet replies back with more fury and scares her making her scream
• Polonius also screams for help and Hamlet hears the voice and thinks it is Claudius and stabs him through the curtain
• Polonius falls dead on the ground and Hamlet just calls him a "rash, intruding fool"
• Hamlet continues to talk to his mother comparing Claudius to Hamlet Sr. and condemning her for her foolish decisions
• The ghost of Hamlet Sr. shows up and sternly commands Hamlet to stop torturing his mother and to focus on the true objective: to kill King Claudius

The Performative Utterance Notes

• Hamlet is a very vocal character and is saying rather than doing for most of the play
• The performative ability of language is divided into three forces: locutionary(ability to deliver a message), illocutionary(what is done in being said), and the perlocutionary force(what is done in being said)
• Shakespeare's characters learn from their own utterances in a play
• The moment when Hamlet meets the ghost of his father is important because  it demonstrates how the "illocutionary force can influence or compel the prelocutionary force."
• Apparently, when the text is read closely, it is found that Hamlet doesn't necessarily swear to avenge his father
• "Hollow performatives" can still "spur" actions that can greatly affect the outside world
• "Hollow performatives" are performatives that don't have much reason behind them and are done with little motive
• The story of Hamlet is sometimes described as the play about a man who cannot make up his mind
• according to deBoer, Hamlet is a play about a man who could not make real what was found in his mind
• for much of the play Hamlet is able to speak but not do
• when instructing the players on how to act, Hamlet is insistent that they do not overact. He wants the passion to be smooth and sound unscripted. 
• this exemplifies the use of self performance to create a social context which supports a visage of sincerity. 
• to over do a self performance would be to undercut the socially excepted notion of a sincere emotional state, taking away your power to create a performative utterance that relies on a context of emotional appropriateness 
• as Hamlet is instructing the players to not overact he needs to be mindful to not overact himself, as he is putting on a show of madness. According to Hamlet, madness is defined by the kind of exaggerated actions in movements associated with poor acting or overacting
• Hamlet suggests that the goal of the theater has been to "hold up a mirror to nature"