Notes

Of course there has been so much written about the character of Hamlet that one feels as if there is little left unsaid. However, there are a few points that must be reiterated. The first is that this is the speech where Hamlet is at his lowest point in the play. His father has died suddenly while he was away at school. Almost as suddenly his mother has married his father’s brother and the consequence thereof is that he will not, as is his right, become king. His own mother, through her marriage, denies him his title. Along with these hateful events the appropriate duration of mourning has been shortened to less than two months for a beloved king. The world in which Hamlet lives is despicable to him. His comparison to “an unweeded garden” is appropriate. The state of Denmark is uncultivated, without appropriate order and form. It is overrun by foul, lustful, course behavior. He can’t understand how events have led to this moment in time. He can’t understand how his mother, who seemed to love his father without end, could so quickly rush into the arms of another man; not just another man but his father’s own brother whose grief should also be inconsolable.  And a man who is half beast when compared to the godliness of his father.  He knows something is wrong and that the results will be dire but he is, as a loyal subject and obedient son, unable to express his feelings openly.