Scenes 4.6 and 4.7
Scene 4.6 – Within or Near the
Castle
Horatio is told
sailors have arrived, bearing letters for him.
He correctly concludes the letters must be from Hamlet, for he knows no
one else presently at sea. For the
audience’s benefit, Horatio reads the letter aloud:
the ship on which Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was sailing came
under attack by pirates and Hamlet was taken captive. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern managed to escape and are en
route to England. Hamlet, while
acknowledging that his captors are treating him mercifully, requests that
Horatio come quickly to his aid – the sailors who have given Horatio the
letter will lead the way. Horatio,
as any best friend would, doesn’t hesitate to set out for the sea.
Scene 4.7 – Within the Castle
Claudius’ name
has been cleared offstage in the murder of Polonius.
The vindicated King thus hopes to enlist Laertes’ rage against Hamlet,
even claiming that he himself has been hunted by Hamlet. Now directing his hatred against Hamlet, Laertes is
nevertheless troubled by Claudius’ failure to rid himself of Hamlet sooner, if
he did indeed pose such a threat to all. Claudius
explains that Gertrude’s love for Hamlet, coupled with the public’s high
esteem of the Prince, barred Claudius from taking any action. Laertes
again vows revenge, and not without Claudius’ active encouragement.
A messenger enters and interrupts their conversation, bearing letters to
the King and Queen from Hamlet. For
Laertes’ benefit, Claudius reads the letter aloud:
Hamlet will arrive back at Elsinore tomorrow! Claudius is completely puzzled, for Hamlet should already be
dead. Decidedly desperate, the King
knows his only hope to remain undiscovered lies in killing Hamlet immediately
upon his arrival, but the question is how to do this tactfully and guiltlessly.
Claudius’ plan
is ingenious: Laertes, an excellent
swordsman and as such long the envy of Hamlet, will fence good-naturedly with
Hamlet. His blade, however, will
not be blunted as it should be. Laertes
has a further suggestion: he will
apply a poisonous ointment to his blade, so that even the smallest scratch – a
playful mistake – will kill Hamlet. In
the midst of this scheming, Claudius makes a brilliant off-hand comment to
incite Laertes’ anger even more: “Laertes,
was your father dear to you?” A
master rhetorician, Claudius insures that Laertes’ hatred for Hamlet does not
flag for a moment (as Hamlet’s own impulse to revenge has).
Laertes confesses he would be more than happy to slit Hamlet’s throat
even in church. Claudius, relieved
he now has a pawn to do the bloody deed, enthusiastically cheers Laertes on:
“Revenge should have no bounds.”
Careful to cover all of his bases, Claudius mentions one foolproof backup
plan: when the fencers pause for a
drink during their match, Claudius will make sure Hamlet’s glass is poisoned.
Here Gertrude enters unannounced and interrupts their discussion.
She bears news of Ophelia’s death by drowning.
Apparently Ophelia fell in the brook and, oblivious to the danger of her
situation, she was pulled under by her water-logged clothing.
Laertes, unsurprisingly, is greatly disturbed by his sister’s death and
sullenly marches off stage. Claudius
and Gertrude follow, as Claudius tells his wife of the difficulty he had in
“calming” (redirecting, really) Laertes’ rage.
