Scene 3.3
Scene 3.3 – Within the Castle
Having fled the play in dramatic fashion, Claudius fears he will soon be
discovered. He knows Hamlet knows
he has murdered the former King, and he further knows that Hamlet does not plan
on letting the matter rest. Hence
Claudius must ship Hamlet off to England as quickly as possible.
Hamlet’s madness will provide the ideal cover, for Claudius can
rationalize that the mad Hamlet presently poses a threat to Danish national
security. It is simply intolerable,
the argument runs, to have a madman hanging around the royal court.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, wholeheartedly agreeing with Claudius’
scheme, prepare to make the voyage with Hamlet.
Polonius then makes a brief appearance to inform the King that he will be
hiding behind the arias (curtain) in Gertrude’s room when she meets with
Hamlet. Neither Claudius nor
Polonius trusts Gertrude to report honestly or accurately on her chat with
Hamlet – he is, after all, her one and only son – so Polonius will play spy
like he and Claudius did earlier with Hamlet and Ophelia.
Polonius exits, leaving the King alone on stage.
Instantly collapsing under the burden of his guilt, Claudius cries out:
“Oh my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; / It hath the primal
eldest curse upon’t, / A brother’s murder.
Pray can I not, / Though inclination be as sharp as will.” That
is, Claudius has committed the oldest crime known to humankind:
fratricide, the killing of one’s brother, which dates back to Adam and
Eve’s offspring when Cain murdered Abel.
Claudius desperately wants to repent, but he no less desperately wants to
keep the spoils of his crime: the
crown and the Queen. Commanding his
stubborn knees and heart of steel to soften, he takes a crack at praying.
Just as Claudius bows his head in prayer, Hamlet enters by chance.
A most perfect opportunity presents itself for Hamlet to take revenge –
Claudius doesn’t see him at all – but Hamlet pauses to weigh the situation
first. He is not one to make rash
decisions, especially when eternity is at stake.
If Hamlet were to kill Claudius now while the latter is (presumably) at
prayer, Claudius would be “fit and seasoned for his passage” to heaven,
having made a finally reckoning before death.
To murder Claudius here and now, Hamlet thus realizes, would not be
vengeance at all because Claudius wouldn’t be sent to hell. Therefore,
Hamlet chooses to pass up this occasion to kill the King, hoping instead to
catch the King in the middle of sin, thereby leaving no time for repentance.
This is Hamlet at his darkest moment, as he willfully and methodically
seeks the eternal damnation of Claudius. Moving
on, he proceeds to his mother’s chamber.
The scene ends with Claudius acknowledging the futility of his attempt at
prayer.
