Hamlet Notes

Hamlet passage focus notes

Our basic goal is to read passages from Hamlet which reveal his motives, and so to let us reflect on whether Hamlet seems to be more on the metaphysical free will side or more determined. Some think that Shakespeare crafted the play to be a puzzle in this regard. One scholar remarked to me that Hamlet is simply put into a series of situations regarding which no rational person would be able to really know what to do (which may or may not imply determinism).

Brief synopsis: the ghost of Hamlet’s father relates the following to Hamlet at the beginning of the play: his death at the hands of Hamlet’s uncle, his brother. The ghost suggests that his brother killed him so that he, Hamlet’s uncle, could seduce his wife (Hamlet’s mother, the queen) and take the throne. Hamlet is mortified, enraged, seems to plot, and at other times seems on the verge of madness himself as he navigates the situation at the castle (the King’s “court”). Hamlet’s indignation at his mothers’ swift remarriage to the new king seems to border on jealous rage at times (see the ‘Bedchamber scene’ below). The play ends as a tragedy.

Ten readings—one of which is from contemporary writers trying to make things clear to students— was as small as I felt I could make the list. Page lengths below are given like this: “18/9”. This is to draw attention to the fact that every other page is a glossary/accompaniment to the actual text of the play; the latter, smaller number refers to the pages of original text included in the block. Please also notice that the editors give a synopsis of each scene at its beginning. I encourage the reading of these for all of the passages below; I refer to them as “gloss.” Arabic numerals after the Roman ones refer to the page numbers in our Folger Shakespeare Library edition of Hamlet.

Contents

1. Editors’ Introduction, 10 pages

2. Claudius and Hamlet’s reaction, 9 pages

3. Hamlet and the Ghost, 10 pages...