Hamlet - Guilt

The Mousetrap

Act 3 Scene 2

Significance of the scene

Importance of the theme

Articles

• Guilt can always affect our conscience and destroy our entire lives.

• Guilt makes them become so destructive in their actions which destroy themselves and people around them.

• Lead to destruction of their lives and death of several innocent characters.

• Shakespeare allows the audience to realize that several characters carry on their destructiveness

• Shows us the connection between cause and effect is necessary

• They are unable to escape guilt for wrongdoing

The scene in the play best depicts theme of guilt in Hamlet. Since Hamlet is attempting to torture Claudius to see if he is guilty or not. Even making Horatio to be part of this by making him examine Claudius’ face. Then to the scene where the play start and end, Claudius shows that he is guilty when he suddenly stand up and over react and exit the room. To show that the conflict of this part is man versus self. During the end of the scene, the soliloquy that Claudius created to ask if he will be forgiven if he prayed. To show how guilty Claudius must have felt, that he even question it so blindly. Even the over reaction is a rising action of the scene to create a climax where he would pray. This show how Claudius changes as a rounded character, as he question himself, and change by the event in the scene. The truth of the guilt is from discover by the protagonist, Hamlet, to the antagonist, Claudius.

This creates a suspenseful tone, as the guilt from Claudius is shown from the planning that Hamlet created at the beginning of the scene to the end. Even to create an amusing mood that shows how Hamlet just plan everything out specifically, and making Horatio to agree and the examination of Claudius ’ face. To show that this theme is an irony because rather than taking revenge on someone who killed his father, he created a scene in the play, Murder of Gonzaga, to torture his victim instead. The setting in the play shows a specific time and place how the character would react. Such as the area for the play and the tomb is a dark and melancholy place that Hamlet and Claudius would over react to their situation. To show that in the theme, the character seem to question themselves more than doing something. Such as, when Claudius was at King Hamlet’ tomb, he seem to question everything around him. Claudius even show his guilt from self-pity, when he blocks everything else around him and only worried if Hamlet will come to slain him. Claudius’s guilt is from his denial when he wants to send Hamlet to England, because he fears him. Overall, the theme of guilt in this scene is best depict from how Claudius react to the torments that Hamlet created for him.

Gertrude>Hamlet

Ophelia>Hamlet

Laertes>Polonius and Ophelia

• Obeys her father’s order and rejects Hamlet’s love.
• Blames herself for Hamlet’s insanity.
• Thinks she’s the one who drives him mad and crazy.
• Feels bad involving in Polonius and Claudius's plan, spying on Hamlet during their conversations.

• Quick decision of marrying Claudius. Being disloyal to Hamlet's father

• Hamlet yells at his mother and shows picture of King Gertrude feels upset and states,

"O Hamlet, speak no more! Thou tern'st mine eyes into my very soul, And there I see such black and grained spots" (III, iv, 95-97).

• Hamlet's words have reached Gertrude and that she does feel guilty for marrying Claudius so quickly.

• Leaves his father and sister to pursue his studies in France.

• Unable to protect and prevent their death.

• His advice to Ophelia that to stay away from Hamlet which contributes to Ophelia’s insanity.

Claudius>Hamlet

Hamlet>Ophelia

Claudius>Gertrude

• Claudius expresses guilt feelings during Act 2 Scene 3 of the play The Mouse Trap. Hamlet uses the scene in the play that is similar to how Claudius kills King Hamlet to "catch the conscious of the King" > Claudius ran away.

• He expresses his guilt when he is alone and praying. He admits to his crime and prays for forgiveness. "O, my offence is rank, it smells to Heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder!" (III, iii, 39-41)

• Pretends madness and rejects Ophelia and this frightens her.
• Murder of Polonius directly leads to the downfall of Ophelia.
• She goes insane and gets mad which leads to her death in the latter part of the story.
• The fight with Laertes on her grave shows how Hamlet’s mind is consumed with rage and guiltiness.

“...I lov’d Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?”

• This shows Hamlet’s guiltiness towards Ophelia that he’s responsible for his father’s death and his insanity.

• “Gertrude, do not drink. It is the poison’d cup. It is too late.” (V, ii, 294-296)
• He feels guilty when Gertrude drinks the poison that it is supposed for Hamlet to drink it. He is not purposely kills his Queen.

Laertes>Hamlet

Important Quotations

• Tells Hamlet the truth that it’s Claudius’s fault of putting poison in the cup that leads to his mother’s death and Claudius wants to kill him.

• He asks for Hamlet’s forgiveness, also forgiving Hamlet for killing Polonius. He says Hamlet isn’t responsible for his father’s death.

Hamlet-Guilt