Act III Notes

Day 1: 3.1
- R&G report on Hamlet
~ He’s upset w/o telling cause
~ suffers from “crafty” madness
~ found joy in players who will perform (K&Q invited)
- KC/Pol/Oph begin setting up Hamlet
~ O pretends to read
~ Pol’s instructions spark KC’s conscience
~ there is question of when/if Hamlet knows he’s being watched

- Hamlet soliloquy
~ hits on suicide again
~ realizes unknown is why people suffer through life

- Ham & Oph
~ he denies her & attacks her “honesty”
~ toys with truth of his feelings
~ orders her to a nunnery (convent or brothel?)
~ frames his dislike of women & marriage

- Recap
~ KC sees through madness & love
~ fears true cause
~ he’ll send Ham to England to get tribute $
~ Pol. wants QG to try to get through to him first

3.2
- Ham instructs player on how to perform the additions
- Ham asks Horatio to watch KC during performance as imitation of KH’s murder is played out
~ they will later discuss and judge ghost’s motive based on it

Day 2:
- Ham plays as others enter o Confuses KC
o Jokes w/Pol for having played Julius Caesar
o points to Oph’s chastity and the marriage

- dumb show is meant to act out events around death
o play speaks to the same topic
o Queen overdoes love & dedication to husband
o King is realistic, but in love - reactions
o QG claims woman protests too much
o KC questions offensiveness of “The Mousetrap”
o Ham continues to toy/defend
- Ham & Hor agree on reaction

Day 3:
- R&G show KG is upset
o Ham toys w/their words pointing to the eliciting of guilt

- Ham is asked to see QG - R questions Ham’s cause for grief
o “advancement” is mis-taken by R&G

- Ham shows his anger @ R&G using metaphor of playing a recorder

- alone, Ham recaps his feelings
o keep drive for action
o leave mom out of it

3.3
- R&G sent w/ Ham to England to remove his madness
o he makes the crown look bad
o R speaks to role of king as essential to all the people

- Pol heads to spy
- KC gives soliloquy
o Discusses his guilt over the act of murder
o Ponders possibilities of regret while enjoying spoils

- Ham finds KC in prayer
o Resolves not to kill and allow him to go to heaven
o Must wait until he’s sinning
- KC reflects on his prayers – that he didn’t mean (could Ham have done it?)

Day 4: 3.4
- Pol hides
- QG tries to reprove Ham, but he turns it on her
o Goes so far as to accuse her

- QG yells
– Pol makes himself known, but is killed
o Ham thinks it’s KC

- Ham compares her husbands
o QG pleads he stop

- KHG appears (only to Ham)
o Ham thinks it’s a reminder to act
o Ham tries to convince her of what he sees & keep his resolve
o QG thinks he’s crazy
o Ham begs she make things right

- seems Ham feels charged by god
- Ham claims madness in action, not mind
o off to Eng with aim to avoid treachery

- Ham takes Pol’s body with him