KING
Thanks, dear my lord. O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder. Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will. My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent; And, like a man to double business bound, I stand in pause where I shall first begin, And both neglect. What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy But to confront the visage of offence? And what's in prayer but this two-fold force, To be forestalled ere we come to fall, Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up; My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer Can serve my turn? "Forgive me my foul murder"? That cannot be; since I am still possess'd Of those effects for which I did the murder, My crown, mine own ambition and my queen. May one be pardon'd and retain th' offence? In the corrupted currents of this world Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice, And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself Buys out the law: but 'tis not so above; There is no shuffling, there the action lies In his true nature; and we ourselves compell'd, Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, To give in evidence. What then? what rests? Try what repentance can: what can it not? Yet what can it when one can not repent? O wretched state! O bosom black as death! O limed soul, that, struggling to be free, Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay! Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart with strings of steel, Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe! All may be well.
Enter HAMLET.
HAMLET Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven; And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd: A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven. O, this is hire and salary, not revenge. He took my father grossly, full of bread; With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May; And how his audit stands who knows save heaven? But in our circumstance and course of thought, 'Tis heavy with him: and am I then revenged, To take him in the purging of his soul, When he is fit and season'd for his passage? No! Up, sword; and know thou a more horrid hent: When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed; At gaming, swearing, or about some act That has no relish of salvation in't; Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, And that his soul may be as damn'd and black As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays: This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.
KING [Rising.]
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.Claudius begins to drown in his own thoughts and sins as he feels great remorse for the crime he had committed. He feels grief as he referred his actions as God's curse upon Cain. Whom killed his brother, Abel. "It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder". He admits that his crime is unforgivable, but contradicts his realization by being unwilling to give up what he taken from his brother. His throne, and wife. He tries to shake his stubbornness to kneel and begins to pray.
As Hamlet enters the scene, he catches Claudius in his most vulnerable moment. He sees that it is the perfect opportunity to finally murder Claudius once and for all, but then seizes. He remembers that his uncle killed his father without giving him any chance of asking God for forgiveness. He then thinks, and recognizes that he'd be doing Claudius a favor. If he kills him now after asking the Lord for forgiveness, he'd just send Claudius to heaven. How is that avenging his father's death? So he stops, and puts his sword away. Telling himself that he will just wait for Claudius to sin again, and that will be his chance. He will send Claudius to hell.
Ah ha! So claudius did kill Hamlets father! I think that this is the moment where he realizes his wrong and confess to it. Although he is upset that he killed his brother, he is still happy with his actions. He is now the king and has wife but now he also has guilt of it. On the other hand, Hamlet had the perfect moment to kill Claudius. I think that he is scared to kill his uncle. He keeps giving him more time to live.
ReplyDeleteI find it silly that hamlet is waiting for him to sin again. How wills he knows when he sin's? Is he going to follow the king all day or trick him himself. Also is Claudio's suspicious at all about hamlet hating him or trying to kill him. And also did hamlet just believe his fathers word or does he have proof now that Claudine's killed hamlet? I also find it funny that if hamlet came sooner he would have heard Claudio's confess
ReplyDeleteI feel Hamlet should of killed the king during the prayer because he doesn't know if he was finished asking for forgiveness plus he sinned again but being stubborn to the truth and in the Bible being stubborn is a bad thing. Cladius admits killing the King when saying".What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens To wash it white as snow?"and "Forgive me my foul murder"?That cannot be; since I am still possess'd
ReplyDeleteOf those effects for which I did the murder,".. He is admitting his sin was too great to be washed away and if it was would it be as pure as snow?.Hamlet is ready to kill Claudius but doesn't kill him because he wouldn't be avenging his father's death if Claudius has an opportunity to go to heaven. Making this revenge bittersweet but also too good to be true.
The truth is finally revealed in this scene with concrete proof, Claudius did indeed kill Hamlet's father. However, although Hamlet seemly decides in this scene to kill Claudius, he quickly backs out again, claiming that he is waiting for Claudius to "sin again" so that when he does kills him, he will go to hell. If Hamlet was a brave character, I would believe this excuse, however, given Hamlet's crazed and weak nature, his reasoning is merely another excuse to avoid doing the deed. He is once again overthinking and acting conflicted to avoid doing what he should and needs to do. Hamlet's constant excuses and detours throughout the play are beginning to become tiring, as Hamlet is starting to seem like a cowardly individual. He needs to do what he thinks is right and stop making excuses. (Aldesha)
ReplyDeleteI knew Claudius killed King Hamlet! Finally Shakespeare made it obvious to the readers. Although he tried to obscure it if you read closely between the lines you're able to infer it. He also uses biblical allusion; the story of Cain and Abel to show how Claudius killing his brother was the ultimate sin that led to a tumultuous outcome. I also find it silly how Hamlet is waiting for his uncle to sin again just so he can finally kill him once and for all. That's just him being a coward. I mean I'm sure Claudius will sin again I mean he is human but why not just do it now get it over it and dwell on the consequences later.
ReplyDeleteClaudius questions himself over and over in this scene because the questions at hand are already assummed by himself. Questions relaying to if the purpose of praying is not for God to forgive us of our sins he says this because he knows that the purpouse of praying is to ask God to forgive your sins. So he now prays in hope for forgiveness while hamlet comes "ready" to kill Claudius but sees that he is praying and hamlet believes that if he kills Claudius while he is praying he will go to heaven so he plans to kill him while he is committing a sin of some sort.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that feeling guilty for something changes the fact that it was done. The kings remorse doesn’t change anything I think Hamlet should avenge his father’s death. “Forgive me for my foul murder?” Sarcasm. Sarcasm doesn’t seem that remorseful to me, he definitely deserves to die. And he continues on to contemplate weather he would possibly be able to keep the things he now has but still be forgiven.
ReplyDeleteKing Claudius is extremely lucky that Hamlet unlike himself is a decent man and he is willing to wait for a better time to murder him. But I think Hamlet should brace himself to take his uncles life at any given time no matter how godly he is being.
This is slightly off topic, but reading this makes me want to read Romeo & Juliet. The Lion King was based off of Hamlet, but the actual play (reading it) is so much deeper and so much more insightful, and a lot more mature. I feel that people often put down Romeo & Juliet because they've read one part of it (the death scene in 8th grade) or they've seen the movie adaptation (Leo is mmmyes). Seeing how Hamlet is a lot deeper than the Lion King, I feel that Romeo & Juliet would be the same way. It's weird that one reading of Shakespeare makes me want to read it all, but when I tried to read it a few years ago I easily lost interest.
ReplyDelete"Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens to wash it white as snow?" No, there isn't, that isn't how heaven works, you swine.
Slight question, his father didn't get to repeant before he died, so once he is avenged, wouldn't he escape purgatory and go to hell? I mean, if that's the case, why would Hamlet or the King's 'spirit' want to be pushed into the unknown? It's a weird thing, because at the same time, I doubt that the King would want to be surrounded by haunting spirits and stuck in a castle he was murdered in.
Does Claudius really feel guilty? Or was he going to off himself? Or did he know that Hamlet was gonna off him? If he feels guilty, shouldn't he resign and give the throne to Hamlet?
Last question, why is Hamlet's mother like a freaking bimbo? Like is she just there to stay in royalty? Does her social and economic class mean more to her than any type of morals? I don't like that lady. (I know she isn't in the scene, but I was a random thought)
Yeah no seriously #TeamHamlet
ReplyDeleteClaudius seems not at all sorry for the death and killing of King Hamlet. I doubt him strongly for some reason although it may be because I sense sarcasm in his speech (Thanks Natalie J).
Ever since he was told by the ghost that his uncle had killed his father, hamlet has been putting vengeance on hold. This is true, however I don't think that this time he is. If hamlet kills him now then he won't go to hell and there will be no real punishment for Claudious. So indeed Claudious did want to stay with his brothers crown and his queen. This play is just so predictable. It leaves little room for excitement.
ReplyDeleteI have been waiting for so long to see whether or not Claudius did kill his father and he did. I don't see Claudius actually feeling guilty for killing Hamlet's father. I agree with Natalie, I do think Claudius sounded sarcastic and overall insincere. I can understand why Hamlet decided to hold off his vengeance because if I were him I would want Claudius to get his rightful punishment. Killing him now while he's praying will be pointless because he won't go hell and like Soraidy said there will be no real punishment for Claudius.
ReplyDeleteExcuse my language but Hamlet is such a wimp. Like I have been saying for the last three scenes he all talk and no action. Claudius is going to be with his mother and continue to be king. Hamlet is never going to avenge his death. He seriously does not have it in him and no personal motive important enough for him to kill Claudis. So disappointed.
ReplyDeleteExactly! i agree with you, it seems like claudius is so calm about the death and fine with whats going on. and hamlet is not going to do anything he's going to keep being hamlet and not going to kill anyone
DeleteI really thought Hamlet's uncle did not kill his father. But as I understand now he did kill his father. I found it a little stupid that Hamlet would wait until his uncle sins again to kill him. I guess the ghost is real and I was wrong. Shakespeare is really brilliant to confuse his audience. Claudius asked god for forgiveness just so everyone else would forgive him but inside i do not think he is sorry because he would've said the crime he commited. Hamlet is a weak man.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel as if Hamlet and Claudius are at fault on both parts. While Claudius is unable to shake the fact that he was the one to kill his brother, stole his wife, and is unrightfully the King of Denmark, Hamlet is a coward, plain and simple. Yes, it would seem "rightful" for Hamlet's uncle to give up his throne and hand it to Hamlet, being that he is first born and whatnot, but if we're speaking on the "right" thing to do, then let us talk about how Hamlet is too teen angst like to even run a 7/11. Yes, we get it, Claudius is a killer, it was suspected and now made clear in this part. However, I am sure that if there was a war to wage against Norway once more, he would not hesitate to command the army to attack. Hamlet is too timid to run a kingdom, so Claudius stepping down would not be a good or "rightful" solution in the case of this play.
ReplyDeleteI say it should go to Hamlet's mom, being that she managed to get two brothers and still stay in the kingdom. (I'm being slightly sarcastic on that last note.)
Hamlet is a weak person mentally too. And I honestly don't think he is ready to be King . I think everything that happened is happening for a reason because if not he would have been King since the beginning.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Hamlet waiting on the King to commit another sin? I believe that he is being a wimp and doesn't wants to commit what he's being "forced" to do by a spirit. I would understand that he would back down because it was a spirit who told him the truth. But now hearing it from Claudis himself he should've gotten some motives from that and did something about it. Thats when he should've finally killed Claudis.
ReplyDeleteI think hamlet is over thinking again. Why is he gonna wait for him to commit another murder he says its to send Claudius to hell but I think its just for him to have more time to build up courage to actually going and killing his uncle -Penelope
ReplyDeleteI feel like Hamlet is sort of blind folded and just shooting in the dark until he hits the right target. It's truly a shame to see a meiocre man become even more pitiful by choosing the act of murder rather than justice by law. As for Claudius, it's only a matter of time until karma gets to him.
ReplyDeleteHamlet really thinks these things through, but only to save his guilt. I feel like there is a large theme of selfishness inside of this play. Everyone, from Hamlet to Claudius to even Ophelia has something they want to be selfish about. Hamlet's selfishness is how he would like to do the right thing, but the right thing in his opinion. Everything has to be on his terms, or he can not accept something. This is shown in this scene when he decides against killing his uncle only because his uncle repented, and now he would go to heaven. Although this seems strategic externally, internally this complicates the action of getting what he needs to get done. He could have just killed Claudius and gotten it done, but he wants to be heroic about it in his own eyes.
ReplyDeletei think this was one of the few points in the book in which Hamlet made a good decision. Though iit does reflect his usual "im going to think to myself moments" i think it was a positive and "manly" way of going about things. Taking the kings life in that way is just too easy. The man was asking for forgiveness for gods sake, im glad hamlet let him live.
ReplyDeleteWhat's done is done, King Hamlet is dead and Claudius is sarcastic as asking for forgiveness is unnecessary for him, he has the power, he is in control. I feel like Hamlet is insane to other people but I believe he's smart enough to wait and avenge his fathers death later on.
ReplyDeleteEven when Claudius is in his most vulnerable state, Hamlet believes that just by killing him would not satisfy his fathers ghost. Hamlet thinks in a way that Claudius should suffer the same way his dad suffered; when he is sinning there is no time to ask for forgiveness.
ReplyDelete