Themes of Hamlet

1. Themes identified
By Dedré Engelbrecht

2.  Nature of Theatre
 Interpretation is unique
 Always study and interpretation
 Address ambiguous theatre in play – metatheatre
 Addressing audience “theatrical device”
 Hamlet reflects play “Who’s there?” (Hamlet reflecting himself)
 “Mouse trap” – meta-theatre (Where is the line drawn?)
 By faking = you manipulate and get what you want
 We, the audience, are here to enjoy – not to think
 Acting = faking emotions and Hamlet believes he cannot
 Appearance versus reality
 Theatre would not work if we did not put a suspend on belief.
 Metatheatre = play within a play “Life is but a stage” (Like a
Russian Doll)

3.  Disease and Cossuption
 Longest play of Shakespeare
 Rotten Denmark (Hamlet/ Laertes)
 Disease of the mind (Ophelia)
 Country reacting to the death of the king/ marriage

4.  Role of Women
 Purpose to show off Hamlet’s doubts/ fears
 Ophelia used as a prop by Polonius
 Only controlling when she had gone mad
 Even though she could not control herself
 Women are stronger in Shakespeare’s comedies
 Ophelia’s madness – true grief compared to Hamlet’s
madness
 What did the queen know?
 Did Hamlet really love Ophelia?

5.  The Ghost, Religion, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory
 Hamlet questions the nature of ghost
 Claims to be from purgatory
 Someone in purgatory does not speak of forgiveness and
revenge
 Appearance of ‘hell’
 Uses heaven in describing revenge (Hamlet)
 Hamlet’s thoughts when Claudius is praying
 Claudius’ perception on praying
 Ophelia in hell?
 Earthly justice versus Heavenly justice
 Nobles decided burial
 Adjust beliefs to suit human perception

6.  Words
 Shakespeare’s longest play
 Most soliloquies
 Internal monologue more expressed than dialogue
 Functioning of language
 Function of silence
 “Let my story be heard”
 Hamlet acts for those who cannot
 Because of that, he is in a position where he cannot say
certain things
 Uses words as weapons (daggers)
 Words used as illusion (Claudius)
 Construct reality through words
 Audience understands Hamlet’s through words

7. Adapted from:
Gilbertson, K. (2015). Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Themes. University of Johannesburg. South Africa.