CONNOTATIVE ANALYSIS OF HAMLET (pag. 104-105)

Now I am going to carry out the connotative analysis of the first scene of act third from Hamlet.

Hamlet is a tragic play written by Shakespeare in 1600.

There is a dialogue between Hamlet and his mother. The content of the dialogue is Hamlet's comparison between his dead father and his uncle. He wants to show to his mother that his father was better.

The protagonist starts to speak using an imperative form: "Look here, upon these picture, and on this, the counterfeit presentment of two brothers". Shakespeare uses these verb tense to underline Hamlet's mood. The reader can immediately understand that he is angry and rather aggressive with his mother. In the second line the writer makes us understand that Hamlet wants to compare the portraits of two brothers (his father and his uncle). The word "counterfeit" means that they are modified. You have to remember that the portraits at that time had especially the function of showing the personality and the importance of a person.

After that Hamlet starts to show to his mother his father's portrait. He uses again the imperative form: "See, what a grace was seated on this brow;". In the following lines Hamlet compares his father's qualities and skills to classical gods.

Hamlet compares his father's curls to Hyperion's. Hyperion was a Titan who ruled the sun. Hamlet wants to underline with this metaphor the importance of his father: he was light and he lit all.

Hamlet compares his father to Jove who was the god's father. It means that his father represented the supremacy over all the other kings, like Jove.

Hamlet compares his father to Mars who was the god of war. He wants to convey the idea of a great fighter. The protagonist associates his father to Mercury who was the messenger of the gods. In particular he uses the word "station" to underline his father's great build.

Shakespeare uses classical mithology to remark the importance of his dead father (beauty, strength, courage, power,...).

In the line 7 there is a metaphor: "new-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill". Shakespeare uses the word "hill" (not "mountain") because he is referring to the mother. She has decided not to kiss Hamlet's great father but the uncle.

The presence of the word "combination" means that the father was a mixture of positive qualities.

The word "seal" (=sigillo) means that the identity of the father cannot be discussed.

The sentence "This was your husband" is very significant. As the matter of fact this is the last part of a particular organization: Shakespeare adopts a climatic orchestration of syntax. The same line is interrupted by a full stop. After that Hamlet introduces the other part of comparison: he starts to speak about his uncle ("Here is your husband"). Now Hamlet doesn't use classical mithology to refer to his uncle. As the matter of fact he considers his uncle an inferior husband for his mother. There is an interrogative form "Have you eyes?" with which Hamlet wants to open his mother's eyes. He wants to make her understand the deep difference between the two men. After that there is an other association: "could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, and batten on this moor?". Here Hamlet compares his father to a fair mountain and his uncle to a moor. You can immediately understand that Hamlet wants to underline the importance of his father and at the same time the contempt for his uncle.

After that there is an exclamation "Ha!" and the repetition of the previous interrogative form "Have you eyes?". He refers to his mother and you can understand again that he is very angry and offended. 

In the following lines Hamlet explains to his mother his disconcerted and perplexity for her choice. He says "you cannot call it love...judgement" because he wants to underline that an old person should follow the judgement in a love story because the passion should be tame. Therefore Hamlet asks himself "what judgement would step from this to this?". The reader can immediately understand that he is really incredulous and that he doesn't want to believe in his mother's choice. He can't find a rational and possible solution.

After that he speaks about his mother's sense. Hamlet says that the mother has surely emotions but he thinks that they are paralysed. In the following lines Hamlet makes an association: he speaks about the madness. It is a relevant choice because it underlines the negative amazement of Hamlet. As the matter of fact he says that madness doesn't err in the same situation and that even madness can perceive the difference between the two men.

After that you find the word "devil": Hamlet tries to find a possible solution for the incredible choice of his mother; he blames on the devil. He says probably that because he can't find an other possible solution.

In the following lines Hamlet uses words connected to senses: eyes, feeling, sight, ears, hands and smelling. He goes on to explain other possible reasons. Hamlet tells that his mother couldn't make this choice also having part of her senses and not all of them. 

Hamlet makes an exclamation: "O shame!" so the reader can understand his angry. Then he makes a question: "where is thy blush?" because he would like to see his mother's embarrassment. After that Hamlet refers to "hell" and you can notice a particular semantic field because of the presence of words like "hell", "flaming", "wax", "fire", "ardour" and "burn". They refer to fire, to passion. "And reason panders will" means that the reason follows wish.

After that Hamlet's mother, called Gertrude, speaks. She says to Hamlet not to speak more. She suffers because in listening Hamlet's words she recognizes her faults. She understands he is right but she prefers not to listen to him.

In the follwing lines Hamlet speaks again and he is very angry. He doesn't accept that his mother doesn't want to listen to him because he wants to say everything that he thinks. In these lines he uses bad words to summarize the negative qualities of the new husband: "rank sweat", "enseamed bed", "corruption" and "nasty sty".

Then the mother answers: she says again to Hamlet not to speak more. She makes an association: she compares Hamlet's words to daggers. It means that she feels guilty. Hamlet's words are daggers for her because he is telling the truth.

In the following lines Hamlet goes on saying the negative qualities of his uncle. He says that he is a murderer, a villain, a slave, a vice of kings, a cutpurse of the empire and the rule and a thief. Hamlet is very directly but he is telling only the truth.

You can understand that he is very angry and aggressive.

The mother tries to interrupt him saying "No more!" because she is suffering for the truth.

Hamlet ends saying that his uncle is "a king of shreds and patches". He wants to underline his contempt for his uncle, the worst of the kings.