Hamlet #4

How Everyone in Hamlet Would Benefit From a Family Chat

            Lack of communication and honesty threatens to continue causing problems for Hamlet and those around him. Rather than make assumptions about what others are thinking, each character should take it upon himself to directly address the issues at hand. For instance, Claudius and Gertrude should perhaps take initiative with Hamlet and explain their actions. The King seems to display profound concern for Hamlet when he asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to essentially spy on him, commenting, “What should it be, / More than his father’s death, that thus hath put him / So much from th’ understanding of himself / I cannot dream of” (2.2.7-10). Perhaps if the King had put a little more thought into the situation, he may have realized that his nephew-son feels a little confused and angry about the relationship between his “uncle-father and aunt-mother” (2.2.399). Hamlet is bound to make assumptions (as he already has), and if those assumptions lead him to believe that Claudius murdered his father (which they have), then everyone may benefit from some clarification about the events leading to King Hamlet’s death. Even if Claudius did murder Hamlet’s father, admitting the truth now will save him from the repercussions of allowing the idea to fester and twist itself in Hamlet’s mind. At the same time, Hamlet also needs to take on some responsibility and approach Claudius with his concerns. Acting crazy has thus far served no other purpose than to convince Polonius that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia. Through his deception, Hamlet is perpetuating the spread of false interpretations of his actions which is ironic given his supposed contempt for fake appearances. Indeed, Hamlet is disgusted with himself when he realizes that the actor conveyed deeper emotions than he has been able to express in response to his father’s supposed murder. Rather than try to directly address the problem, however, Hamlet decides to “have these players / Play something like the murder of [his] father / Before [his] uncle” (2.2.623-5). He believes that observing his uncle at the play will provide more conclusive evidence than just the ghost who may, Hamlet admits, be a devil playing on his emotions. Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving, so Hamlet’s plan may result in another misunderstanding. Only honesty and communication can help avoid tragedy.

An example of a heart-to-heart chat circumventing some problems:

“Hey Hamlet, you seem to be acting a bit crazy lately. Is there anything particularly bothering you that I can help clear up?”

“Actually uncle-king-dad, there is. See, the ghost of my father came and told me that you poisoned him, stole his wife, and took the throne. It’s been bothering me a bit lately.”

“Well Hamlet, I must admit that this is an unforeseen problem. I wasn’t banking on Hamlet coming back from the grave. However, the answer is yes, I did in fact murder your dad. I understand that you are probably a bit angry right now.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty upset. However, I appreciate your honesty. Now I know that if I kill you, I won’t find out later that there was some miscommunication.”

“Yes. However, you should also consider whether the ghost was your dead father or the devil. It may make a difference to you if you are seeking to avoid eternal damnation.”

“That’s a good point. Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No problem. I think these chats are good for us. Provided that you decide not to murder me anytime soon, I think we should make this a regular thing.”

Unfortunately, this would not make for a good Shakespearean tragedy.