Act 3.4 Hamlet Analysis

In Act 3.4,Hamlet’s madness is clearly displayed after he murders Polonius,due to his mother calling for help because of her fear with Hamlet. In the text,Hamlet’s tone is intense but emotional as he shares with his mother her faults of marrying her late husbands’ brother. Hamlet says , “No, by the rood, not so.You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife,And—would it were not so!—you are my mother” (4.3.14-16). As the scene advances , the ghost of his father , King Hamlet , appears and Hamlet becomes poignant while his mother comes to realize that Hamlet has indeed become mad. Similarly displayed in Branagh’s interpretation , the character of Hamlet is a very serious , but eventually emotional character. Instead of using a bed,Hamlet

uses a chair to violently hound his mother of her faults. With fear for her life , Gertrude cries for help and when Polonius replies , Hamlet stabs through a curtain to kill Polonius. With no sign of remorse for his actions , Hamlet takes Polonius body away and hides it. With concern of Polonius’s whereabouts after a few days of his absence , it is confirmed that Hamlet has truly gone mad , from sarcastic accusations confirming his dealings with the death.

In Act 3.1 , Shakespeare’s famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy is spoken by Hamlet. Hamlet , in a very emotional state , speaks on the struggle of human existence and how we have all struggled with whether or not our existence is too troubling to continue. Hamlet says , “ To be, or not to be? That is the question— Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them” (3.1. 58-60). As portrayed by Branagh , Hamlet recites the soliloquy in a mellow tone , while standing in a mirror with a dagger placed closely to his face , as one would imagine when reading the text. From this action , the audience can clearly see how Hamlet has become the “tragic hero” due to his emotional instability almost making him commit suicide.