Hamlet essay - Grade: A PDF

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Hamlet essay
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To Laugh or Not To Laugh "A little more than kin, and less than kind" (I, II, 67) is what began the humor in Hamlet, as a method to incidentally occupy the audience far from the practically tenacious disaster and dull plot that penetrate the story. In spite of the fact that in Williams Shakespeare's, Hamlet, it may appear as though serious scenes are joined with character's foolish activities just to include a lighthearted element. However, the comic scenes serve a more serious thematic purpose as well. In this tragedy, Hamlet himself, Polonius, and the gravediggers are altogether utilized as humor to distract the dark nature of the play. Firstly, Hamlet, in Shakespeare tragedy use of comic relief is dark and depressing. Just after Hamlet’s father dies, he makes a sad joke that the reason his mother remarried right after her husband’s death was so that they could use the leftover food from the funeral and serve it to the wedding guests, (I, II, 187-188). This joke was the beginning of his depressing humor caused by his grief. Moreover, in act II, Hamlet started to act like he has gone utterly insane and began to rant in a comedic way. He began by calling Polonius a “fishmonger,” (II, II, 190). Then proceeds by acting like he never knew Ophelia was his daughter. Furthermore, when asked what he was reading, Hamlet replied with “words, words, words,” (II, II, 210). At this point, Hamlet is presumed as a fool while making Polonius seems like one also. Hamlets morbid humor is used to intensify scenes by teasing others to relieve tension. Additionally, Hamlet's sense of humor acts to increase the tragic factor of the play. For instance, after he kills Polonius, Hamlet “[…] lug the guts into the neighbor room,” (III, IV, 235). Treating Polonius's death as if he were trash. This particular situation shows the audience that at this point of the play, Hamlet’s jokes are used to intensify tragic scenes and reveal what he is feeling.

Secondly, in William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, Polonius is a comic relief because he imitates Hamlets tendency of using wordplay. Polonius is over-eager and gives meaningless advice when not needed, therefore can sometimes give the impression of being rude. For instance, when Hamlet welcomes the players into the court. One player begins a speech of emotional grief, and Polonius rudely interrupts by saying “Fore God, my lord, well spoken, with good accent and good discretion,” (II, II, 491-492). He does this to rudely mock her agony. However, as she continues her speech, Polonius interrupts again “This is too long,” (II, II, 523). Furthermore, as the player begins getting emotional from part of her speech. Polonius mocks her again by stating “Look where he has not turned his color and had tears in ’s eyes. Prithee, no more,” (II, II, 545-546). Meaning that the player has cried enough and he doesn’t want to hear it anymore. These quotes prove that Polonius gives a meaningless statement to create humor. Additionally, Polonius is a pompous old man, meaning he always makes pretentious comments. For instance, during his conversation with Gertrude and Claudius, Polonius begins to ramble on about how he understands why Hamlet is going mad. He tells Claudius that, “…I (he) believe— unless this brain of mine (his) is not so politically cunning as it used to be—that I’ve (he) found out why Hamlet’s gone crazy”, (II, II, 46-52). This is seen as comedic because all Polonius does is ramble on about things that nobody cares about. It is also seen as comic relief when Polonius delivers the results of his investigation to the king and queen by stating, My liege, and madam, to expostulate/ What majesty should be, what duty is,/ What day is day, night is night, and time is time,/ Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;/ Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,/ And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, / I will be brief. Your noble son is mad/'Mad' call I

it, for, to define true madness, /What is ’t but to be nothing else but mad?/ But let that go, (II, II, 93-102). Polonius is a comic relief during his conversation with Gertrude and Claudius regarding Hamlet’s madness because he could have simply said, “your son is mad.” However, he decided to ramble and wastes time while the queen just wants him to get to the point. This use of wordplay builds suspense to intensify the scene. The analysis from above demonstrates that Polonius’s role in Hamlet was to create humor to distract the audience from tragic situations that occur. Thirdly, the gravedigger’s scene in Hamlet is one of the most suspenseful moments of the play that the comic relief intermingles with the significant elements of the story. This scene touches upon not only comic relief but the theme of morality and the laws of religion. Just after Polonius was killed and Ophelia drowns, the two gravediggers come out to provide comic relief to a tragic situation. They begin commenting on Ophelia’s death amusingly while making jokes about the situation. Also, as one of the gravedigger's dig, Hamlet asks him whose grave it belonged to, (V, II, 120). The gravedigger replied with “it's mine sir,” (V, II, 121 ) which led Hamlet to respond with: "I think it be thine, indeed for thou liest in t,” (V, II, 124 ). Hamlet and the gravedigger continue this pun that they have started to create a comic element in a tragic situation. Moreover, this scene also uses comedy to criticize religion. The discussion between these two gravediggers additionally builds up a true subject that the laws of religion are not same for all. As a result of Ophelia’s death, the first digger says that the persons of high rank or status should have in this world the right to drown themselves or hang themselves while their fellow Christians do not enjoy the same right, (V, I, 27-32). By pointing out that the wealthy get distinctive treatment from religion than needy individuals do, the gravediggers demonstrate that religion is out of line and affected by appearance

instead of morals. Furthermore, the gravedigger’s scene also emphasizes the theme of mortality. The gravediggers represent the grave that Hamlet's life has become. They suddenly move the attention from revenge to the question of survival. The two gravediggers remind the audience that death is not necessarily a thing that Hamlet contemplates but rather something that awaits for everyone. When Hamlet finds a man he knew, Yorick’s, skull "I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy,"(V, II, 190-202). He speaks on the subject of death and the fact that all that lives will one day die and that no social ranking or wealth can change the equality of mortality. The analysis from above shows that the gravedigger’s scene has serious meanings other than comic relief. To conclude, in Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes comedy as a way to briefly occupy people far from the practically steady disaster that penetrate whatever remains of the story. The funny scenes in the play come mainly earlier or after a scene of passionate force or incredible brutality. Although in Williams Shakespeare's, Hamlet, it may appear as though serious scenes are joined with character's foolish activities just to include a lighthearted element. However, the comic scenes serve a more serious thematic purpose as well. In this tragedy, Hamlet himself, Polonius, and the gravediggers are all used as a comic relief to increase the ultimate tragic nature of the play. Thus Shakespeare shows the audience that “to laugh or not to laugh” is the real question. Works Cited Benedict, Carol. "What Does It Mean: Comic Relief?" The Writing Place. N.p., 26 May 2010. Web. 26 July 2017. .

Crowther, John Ed. "Hamlet." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, 10 Feb. 2006. Web. 26 July 2017. . Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark." Ham.pdf. Folger Shakespeare Library, 1 Aug. 2015. Web. 25 July 2017. . Stockton, Carla Lynn. "Hamlet." Hamlet: Act V Scene 1 Summary & Analysis | Shakespeare | CliffsNotes. CliffsNotes, 26 Aug. 2004. Web. 26 July 2017. ....