Hamlet Fishbowl Act 3
In act 3 we see Hamlet kill Polonius when he screams for help. After killing Polonius, an innocent man, will it be easier or harder for Hamlet to kill Claudius? Take into consideration the ghost and his new appearance, his mother and what she came to terms with in their talk, and his possible insanity.
posted by ashleyg at 5:07 PM
13 Comments:
I believe that Hamlet's murder of Polonius has little to do with his upcoming actions and plans. He is so concerned with getting revenge that his first murder just foreshadows his second. The actions Hamlet plans to take against Claudius have not changed since the killing of Polonius. Hamlet plays his murder off like it was nothing and didn't really matter. I believe that his quick and rash decision to kill whoever was behind the curtain will hurt Hamlet in the end. I agree with Sonny that Claudius will use this murder to publicly hurt Hamlet. Hamlet has already angered Claudius from the play and his actions at the play. I think that Claudius knows what Hamlet is up to and that is why he fears Hamlet and wants to send him away.
Concerning Hamlet's talk with his mother, I think that Gertrude still will not admit any sort of guilt. She just keeps saying that Hamlet's words are hurting her and that he should stop. I wonder why she can't see that what she has done is wrong.
Overall, I think that Hamlet's murder is just a taste of the many bad decisions he will make that lead to his downfall.
I think now that Hamlet has killed Polonius it will be that much easier to kill Claudius. He clearly shows no remorse about the murder of Polonius so when he is faced with the decision of whether or not to kill Claudius it won't even be a question in his mind. I don't think he has any other thoughts than complete revenge, regardless of who it affects at this point. Regardless of whether the ghost is real this time or not also does not matter in this situation. It is obviously encouraging him to pursue revenge, so as long as Hamlet sees the ghost (real or not) it is encouraging him to pursue murder.
I believe that it will be easier for Hamlet to kill Claudius now that he has already spilt blood. Plus now that he is even more insane than before, you would think that it would make it even easier for him to commit this act of killing. Especially thinking that his fathers ghost is backing him when we don't even know if it is real or in his head since know one else saw the ghost this past time around.
I think that it will be much easier to kill Claudius, let's not forget that he thought it was Claudius hiding behind the curtain, and we see how willing and quickly he wanted to kill him. When he discovered it was Polonius he felt no remorse, no sadness, not even hapiness, he felt virtually nothing at all, perhaps inconveniance. It is furthered by his likely insanity, and his already strong drive to kill Claudius, I don't think he will have any trouble at all with eliminating his "enemy." Not only do I think he will kill Claudius, I think he will do it with, at the least, no feeling at all, and with great pleasure at the most.
I think it will be easier for Hamlet to kill Claudius now because this killing of the innocent man, and the different appearance of the ghost signify that he has gone mad. This insanity, that he drove himself to, will make it easier because he is no longer living with the morals that he had at the beginning of the play. His actions with his mother is the only thing that has shown me that he has a little sanity left because he is finally doing what he wants by how he feels. Overall, I think the murder of Claudius will be easier than the murder of Polonious for Hamlet.
First of all Polonius was not an innocent man and i do not think it will be easier because Hamlet is still trying to find out if he should go with killing Claudius. Everyone thinks he is pyscho now, and the roryal family will not Hamlet around the kingdom or anyone else.
tHonestly, I don't think that Polonius was ever innocent of anything. From the beginning he has been out for himself and only himself. In order to make everything more beneficial to himself, he will use anyone. He spied on Hamelt and was one of the many people that betrayed him. I don't think that Hamlet ever really would have a problem with killing Claudius, he pretty much took everything away from him, his father and his crown. I think at the point the Hamlet sees this ghost again, is the point in which he has reached insanity. The ghost has taken on a new appearance as well as told Hamlet to take more drastic measures.
I think that Hamlet will have no problems killing again. He has now committed the crime and feels no remorse for it. He talks gruesomely about disposing the body. The deed he was instructed to do in Act I will now be quite easy to carry out.
I agree with Kurt - I think Hamlet lost his sanity in Act III at the point in which he saw Claudius' reaction and knew what the ghost had said is true. He will have no problem killing Claudius, simply because I doubt he will stop after killing Polonius and never avenge his father. He feels no remorse for the first muder, so why would he stop now?
I think that it will be easier for him to kill Claudious after killing Polonious. It seems to me that now he is scared and doesn't really have any feels that strike him after killing someone. I think he is also on the road to insanity but is not there yet but by the time he gets around to killing Claudious he will probably be crazy and that will also make it easier for him to kill Claudious.
Well spoken Sonny, you devious rascal. I believe that the question as to if it will be easier or harder for Hamlet to kill Claudius depends entirely on which perspective is taken.
If I take the perspective of Hamlet, I believe it will be easier for him to kill Claudius. Firstly, his conjecture that everyone is plotting against him has been proven and he knows it... "How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead.”(III,iii,25). He has proven that he is being conspired against and that he cannot trust those around him. I believe he will realize that if he was correct about that, he must be right about Claudius. Therefore his conviction is even further intensified with the killing of Polonius. Secondly he has proven to others and especially himself that he is capable of committing the deed ahead of him. Not only is he capable of the task, but also capable of doing so without remorse. He is able to act entirely upon his conviction. Thirdly, the appearance of the ghost will remind him of the just cause for which he fights. The Ghost states "This visitation/ Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose."(III,iii,114-115). His visitation will also act as an accelerant to the final conclusion of Hamlet's actions toward Claudius. Lastly, his mother has openly realized her sin. I believe that Hamlet will be convince that he can truly kill Claudius and save his mother from Claudius' incestuous sin. His plan is coming together and he will only be further made zealous by the above occurrences that will act as fuel to his fire.
When taking the perspective of the reader who can see all the other actions taking place, and knowing what the other characters know, I believe his act has made it much harder to kill Claudius. Firstly, killing what is seemingly an innocent man will not reflect well on Hamlet. Others will think much less of him at the very least. Secondly, he will most likely have to be punished in some way for his crime. It is much harder to kill someone when you are in jail, or at the very least he will be sped on his way to England. Either way he will be distanced from the King, making his murder, and catching him in a sinful act, all the more difficult. Lastly, by killing Polonius, Hamlet has proved his insanity to those around him. I believe that even Horatio will begin to question Hamlet's intent, and most definitely his sanity. At this point in time, Hamlet must choose his actions wisely. He made his first wise decision by choosing not to kill Claudius while he was in prayer. All together, his murder of Polonius has made it harder for him to have access to the king, and subsequently harder to kill him.
In conclusion, i believe that the murder of Polonius has made Claudius' murder easier for Hamlet personally, but harder for him to do so publicly. But in the end, his conviction is all that will determine whether or not the murder will even take place. What everyone thinks about him really doesn't affect Hamlet. Hamlet will even find a way around the possible consequences of Polonius' murder. Once again, the act of murder has only accelerated Hamlet towards his final action against Claudius.
i honestly dont't think that hamlet's murdering of claudius is going to have much if any influence on him and his motivation to kill claudius. Like levi said his original plans were to murder claudius to avenge his father, polonius was just a "side project" if you will. He didn't plan on killing him it just kinda happened and hamlet didnt feel any remorse for it...i think he is just going to keep on with his original intentions with claudius and not be affected by killing polonius.
I think that Hamlet's killing Polonius will not necessarily make it easier for Hamlet to kill Claudius, but rather inevitable. After a murder such as that, Hamlet must realize that he has started down a path that can only lead to his killing Claudius, unless something happens before that to stop this from happening(ie., the death/murder of Hamlet?). Throughout the play Hamlet has had a one-track mind about avenging his father's death, even feigning at madness when talking with others to disguise his real intent. Now that he knows the ghost has spoken the truth about his father's death, he must follow the path that he set for himself. I think Hamlet sees Polonius' murder as simply getting rid of an obstacle that might deter him from killing Claudius, and with such a one-track mind, he feels no remorse for the man if his death might help him achieve his biggest goal. Maybe Polonius' murder will make Hamlet's planned murder of Claudius easier simply because Polonius will be out of the way, but I think that Hamlet has been so set on avenging his father that morally this murder won't really change anything for him.
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