Hamlet †Act 3 Scene 2 Essay

In this eyeshot, staged in the Great Hall of Elsinore, critical points cunning think to determine his uncles guilt comes together. Hiring players to act out a play based on his fathers death (as his fathers shadowiness described it), he awaits Claudius reaction.The whole catch of this is Hamlet putting to rest his insecurity over the matter, once he discovers for certain Claudius did murder his father and was the snake in the grass in the orchard, only then can Hamlet feel at rest and kill him. This look is peerless of the many examples passim the play which demonstrates one of many weaknesses in Hamlets personality, in which he comes across as immensely pensive and changeable about nearly everything.The significance of the scene is evident in that both Hamlet and Claudius plotting each others death begins here. For Hamlet as he is now finally at ease with what his fathers ghost told him earlier in the play, thus he can now kill his uncle without any remorse and for Claudius as he is now alarmed to the item Hamlet is aware of his crime.Although this scene shows a negative side to Hamlet, we similarly get a glimpse of Hamlet as an intellectual. He takes role as an authority on acting, advising that the actors should use moderation and not to excess (even though this is a contradiction in sense as his relentless verbal entrancement to Ophelia earlier in the play suggests).There is reason to believe that it is in fact Shakespeare himself shining through Hamlet in this scene, commenting on acting flaws such as overacting, corpsing (dramatic term for inadvertently laughing whilst in character) and the unpredictability of an audience.Also worth mentioning here is the players speech. Throughout the play, the actors speak in rhyme depending on the character they take the role as. Giving an indication to the audience of their class, as prose is an indication of lower social status. A character such as a king or queen however, use blank verse in this sense .Hamlets antic disposition is evident throughout the play and it is used to full effect in this scene. After briefing the players on their task for the stage, Claudius, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius and his daughter Ophelia enter the Great Hall. What follows is what Id present as an amusing parody where Hamlet throws verbal daggers at everyone in range, the aim of this is to once again remind the group that he is insane, but also reveals some true feelings towards certain individuals.He begins by intentionally misunderstanding Claudius greeting and states that his earlier promise of Hamlet succeeding him is empty air or untrue. Gertrudes invitation to Hamlet for him to sit with her is also answered with an insult (possibly a misleading hint to Hamlets Oedipus complex), this time remarking that his mothers appearance is horrible or as he put itHeres metal more attractive.Polonius is next and branded Brutus and a fool, cleverly Hamlet achieves this using puns of bea stly and calf.Ophelia, however comes off worst for wear in my opinion. Hamlets verbal treatment of his love interest is cruel and filled with grating jokes with the main theme of sex. The references to Ophelias nothing (her genitalia) and country matters (sexual intercourse) is without a shadow of a doubt, arguably the funniest depart of the play, although Shakespeares obsession with these jokes are evident throughout the whole play.Horatio on the other hand, is trusted by Hamlet, not only has he confided in Horatio about the ghosts words and his plan to break if Claudius reveals his guilt, but the usually insecure Prince has actually included his best plugger in the scheme. This shows Hamlets respect and trust for his friend is deep, a point I picked up whilst reading the play.This scene with Hamlets antic disposition in full view is not only amusing as mentioned, but also dramatic. Its this unstable and sometimes unpredictable nature of Hamlet which makes him such an interesti ng character and one that has been looked upon as one of Shakespeares greatest achievements, I agree.His antic disposition is clearly visible as he switches tones throughout the conversation with his uncle, mother and the fair Ophelia. One minute hush up and collected towards Polonius showing interest in his acting past, the next at the throat of his uncles loyal terrier branding him a fool.If I was in vote out of staging this scene, I wouldnt change many of the features used in the awesome film version of the play (Hamlet Franco Zeffirelli 1991), with Mel Gibson spectacularly playing the part of Hamlet. In this version, Hamlet is portrayed in this scene as on edge and manic, Claudius on the other hand plays laid back and immune to Hamlets tongue and Glenn Close as Gertrude comes across not only nave, but confused by Hamlets behaviour.The significance of place the characters in this scene contributes a great deal to how it is interpreted, in my opinion putting Claudius at the f orefront would be a good start and side Gertrude on the arm of her husband with directly Hamlet in front of them both would also make sense. Polonius and Ophelia would also be positioned together, although Im unsure of having their arms linked. Hamlets friends from university, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern could be placed behind these two pairings, still in view but not as much so as the King, Queen, their adviser and his fair daughter.This would be relevant as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not as directly involved in the scene as the others. A problem encountered here could be Rosencrantzs part in the scene, the lineAy my lord, they stay upon your patience.This could be approached by having Rosencrantz stepping forward in order to say his line.Although my suggestions stomach been made, I find Zeffirellis handling of the scene to be admirable and possibly flawless in the sense of interpreting the text into drama.In conclusion, this scene is extremely significant to the play as a whole. As mentioned, it begins the plotting of both Claudius and Hamlet to kill one another, but it also gives yet more perspicaciousness and structure to Hamlets character. Emphasizing his antic disposition, feelings towards other characters in the play and exposes both Hamlets qualities and flaws in his personality. This scene is a darling of mine, falling short only to Hamlets soliloquy (To be or not to be) and his somewhat upsetting reunion with his childhood friend and royal jester, Yorick.