ACT III, 3: MY OFFENCE IS RANK
In the beginning of the third scene, Claudius informs Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that they are to take Hamlet to England immediately. Claudius, of course, was deeply troubled by the performance of The Mousetrap, and he most likely suspects that Hamlet is aware of his terrible crime. So, Claudius would most certainly wish to remove Hamlet from Denmark so that the prince will not reveal the crime. Yet, removing Hamlet is also a wise political decision. Claudius also does believe that Hamlet is quite mad. So, the removal of a madman from the court is not only a wise move for those in the palace. Such a decision is also a wise one for all of Denmark.
Problems in the court do affect all of the country.
The spying theme is also repeated in the scene. Polonius comes to Claudius to inform him that Hamlet will be visiting his mother in her chamber (line 28). The advisor then adds that he will hide behind a screen or tapestry (“arras”) and listen to what Hamlet says to Gertrude. Once again, the supposedly wise advisor is making a very unwise decision; for his spying will lead to his own death. After Polonius exits, a soliloquy spoken by Claudius follows (beginning in line 36). The reader should keep in mind that a soliloquy represents the innermost thoughts of the speaker. The soliloquy informs the audience what the speaker is thinking. Claudius clearly admits his guilt. He admits that he killed his brother (fratricide). Following Christian belief, Claudius is aware that such a sin is one of the worst in the eyes of God. Claudius asserts that such a sin has “the primal eldest curse upon’t” (37). This is a Biblical allusion to the Cain and Abel story that appears in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Cain killed his brother Abel out of envy, and God cursed him and banished him from society. Claudius, too, killed his brother out of envy as well. Now Claudius regrets his sin. It troubles him deeply.
According to Christian belief, any sin can be forgiven. God’s mercy is infinite. But in order to be forgiven, one must be truly sorry for that sin. Being truly sorry also means being willing to give up whatever one gained by the sin. If somebody steals a car, he must return that car if he wishes for God to forgive him. If he keeps the car, then he is not truly sorry for his sin. Similarly, Claudius is not truly sorry for murdering his brother, not according to Christian standards, because Claudius does not want to give up what he has gained by the murder: “my crown, mine own ambition, and my queen” (55). Claudius likes being king, he likes having power, and he likes being married to Gertrude. He is unwilling to give these up. From a Christian perspective, he is a weak man who chooses sin over God.
ACT III, 3: VENGEANCE AGAINST
BODY AND SOUL
At the end of the third scene, Hamlet arrives, hot for vengeance. He is ready to kill Claudius. But then he sees that Claudius is kneeling down. Hamlet thinks that Claudius is praying to God and asking for forgiveness. And Hamlet believes that God has forgiven him. So, Hamlet does not kill his uncle. Hamlet knows that if God has forgiven Claudius, then when he kills him, his soul will go to heaven. Hamlet does not just want revenge against Claudius’ body, he also wants revenge against his soul. When Claudius killed his brother, he did not give King Hamlet a chance to confess his sins. So, as Prince Hamlet believes, the soul of his father was not forgiven of his sins and therefore went to hell. And so, in order to get a complete revenge, Hamlet also wishes to send the soul of Claudius to hell. Once again Hamlet hesitates. He thinks too much and loses a chance to get his revenge.
ACT III, 4: THESE WORDS LIKE DAGGERS ENTER IN MINE EARS
The fourth scene takes place in Gertrude’s chamber. Hamlet, still feeling hot and angry, speaks roughly to his mother. She fears his look and his words, and she screams for help. Polonius, who is hiding behind the screen as he had planned, also screams (line 22). Hamlet, thinking that the person behind the screen is Claudius, runs his sword through the tapestry. Polonius dies.
Gertrude is shocked by the act, but she becomes even more shocked by Hamlet’s words, his speech, that follows (lines 34- 95). Hamlet accuses his mother of incest and of being untrue to the memory of old King Hamlet. He makes her see and feel shame in the way she has behaved since the death of her first husband. Gertrude even eventually agrees to stay away from the bed of Claudius.
Toward the end of his speech of accusations against his mother, the ghost appears (line 94). Oddly, Hamlet can see the ghost, but Gertrude cannot. For some critics, this is the evidence that Hamlet must be truly mad at this point and that the ghost exists only in his own mind. But this scene is really not evidence of this at all. According to Renaissance superstition, a ghost can make itself visible to one person and invisible to another at the same time. That may explain why most people do not ever see ghosts. Shakespeare appears to have this superstition in mind. The ghost does not want Hamlet to harm Gertrude, and the appearance of the ghost to the already troubled Gertrude would shock her and perhaps cause her great harm.
At the end of the scene, Hamlet reminds his mother that he is going to be sent to England in the company of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (line 183). But Hamlet suspects a trap, and he notes that he will not trust his “two schoolfellows” (185.1). Hamlet then states the following:
For ‘tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoised with his own petard. (185.5-85.6)
A petard is a small bomb, and the word hoised (like modern hoist) means to lift up or, in this case, to blow up into the air. The engineer is, in this reference, the maker of the bomb. Thus, Hamlet is saying that the bomb-maker will be blown up by his own bomb. This is a metaphor suggesting that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (bomb-makers) will be hurt by their own scheme (bomb) against Hamlet. Hamlet also makes a comment on the death of Polonius:
This counselor
Is now most still, most secret, and most grave,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave. (187-89)
The word grave means serious, but also has the intended dark pun: Polonius will soon be lying in a grave. Hamlet is also speaking ironically here: only in death does the trusted counselor behave properly for a person in such a trusted office.