Scene 1.2
Scene 1.2 – The King’s Court,
Within the Castle
The new King of
Denmark, Claudius, announces his recent marriage to Gertrude, the widow of the
former King, Claudius’ older brother named Hamlet.
Publicizing his own mirthful marriage in the wake of Hamlet’s death –
when much of the nation is still grieving – is a rhetorical feat that Claudius
handles no less delicately than deftly. He
speaks briefly of a threat to the Kingdom posed by the young Fortinbras, Prince
of Norway. Fortinbras has demanded
the surrender of lands lost to Hamlet during his uncle’s reign, but Claudius
is unmoved by the demand. The King therefore sends two messengers, Voltemand and
Cornelius, to inform the bed-ridden elder Fortinbras of his nephew’s
distasteful designs with the hope that Fortinbras will reprimand his nephew.
Claudius next
turns his attention to Laertes, son of the Lord Chamberlain named Polonius.
Recalling that Laertes had a request but having forgotten its precise
nature, Claudius assures Laertes that his case will be granted, for none is more
highly esteemed by the King than Laertes’ father.
Laertes petitions the King for permission to return to his studies in
France which he left behind to attend the King’s coronation.
Once Polonius consents to his son’s departure, Laertes’ suit is
immediately granted. The King then
addresses Hamlet, his new son by virtue of his marriage to Gertrude, Hamlet’s
mother. Still mourning his dead
father, Hamlet makes no attempt to mask his melancholy.
Neither does he hide his disdain for Claudius, saying the King is “more
than kin but less than kind.” That
is, Claudius is too close for comfort as a relative of Hamlet’s, as both uncle
and father, and yet he is far from dear in Hamlet’s estimation.
The King does not respond directly to this stinging comment, probably
because he chooses not to hear it or because he simply doesn’t understand it;
many modern editors and directors choose to make it an aside spoken only to the
audience. The King and Queen try to
dissuade Hamlet from further mourning, arguing that death is no less natural
than inevitable. It is stubborn,
impious, unmanly and simple-minded – so runs their argument – for Hamlet to
continue grieving. Both also
request that Hamlet remain in Denmark instead of returning to his studies in
Wittenberg; Claudius even goads Hamlet with the thought that one day the throne
will most likely be his.
Hamlet, saying
very little, agrees to stay. Everyone
exits the stage except Hamlet. Unable
to contain himself a moment more, Hamlet pours out his heart: he bemoans the fact that his religious faith prohibits
suicide and then condemns his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius.
To him, there is very little of promise in this world of rank and gross
deeds: “How weary, stale, flat
and unprofitable / Seems to me the uses of this world!”
His mother must be frail indeed, Hamlet concludes, to forget his father
so quickly and completely in marrying Claudius:
“O most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous
sheets.” The gush of emotions,
however, comes to an abrupt halt as Horatio enters, accompanied by Marcellus and
Barnardo. Horatio recounts the
story of the ghost to Hamlet, declaring that even the ghost’s hands resembled
those of Hamlet’s father. Without
hesitation and swearing his friends to continued secrecy, Hamlet says he will
meet the three of them later that night during their watch to see and speak to
the ghost himself.
