VCCS Litonline Introduction to Literature
English 112 (English Composition II)

The Hamlet Site

Act III

Objective for this Page: To summarize act III and to analyze characters’ actions.

In scene 1, Claudius considers Hamlet's lunacy to be dangerous (to Hamlet or to himself?).  He plots with Polonius to plant Ophelia in his way to see if seeing her can reveal the real cause of his madness.

In one version of the play, Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy (III, i, 56-89) comes just before his encounter with Ophelia and before she can hear what he is saying.  Hamlet tests Ophelia to see if she will lie to him about her father's whereabouts; being the dutiful daughter, she does.  Hamlet, feeling betrayed, rails against her hypocrisy--and that of all women, including his mother.  Ophelia is convinced he's crazy; Claudius is convinced he should be sent away--to England; and Polonius is still convinced that Hamlet is crazy over unrequited love.  (In the movie, watch for camera shots that reveal Hamlet knows he's being set up, that Polonius [at least] is eavesdropping on his daughter's conversation, and that Hamlet knows Claudius will send him to England.)

In scene 2, Hamlet's trap is sprung on Claudius--with Horatio watching closely to be an eye-witness.  Hamlet is convinced of Claudius's guilt.  Rosencranz and Guildenstern meet Hamlet with the news that his mother wants to see him, and he upbraids them for being spies.  Again, Hamlet gets the last word in the scene (III, ii, 364-376).  He prepares to meet Gertrude, intent on being cruel to her because he now is convinced she married the murderer of his beloved father.

In scene 3, Claudius plots with Rosencranz and Guildenstern to get Hamlet to England-- at a safe distance from any harm he might do in Denmark.  Claudius does not state to Rosencranz and Guildenstern that he plans to get Hamlet executed in England.

Polonius resolves to spy on Hamlet when he confronts Gertrude.

When he is alone, Claudius--at least temporarily--laments his offense, "a brother's murder."  Hamlet goes past the room where Claudius is praying and catches himself from killing the king on the spot; real revenge demands that Claudius be killed while sinning so he will be eternally damned.  Ironically, after Hamlet leaves, Claudius realizes his hollow prayers were worthless.

In scene 4, Polonius encourages Gertrude to get Hamlet worked up so that he'll reveal his real motives.  With sword drawn he scares Gertrude enough that she screams--and Polonius sounds the alarm from behind a wall hanging where he is hiding.  Hamlet, still intent on killing a sinning king, stabs at the voice hoping it's Claudius.  Instead, it's his girl friend's father.  Distraught but still resolute, Hamlet turns on Gertrude.  The ghost reappears, but only to Hamlet to warn him not to be too harsh with Gertrude.  She feels guilty for the hasty marriage, so Hamlet's contrast of the two kings is enough to convince Gertrude to end the incest of sleeping with Claudius.  Hamlet does not reveal that Claudius is the murderer; perhaps he has no convincing proof.  He does reveal that he is faking madness and Gertrude swears to keep his secret just before Hamlet drags Polonius' body away.

See one student's PowerPoint analysis of Act 3, scene 4, based on the 1996 movie by Kenneth Branagh.  (Warning: This is a large file [5 Mb] and may be a slow download; it contains embedded sound files by which the student provides spoken commentary for each slide.  The file may open in PowerPoint rather than play, so you may have to click the tiny pull-down screen icon to start the presentation.) 

  The URL for this page is: http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/TheHamletSite/Act3.htm