Jacqueline Go

Period 5
February 21, 2009

Analyzing Act III

1. Claudius and Polonius use Ophelia to see if she is the cause of Hamlet’s antic
disposition. Polonius believes that the reason for his madness is because Ophelia’s
rejection of this. Claudius is convinced and he agrees to Polonius’ plan.
2. Hamlet is confused about life with the thought of suffering and pain he’s going
through. He argues that if life itself is painful, why do men live and he also
questions the existence of the afterlife because of his confusion. He does not
know if he should be noble or if he should go against his troubles. If he should die
or he should just live his life and sleep.
3. The king believes that Hamlet is bothered by something else other than Ophelia.
He does not think it is love rather than it is anger that Hamlet is troubled with. He
states that his madness should not be neglected because it might cause harm to his
kingdom.
4. He states that they must speak the speech trippingly on the tongue, it must be said
smooth; avoid mouthing the words; be not too tame; suit the action word by word;
do not overdone it by the purpose of playing.
5. Hamlet sees Horatio as loyal because of his trustfulness in him. He gives Horatio
responsibility and he trusts his judgments because he commands him to take note
of the king’s reactions during the play. Compared to Rozencrantz and
Guildenstern, Horatio is humbling himself to Hamlet and he is also honest.
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern do not trust Hamlet which is why they conceal
their intentions to him and they are loyal to the king. Hamlet despises their
dishonesty.
6. Ophelia states that it has been two months since the death of his father when she
corrects him when he says that it’s just been two hours.
7. “The Mousetrap” is the name of the scene from the play, “Murder of Gonzago”
played by the players by request of Hamlet. It is the image of murder done in
Vienna. It makes others guilty of crime while the free ones do not feel anything
about it.
8. After the play, Hamlet becomes hostile to all three men and he says to
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern that they can no more play him like an instrument.
He also plays suspicion upon Polonius where he says that he is a weasel.
9. Claudius during his soliloquy tries to pray while Hamlet sees this as an
opportunity to kill him. It is believed that when someone is killed during prayer,
he will die and go to heaven. Hamlet wants Claudius to go to hell and he intends
to kill him when he is drunk or doing something without a “relish of salvation”
where he can be assured that he will go to hell.
10. The ghost appears to Hamlet to shield his mother from his harsh words. Theories
about the ghost not appearing to Hamlet include that Gertrude maybe does not
want to face the fact that his husband is there or maybe because it was Hamlet’s
hallucination of his sane self. He says that Hamlet should speak properly to his
mother because she is frightened and shocked with Hamlet’s words. Gertrude
 cries and tells Hamlet that he should stop because his words are becoming
“daggers” to her ears.
11. Hamlet wants Gertrude to stop sleeping with Claudius. He believes that Claudius
is a wasteland while his father is a mountain that she just replaced.
12. Hamlet plans to trust them just as how someone trusts a snake. He plans to kill
them because of his angered thoughts of betrayal. He also wants to do this before
they get to England where Hamlet is taken to because of Claudius’ commands.
13. In Act III, Polonius dies which is the minister of the king, the father of his lover,
the source of Laertes’ hate for him and the spy of the king in finding out why
Hamlet has gone mad. His death has ultimately decided Hamlet’s fate of going to
England. He now poses as a threat to the Kingdom and Claudius will send him to
England so that the English could kill him
14. Hamlet is shielding Ophelia though she is being selfish in a way. He hurts her by
saying that he had never loved her and she should just go to a nunnery which can
pose as sarcasm claiming that he sees Ophelia as loose. He then sways her during
the play, being playful with sexual comments to her. With Gertrude, he becomes
frank and he states that he sees her as weak and stupid because of her sudden
actions right after her husband’s death, which is marry Claudius.
15. His trouble of avenging his father or not doing it poses as a dilemma in his life.
He wonders why people still live even if they suffer and he is confused if there is
really a Heaven or not. I believe that he is sounding it off though he wants to do it
himself. I do not see any signs of him wanting do die at all though he is genuinely
troubled.
16. Hamlet seems to be serious at first and then when he finally finds out that he is
being watched, he acts out his madness. He goes out of control when he attacks
womankind saying that they are a breeder of sinners and that, wise men know that
they are monsters. He also states that their love was a sinful fruit that must be
grafted so therefore he never did love her.
17. Hamlet overdoes it when he states that Claudius is just a wasteland while his
father is a mountain. He does not understand that adults have sexual lust as well.
He claims that his mother is horrible where she has committed incest and that she
is shameless.
18. He has shown several behavior changes in this act. He is weak towards his love
for Ophelia because he says sexual remarks to her as a way to make her come
around. He gives respect to his mother after his whole sermon on her and he
finally, he becomes hostile to Rozencrantz and Guildenstern saying that they can
no longer play him like an instrument.
19. Ophelia was once used by Claudius and Polonius to show if Hamlet’s cause of
trouble is love. She is used by Hamlet to show that he indeed is not disguising and
her feelings for Hamlet is used by Polonius to make Hamlet confess his reason for
becoming mad.