Act 3. sc. 2:
Hamlet
‘Tis now the very witching time of night,
2 When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood
4 And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft, now to my mother.
6 O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever
The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom.
8 Let me be cruel, not unnatural.
I will speak daggers to her, but use none.
10 My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites:
How in my words somever she be shent,
12 To give them seals never, my soul, consent.
This short monologue takes place right after the court watches Hamlet’s deceptive play. In it, he compares the wickedness of the hour with his task at hand: going to talk with his mother. He describes the “witching time” as a supernatural, hellish time (1). He uses the word contagion to describe this time (3). My interpretation of this is that he believes that many bad things happen during that time, and that it essentially sickens the world. I think that this reference and the following “now could I drink hot blood” allude to murder (3). The wickedness of the hour is tied to Hamlet’s emotional status of feeling angry and revengeful. He fears that he will do actions so terrible that “the day would quake to look on” (4-5).
He is so fearful that his actions will be rash that he prays that he will not harm his mother. He asks that his heart not “lose its nature” and that his bosom not become like Nero, the heartless roman emperor who watched his city burn (6-7). Hamlet desperately wants to confront his mother, but as his father’s ghost directed, he does not want to harm her. He clearly expresses this in line 9 when he says he will not use daggers on his mother, although he will “speak daggers to her.” Hamlet wishes that his mother be shamed but not harmed (as expressed in line 11), but seems to doubt his own mental state. He expresses these feelings to convey to the audience that he isn’t completely sane and that he may do something terrible. In one paragraph he is able to inform the viewer/reader of the coming plot as well as describe his mental state.
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteThank you for choosing this monologue and analyzing it. It was an interesting monologue to read in class and your analysis definitely helped me understand it more. Shakespeare has a definite talent for being cunning and sly in slipping information and mentality of the characters in his plays. I must say that Hamlet, so far is my favorite play by Shakespeare (and it's not just because in the movie we're watching, David Tenant stars as Hamlet). Hamlet is a masterfully crafted play devising of death, spying, slyness, sadness, and brilliant minds at work. I admire your work, however, I wish you would've at least interpreted "speak daggers to her" a little more, or expanded into what that could have possibly meant for Hamlet, his mother, and the setting of the play. Excellent job in analysis and blogging, though! Thanks for sharing.