A Hamlet Question

Factual Questions
1

I was reading (okay, skimming) Hamlet a couple weeks ago and I came across a passage I didn’t quite understand. It is in Act 5, Scene 1 towards the end of the scene. Hamlet is speaking.
The quote reads as follows:

What I want to know is to whom this is said to. This is after Ophelia’s death and the scene is in fact, her burial. However, lines two and three could be spoken to Ophelia’s corpse. But they could be spoken to Laertes or the King as well.

Thanks in advance for your answers and my piece of mind.

2

My guess would be that he’s speaking to Laertes. He wouldn’t say that he loved the King. He’s also still acting mad at this point.

3

Acting mad? Sounds like he really is pissed, to me.

4

Well, yeah, he’s really mad but he’s not really mad, you know what I mean?

5

Well, cher, yeah. The only reason I posted that is because Sakura’s my daughter, and I wanted to bust her chops a little.

Still, I don’t know what pretending to be off his nut would have to do with him saying this line to Laertes. Sort of a guilt trip on the guy.

6

In bringing up the madness I was just thinking about the odd cats and dogs bit.

IIRC, he and Laertes were once friends, until Laertes came to believe (with some justice) that Hamlet had driven her to suicide.

I assume he’s talking to Laertes because just previous to this there is that big fight about who loved Ophelia more.

7

“Hear you, sir;”

It’s addressed to Laertes (the ‘sir’).

“What is the reason that you use me thus?
I loved you ever:…”

Hamlet is questioning what he perceives as unwarranted abuse by Laertes (abuse because L. is claiming to have loved Ophelia more, and unwarranted because H. did not intentionally drive O. to suicide, and truly mourns her).

	"**...but it is no matter;

Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew and dog will have his day.**"

Hamlet dismisses his previous questioning of Laertes’ actions as inconsequential, as he has already determined his course of action, and not even Hercules (much less L.) can deter Hamlet from his path.

I’m dredging this up from a class a few years ago. One thing that I do remember from the class is that there is a debate amongst Shakespearian scholars as to whether or not Hamlet is truly insane at this point.

I wish I had the text that I used for that class on hand, as it had excellent annotation. I managed to find this on-line to provide the context.

-ellis

8

I agree with pretty much everything that Ellis555 says.

It’s definitely Laertes that is being addressed. The two of them have just been fighting in Ophelia’s grave and have been separated by the attendants. Hamlet’s immediately preceding dialogue is clearly addressed to Laertes:

“I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?”

“'Swounds, show me what thou’lt do:
Woo’t weep? woo’t fight? woo’t fast? woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up eisel? eat a crocodile?
I’ll do’t. Dost thou come here to whine?
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her, and so will I:
And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou’lt mouth,
I’ll rant as well as thou.”

I also agree with Ellis555 about the interpretation of the lines following “hear you, sir”.

Finally, I agree with Cher3 that Laertes and Hamlet were once friends, or at least friendly rivals.

But Hamlet was dating Laertes’ sister, so doubtless there may have been some sort of one-upsmanship there, as it were. Recall that Claudius alludes to Hamlet’s envy when Laertes’s fencing abilities are praised (from Act 4, Scene vii):

“[A Norman gentleman] made confession of you,
And gave you such a masterly report
For art and exercise in your defence
And for your rapier most especially,
That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed,
If one could match you: the scrimers of their nation,
He swore, had had neither motion, guard, nor eye,
If you opposed them. Sir, this report of his
Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy
That he could nothing do but wish and beg
Your sudden coming o’er, to play with him.”

And they use this rivalry to lure Hamlet to his death.

9

I forgot to add that Ellis555’s site is great–it’s my favorite on-line Shakespeare site.