From the Archive (1997): "Denmark's a Prison"

Billy Schraufnagel

December 10, 1997

English Lit., pd. 10

“Denmark’s a Prison”

“His greatness weighed, his will is not his own

For he himself is subject to his birth.

He may not, as unvalued persons do,

Carve for himself, for on his choice depends

The sanctity and health of this whole state,

And therefore must his choice be circumscribed

Unto the voice and yielding of that body

Whereof he is the head.”

These words are spoken by Laertes to his sister Ophelia in Act 1, Scene 3 of Hamlet. Though Laertes intends to warn his sister about falling in love with Hamlet, he states Hamlet’s most severe problem: his birth. Destiny has chosen Hamlet to become Prince of Denmark, and all of his conflicts arise from that distinction. Hamlet is trapped in a world he wants no part of. He does not desire his power, status, or responsibility. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet is neither prepared nor strong enough to act with confidence and conviction. He appeals to familiar authority figures, such as his father’s ghost and God. As Hamlet begins to grow into the mold of king, he becomes more accustomed to the dark side of power. His former loved ones suffer from this transition, yet Hamlet moves on. At the end of the play, Hamlet finally is able to take initiative and act with strength. However it is too late. The damage done during Hamlet’s “learning” process proves irrevocable. In the words of Rosencrantz in Act 3, Scene 3: “The cess of majesty Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw What’s near it with it.” Hamlet’s downfall brings about the downfall of Denmark.

The power of destiny is always present in Hamlet’s life. In Act 5, Scene 2, Hamlet tells Horatio that “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends.” It seems as though an inescapable pattern of events were set in motion with his father’s death. Because of his birth, his close relation to the king, and his position of inheritance, Hamlet is naturally caught in the whirlwind of action that follows the old king’s murder. Events he cannot control drive him to a purpose he is unsure of. He is “nature’s livery” and “fortune’s star,” as he says in Act 1 Scene 4. Though Hamlet may try to resist the ghost’s beckoning, the image of his father— his birth, and his position in society— proves irresistible. “My fate cries out,” Hamlet explains in Act 1 Scene 4. Later in the play, in Act 2 Scene 2, Hamlet chides himself for not acting. Again, fate and destiny play a significant role; Hamlet is “the son of the dear murdered, prompted to revenge by heaven and hell.” Heaven, Hell, and his father’s ghost: these are all images of the supernatural, agents of fate, and devices of destiny.

Tied in with the destiny motif is a sense that Hamlet’s worst fault is his high birth. This is paradoxical, for during Elizabethan times, the nobility (especially royalty) were envied by the masses. As Laertes says, however, there is a tremendous burden of responsibility that comes with high birth. The image of Hamlet’s father, the symbol of his birth, haunts him throughout the play. The ghost gives Hamlet an ominous task in Act 1, Scene 5; Hamlet says, “Speak, I am bound to hear.” To this the Ghost replies, “So art thou to revenge.” Hamlet is bound, or constricted by his father and his birth. Hamlet restates this in Act 2, Scene 2, during a conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet mysteriously says, “Denmark’s a prison.” His school friends do not understand the meaning of this, because they do not feel trapped the way Hamlet does. The key is that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not think the way Hamlet does. Hamlet says, “there are many confines, wards, and dungeons; Denmark being one o’th’worst.” Rosencrantz disagrees, but Hamlet quickly comes back with, “Why then ‘tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not have the same kind of cloud hanging over their heads— they do not appreciate the pressure that Hamlet feels.

One interesting way Shakespeare illustrates Hamlet’s conflict with his birth is through wordplay. In Act 1 Scene 4, before meeting the ghost, Hamlet philosophizes to himself about human nature. He says that many people have an inherent flaw, or a “vicious mole of nature in them, As in their birth, wherein they are not guilty, Since nature cannot choose his origin... His virtues else as pure as grace... Shall in the general censure take corruption From that particular fault.” Later in the play, in the next scene, Hamlet speaks with Horatio and Marcellus, forcing them to swear not to reveal what they had seen. The ghost’s voice says “swear” several times, supposedly to prompt Horatio to do as Hamlet asks. However, Hamlet’s reply to the ghost one time reveals much about his character and the role of the ghost. Hamlet refers to the ghost as “old mole,” because the ghost is supposed to be underneath the stage, like a mole is underneath the ground. Hamlet could also refer to “the vicious mole of nature,” or his birth, and the reason for all his trouble.

The entire conflict in the play arises from the murder of Old Hamlet. The king was not murdered because he was a bad person. He was murdered because he was king. Not only has Hamlet’s father been murdered, but he has been “prompted to revenge by heaven and hell.” Hamlet’s problems come from the fact that he is a prince, and his father is a king. During his famous soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet talks about ending “The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to.” Hamlet has inherited his problems, not created them. He must accept the burden of all the rot and decay present in Denmark (“Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark,” as Horatio says in Act 1, Scene 4). The ghost implies that by killing Claudius, Hamlet can solve all of Denmark’s problems. As Hamlet tells his mother Gertrude in Act 3, Scene 4, “heaven hath pleased it so, To punish me with this, and this with me, That I must be their scourge and minister.” The “heaven” that he refers to means destiny, his father’s ghost and other supernatural forces at work. Hamlet must be the scourge and minister of Denmark.

This is a tremendous burden to place upon the shoulders of anybody, much less a young adult who has just lost both of his parents. Hamlet obviously is weakened emotionally even before he sees his father’s ghost; as early as Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet muses about death, saying “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew.” When he finds out what he must do to save his father’s soul and Denmark, Hamlet becomes even more bitter about his existence. In Act 1, Scene 5, he says, “The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right.” He fears and shuns his responsibility. He also lets other characters know his feelings by subtly dropping hints that they interpret to be madness. For example, in Act 2, Scene 2, when Polonius takes leave of Hamlet, Hamlet replies, “You cannot sir take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal; except my life, except my life, except my life.” Later, in Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet tells Ophelia that “it were better my mother had not borne me.” Similarly, when Hamlet confronts his mother in Act 3, Scene 4, he says, “You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife, And, would it were not so, you are my mother.”

Hamlet loathes his position, and he envies those of lower birth that do not share his burden. A common recipient of Hamlet’s envy is Horatio. In Act 1, Scene 2, Horatio greets Hamlet by saying he is Hamlet’s “poor servant ever.” To this Hamlet replies, “Sir, my good friend, I’ll change that name with you.” When he talks with Horatio in Act 3, Scene 2, Hamlet envies the simple life of the poor: “no revenue hast but thy good spirits to feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flattered?” Having this mentality, Hamlet lacks an important quality he would need if he were to become king: ambition. Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is beggar, because he has no ambition to become king. He claims, “Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and outstretched heroes the beggars’ shadows.” This means that beggars have more substance because they lack ambition, which is “merely the shadow of a dream.”

Not only is Hamlet averse to his situation, but he is also unprepared to handle his responsibilities. His problem stems again from his emotions. Because of the tremendous burden of his birth and the fact that he does not want to accept his responsibility, Hamlet is in a deep state of melancholy. He tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about his emotions in Act 2, Scene 2: “I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises.” Because of his sadness, Hamlet sees the world as a “foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.” Hamlet becomes absorbed in thought and reflection, losing sight of what his purpose is. He cannot focus his thoughts because he does not know what he thinks. As time passes and Claudius remains alive, Hamlet berates himself further for not acting when he should have. This drives him into a further state of confusion. In his Act 2, Scene 2 soliloquy, Hamlet says, “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!...I, A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, And can say nothing— Am I a coward?... I, the son of the dear murdered... must like a whore unpack my heart with words.” By Act 4, Scene 4, his uncertainty still remains, and Claudius is still alive: “How stand I then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, and let all sleep.”

Amidst all this confusion, melancholy, pressure, and corruption, Hamlet needs somewhere to turn. He no longer trusts anyone on earth, for he has been betrayed by seemingly everyone. Hamlet thus turns to the initiator of the original conflict, the traditional authority figure in Hamlet’s life: his father. Old Hamlet is the one figure in Hamlet’s life that he adores unconditionally. He praises his father’s memory in Act 3, Scene 4, while talking to Gertrude: “See what a grace was seated on this brow.” In Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet says, “I shall not look upon his like again.” Even before the ghost appears, Hamlet thinks about his father: “My father, methinks I see my father— In my mind’s eye, Horatio.” When Hamlet hears that his father may have returned from the grave, he becomes extremely excited: “If it assume my noble father’s person, I’ll speak to it though hell itself should gape And bid me hold my peace.” When he finally does meet his father’s ghost, he begs it for guidance. In Act 1, Scene 4, Hamlet implores, “Let me not burst in ignorance... What should we do?” Despite Horatio’s warnings, Hamlet follows the ghost blindly: “My fate cries out— Go on, I’ll follow thee.” Finally, when Hamlet sees the ghost for the last time in his mother’s bedroom, he says, “Save me and hover o’er me with your wings... What would your gracious figure?”

Hamlet’s reliance on his father shows a strong belief in the supernatural. Hamlet is influenced by religion in other ways as well. Christian doctrine has power over Hamlet, demonstrating that he does have morals. His morality and Christian beliefs limit his action in additional ways. In the second scene of the play, when Hamlet contemplates suicide, he wishes “that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self slaughter.” Later, in Act 2, Scene 2, Hamlet fears that “the spirit that I have seen May be a devil— and the devil hath the power T’assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps, Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me.” In other words, one reason for Hamlet’s delay may have been fear of the devil. Religion exerts an even stronger force on Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 3, preventing him to kill Claudius. Hamlet stops at the last instant from killing Claudius because the king is praying. Hamlet believes that by killing Claudius during prayer, he will send Claudius to heaven. He hesitates again, preferring to kill Claudius at a time when “his soul may be as damned and black as hell whereto he goes.”

As a tool of destiny, Hamlet has been charged with saving Denmark, avenging his father’s death, and lifting a dying country up from the depths of corruption. He is at first unwilling and unprepared to accept his responsibility. In confusion, he turns to his father for support and uses his religious faith for guidance. How then, does Hamlet change from a confused, melancholy man to an aggressive man who finally accomplishes his mission? The turning point for Hamlet, and thus for the play comes in Act 3, Scene 4, when Hamlet kills Polonius. The murder is an instinctive reaction to Polonius’s shouts for help. Hamlet does not have the opportunity to think about the deed, as he has had in Claudius’s case. For this reason, the death of Polonius comes easily to Hamlet, and Hamlet has few regrets. From this point on, Hamlet begins to grow into a “king-like” role, even though he is still the prince. Horatio wisely states in Act 5, Scene 1, that “Custom [makes] a property of easiness.” By this, he means that once a person does things repeatedly, the action becomes easier. The original action for Hamlet was no problem. As he later says in Act 5, Scene 2, “Our indiscretion sometime serves us well When our deep plots do pall.”

The death of Polonius gets the ball rolling for Hamlet, because action comes more and more easily to him. Almost immediately after Hamlet kills Polonius, begins giving his mother instruction. This, like Hamlet’s envy of the poor, is a peculiar irony that surfaces in Hamlet. Rather than accepting instruction from his mother, he tells her what to do. Hamlet shows further evidence of his changing psyche, saying that he does not trust his former school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Instead, Hamlet vows to “delve one yard below their mines And blow them at the moon.” Upon the ship going to England, Hamlet fulfills his promise with an intricate plan. He steals the letters from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, opens them, and discovers that he is to be killed in England. He tells Horatio about it in Act 5, Scene 2: “I sat me down, Devised a new commission, wrote it fair... as our statists [politicians] do...that on the view and knowing of these contents, He should those bearers put to sudden death, No shriving time allowed... I had my father’s signet in my purse, Which was the model of that Danish seal.” Hamlet says two noteworthy things in this excerpt. First, he takes decisive and ruthless action, sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths. Their deaths “are not near [Hamlet’s] conscience.” The second significant item is that Hamlet used his father’s signet to seal the letter, “the model of that Danish seal.” Hamlet is acting as a king would, and therefore uses the king’s seal, his father’s signet. After Hamlet’s narrative, Horatio exclaims, “Why, what a king is this!” He could be shocked at Claudius for planning to kill Hamlet, but he could also be referring to Hamlet for enacting such a bold plan.

By this time, Hamlet has shed all inhibitions keeping him from killing Claudius. His threatening message to Claudius upon his return to Denmark reads, “I am set naked on your kingdom.” In Act 5, Scene 2, Hamlet asks Horatio, “is’t not to be damned To let this canker of our nature come In further evil?” Before, Hamlet was uncertain and hesitant; he has clearly changed. He warns Laertes of this change in Act 5, Scene 1: “Yet have I in me something dangerous Which let thy wisdom fear.” The very fact that Hamlet openly confronts Laertes at Ophelia’s grave site marks him a bold man. He fully accepts his responsibility now, and he tells Horatio, “If it be now, ‘tis not come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come— the readiness is all.” The final fight between Hamlet and Laertes is the climax of the play. His conscience is finally absolved when he kills Claudius and he himself is killed by Laertes. Hamlet cries out, “Heaven make thee free of it!” Having fulfilled his duty, he makes the full transition from prince to king. His first and final action as king is to bequeath the kingdom to Fortinbras. Thus, the tragedy of Hamlet ends. Fortinbras wistfully ponders what might have been in the final lines of the play: “For he was likely, To have proved most royal.”

If one examines only the character of Hamlet, the play seems to be a rite of passage story or a perilous journey that Hamlet must undertake to fulfill destiny. But the real tragedy lies in Hamlet’s impact on the rest of the characters. The play results in the deaths of eight characters. Most importantly, however, the young people experience the worst pain. Hamlet’s changing moment comes with his murder of Polonius, but that act has dire consequences for Ophelia and Laertes. Ophelia tumbles into madness, losing at once a lover and a father. Her madness results in her death and possible suicide. Laertes loses his father and his sister. Hamlet learns to become a king, but only at the expense of his former lover and friend. As Hamlet becomes more aggressive, he also becomes more hardhearted, causing his kingdom to crumble just as he inherits it.

This is another paradox explored by Shakespeare in Hamlet. Hamlet, by becoming “king-like,” should make the kingdom stronger. The reverse effect is true, however. This may be a piece of political commentary on Shakespeare’s part. Many of Shakespeare’s contemporaries felt that a strong, ruthless king was needed if the country were to prosper. Shakespeare challenges the role of kings and criticizes the nobility throughout the play. Shakespeare’s contemporaries believed that high birth was a mark of intelligence and the grace of God. Hamlet’s principle vice is his birth and his nobility. Hamlet himself attacks nobles in Act 4, Scene 3, by describing “how a king may go a process through the guts of a beggar." When Hamlet and Horatio speak with the gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, Hamlet suggests that people are generally the same. Even though Caesar and Alexander the Great were great men in their day, they wind up the same as any other common peasant in the end. The gravedigger surmises to himself, “the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even-Christian.” In these terms, Shakespeare does not create a contradiction (by saying that the wealthy should envy the poor), but he points out a contradiction between Christian doctrine and Elizabethan society. For if all people are equal, as Christianity teaches, why would birth signify any differences between two Christians? Extreme consequences followed any outright protest of the government, forcing Shakespeare to use more subtle means of criticism. Hamlet thus serves as social criticism in addition to a complex story with several entwined themes, wonderful poetry, and a timeless tragedy.