Act 1 Scene 5

1. Act 1 Scene 5 LO: To consider the beginning of the revenge plot. Task: Share your research findings with those around you.

2. Context – purgatory and the reformation After the reformation, the Church of England rejected the idea of purgatory as a device invented by the Catholic Church to make money. They believed that the dead went to either heaven or hell – there was no in-between. "If they be in heaven, they need not to us: if in hell, there is … a great gulf betwixt us and them, our prayer cannot go over for want of a bridge: … There is no mean between these extremes: Purgatory is but imaginary: a poetical chimæra: a paper prison, like the other limbos, whereof Virgil (I think) the heathen was one of the first builders:" The Roman Catholic Church taught that at death the souls of those too good for hell and too bad for heaven were sent to Purgatory. Here they were purged of their sins by punishment, but might on occasion be allowed to return to earth to warn the living of the need for repentance. In order to speed their loved ones’ journey through purgatory, families often paid for masses to be held or indulgences purchased. In a post-reformation England therefore, virtually all Protestant theologians held that any contemporary ghost was in all probability a demon trying to tempt us to sin. This clashed with the popular belief in ghosts and magic: One function of ghosts was the enforcement of prevalent social norms - encouraging charity, haunting sinners, threatening retribution. Ghosts also served to uphold a conservative society's belief that the wishes of ancestors should be honored. However, as previously discussed, Hamlet bridges the gap between Catholic and Protestant theologies. The ghost is one of these moments of “crossover”, and its presence would have alerted audiences to a moment of extreme spiritual conflict.

3. The Ghost’s Speech (lines 1-90) Hamlet and the ghost are finally alone on-stage together. • The ghost immediately starts by establishing his authority over Hamlet (“so art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear”) • How does Shakespeare create an atmosphere of spiritual and emotional turmoil (lines 10-21)? • Why is the image of the snake used? Who/what does it refer to? • How are Old Hamlet’s comments on Gertrude similar to young Hamlet’s? • What images are created in the description of the murder? • How has Old Hamlet’s attitude towards Gertrude changed by the end of the speech?

4. Lines 91-112 – Hamlet’s Reaction Hamlet shares his reaction to the ghost’s appearance with the audience – he vows to obey his “commandment”. • What images does Hamlet use to describe his mind/memory? • Why is memory important to the Ghost? The Ghost of Hamlet is not simply a plot device, a generic convention of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, as sometimes assumed. Its power, both for the audience and for young Hamlet, goes far beyond its function as a plot catalyst. Rather the figure of the Ghost expresses (1) a widespread fear among the living of being forgotten after death and (2) bereavement for those already dead. The Ghost, in brief, inhabits the imaginative space left open by the English Reformation's banishment of Purgatory in 1563. The Ghost returns from Purgatory, and in effect brings Purgatory back with him, albeit in a fictionalized and thereby transformed shape. – Stephen Greenblatt Discuss: How far do you agree?

5. Revenge and Madness • The Ghost wants retribution and demands that the sin committed against him be revenged. It is seen as a “just” punishment through an old-testament view of Christian justice. • Revenge drives much of the events of the play – not just Hamlet’s (in)action, but Laertes and Fortinbras as well. • Shakespeare links the ghost’s desire for revenge to religion – he calls the request a “commandment” and compares Claudius to Satan through the image of the snake. • The Ghost’s appearance causes Hamlet a spiritual dilemma which threatens his sanity. • Hamlet starts to question his belief in God and humanity – it has already been shaken by his mother’s swift remarriage. The Ghost’s presence and motives challenges his concept of a secure set of moral truths. • Hamlet’s behaviour in this scene comes quite close to actual madness – he says very odd things, particularly to the ghost (“Well said, old mole”). When he is talking to the ghost under the stage no-one else on stage understands this – intensifying his mad appearance.

6. Reading section 2 (lines 113-200) After swearing Horatio and Marcellus to secrecy, Hamlet proceeds to “talk” to the ghost below the stage. Yet this seems incredibly odd… How might this appear to Horatio and Marcellus? How is this different to the way it would appear to the audience? - Here Shakespeare pokes fun at the limitations of the theatre in order to neutralise any scepticism.

7. Metatheatricality / Metatheatre This is a term which can be referred to throughout Hamlet – it is said to be one of his most “self-conscious” plays. The play seems constantly aware of, and frequently refers to, the fact that it is a play. The line “this distracted globe” may refer to the world, but it could also refer to the Globe theatre. Hamlet’s feigned madness is a constant reminder of the “mimetic” nature of theatre. Some productions attempt to do away with the ghost in order to reinforce the psychological nature of Hamlet’s predicament (suggesting the ghost is all in Hamlet’s mind), but in order for the plot to function as a traditional revenge plot, the ghost must be an external factor. However, by physically putting someone one stage dressed as a ghost, it highlights the limitations of theatre - it is unlikely to be very believable or frightening. Mimetic/Mimesis - imitative representation of the real world in art and literature.

8. Essay question How does Shakespeare create a sense of foreboding and instability in Act 1? Consider: • Generic conventions • Characterisation • Setting • Imagery • Stagecraft You should aim to write around 750-1000 words for this. Use the last 10 minutes of the lesson to start planning your essay. This is due ____________________