3.3.16-71+-+Claudius

=__**Hamlet 3.3.16 – 71: Made by Connor Milstead **__=

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William Shakespeare is the author of this play. It was published somewhere within the time span of 1599 at the earliest and 1602 at the latest. There are three different versions of the play: the earliest of which is mostly unreadable, the second of which most editions are based upon since it has stage directions, etc. The third was published posthumously (the other two were in his lifetime) and contains most of the same elements as the second text. ======

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Hamlet has put on an “antic disposition” and is starting to concern both Claudius and his mother. This is because of the play that Hamlet wrote which portrayed Claudius as the murder and his mother as an incestuous woman. Claudius then asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet to England with them. As they exit, Polonius enters in which he proceeds to tell Claudius that he is going to hide behind the tapestry in Hamlet’s mother’s room to make sure things do not get out of hand. The passage is a monologue that goes over the amount of guilt that is on Claudius’ shoulders, the justification for the forgiveness of the crime that he has committed, and the begging of mercy for absolution. ======

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The importance of the passage within the greater part of the story is that it stalls Hamlet from killing Claudius at this time (regardless of the fact that he is helpless while on his knees). The reason being is that if Hamlet kills Claudius now, the sin will be on Hamlet’s head instead of Claudius because the latter is repenting and asking for absolution. ======

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This shows Claudius’ true self (as a monologue reflects the inside thoughts of the character). He is truly concerned about his spiritual wellbeing (although later on he contradicts himself by attempting to kill Hamlet) and looks to the skies for help. In other words: Claudius is a dualistic character, on one side he is absolutely possessed by power and will do anything to keep himself there; on the other he is haunted by the fact that what he did was evil. ======

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One of the most common motifs in Hamlet is appearance versus reality and this passage is a prime example. In appearance, Claudius looks like a rather humble and religious person who honestly feels guilty about what he has done, but in reality he is a vengeful and cruel man who only cares about himself, is ruled by his passions, and is blind to everything else that does not concern him. ======

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There are several literary allusions and references within the passage. The first is “It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t” where the “primal curse” is an allusion to Cain’s murdering of Abel and thus his condemnation of being “a restless wanderer” (NAB) in the book of Genesis. Another allusion is to the New Testament promise of Christ coming to forgive the sins of many on Judgment Day in the line “Whereto serves mercy but to confront the visage of offense?” This also shows that he is trying to make a logical argument with God (it is assumed) about why he should forgive Claudius. A final allusion is that he refers to what is commonly called the “Lord’s prayer” (the “Our Father…”) when he says “And what’s in prayer but this twofold force, to be forstalled ere we come to fall, or pardoned being down?” This “twofold force” is the “Forgive us our trespasses” and the “lead us not into temptation” lines of the prayer. It applies to the passage by God forgiving Claudius’ murder of his brother, and to resist the temptation of killing Hamlet since he knows that Claudius is the murderer. Claudius finally gives into temptation when he poisons the end of Laertes’ sword in the duel. It also deserves a mention that the passage is in iambic pentameter as opposed to prose in which the latter is used when talking informally or when using derogatory language. ======