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Analysis of Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet
sin, and he tells her once again that Claudius is not worth even half of what her old husband was worth. After Hamlet has finished speaking he spots the ghost of his father again.
He begins to talk to it; Gertrude who doesn’t see the ghost believes that he is totally mad. Hamlet tells the ghost that he has allowed his emotions to cloud his judgment he believes that he has allowed time to slip by and his commitment to his task of revenge to cool. The ghost tells Hamlet that he has come back to sharpen his will and to remind him of what he has to do; not because he has forgotten but because he is misusing the energies which should be directed towards revenge. He then tells Hamlet that he should go to try and put Gertrudes' mind at rest. Gertrude, who still cannot see who Hamlet is talking to, asks him why he is talking to an empty space. She describes how mad he looks to her, he appears to be talking to nothing, his eyes are popping out of his head and his hair is on end; she’s worried about him and she wants him to calm down. She asks him whom he is talking to. Hamlet points to the ghost and describes to her that the look on the ghosts face could make even stones cry, he doesn’t want the ghost to look at him like that as he feels that it will weaken him, he believes that pity is not a state of mind that is likely to generate violent behaviour. As Gertrude is still wondering what is going on, the ghost leaves.
Gertrude believes that everything that Hamlet says he can see, he has created in his imagination; she believes that madness is very skillful in creating. Hamlet tells her that he is not mad, he knows what he is saying and he tells her that he wants her to stop reassuring herself that he is mad, as he believes that that will encourage this to continue. He wants Gertrude to repent for what she has done, here we see Hamlet acting like a moral judge, he sees himself as the only person upholding morality. He becomes sarcastic by asking Gertrude for forgiveness for being a good person; he’s mocking her. Gertrude becomes confused, her heart has been divided into two and she doesn't know in which direction to turn. Hamlet tells her that she should throw away the bad part of her heart and keep the good part of it; he wants her to pretend that she is virtuous even if she isn't. He tells her that when she's goes to sleep tonight she shouldn't go Claudius' bed, as this will make the next night away from him easier for her. He tells her that he will pray to be forgiven for what he has done and that at the same time he will also pray for her to be forgiven, he won't ask [next page]