Morals and Religion Flashcards
Inky {Hamlet}
‘Nay, it is. I know not “seems.” ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, nor customary suits of solemn black’ 1.2.78
Hamlet emphasizes the truth in his mourning by implying that the Queen and King put on pretenses and feign their mourning - the lexical field of darkness emphasizes the truth of his grief, juxtaposing with his ‘cold mother’, claiming that she feels nothing and therefore has no conscience or morals - he’ll get no warmth from her, and so she can’t be trusted. Hamlet signifies that his grief transcends appearances, as being real and neither a ‘cloak’ nor a ‘suit’ - this indicates that the King and Queen are covering something up with their facade, and foreshadows the revelation of their betrayal. There is a subsequent list of four parallel items with ‘nor’, and this example of the rhetorical device of syndeton highlights the intensity of Hamlet’s mourning, suggesting him to be a highly moral character in this aspect, Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses the lexical choice of ‘seems’ and ‘seemingly’ to point out that many of the character’s can’t be trusted, with their appearance hiding their true, morally corrupt nature.
Corpse {King}
‘From the first corpse till he that died today’ 1.2.105
The biblical imagery depicted here, with Abel as the ‘first copse’ killed by his brother may be a Freudian slip to modern readers, which Shakespeare unconsciously revealing Claudius’ betrayal. Alternatively, this may be a literal device used by Shakespeare intentionally, to foreshadow the revelation of Old Hamlet’s murder, perhaps to display the King’s guilty conscience as haunting him throughout his reign. The reference to this fratricide as the first killing in the Bible, reinforces the sin of Claudius’ terrible act, and highlight’s the need for justice.
Slaughter {Hamlet}
‘His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter. O God, O God’ 1.2.132
The repetition of ‘God’, sometimes published with exclamation marks to direct an actor’s tone of despair, further emphasizes Hamlet’s depression and melancholy, typical of the protagonist in a Revenge Tragedy, and may also be a plea to God, referring to divine law where the church regards suicide as forbidden, an influence of Shakespeare’s own Christian faith. By following religious morals, upheld even in his pain, Hamlet is humanized to the audience, and this further indicates the form of an ‘morality play’, where mankind’s struggle with sin, in this case suicide, is highlighted.
Beast {Hamlet}
‘Hyperion to satyr….O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason’ 1.1.140/150
By referring to Gertrude as a ‘beast’, this animalistic imagery indicates Hamlet’s view of her as lacking morals, and even a conscience, just as animals appear to do. It was generally thought that the process of reasoning separated humans from animals, and allowed them to understand cause and effect - this shows that the Queen disregards the consequences of her remarriage, and her lack of mourning suggests her to be emotionless, and therefore compared to an animal. Using an exaggerated metaphor of his father being a Greek God juxtaposed with the grotesque creature that he compares Claudius to be indicates the King as being morally corrupt, however the hyperbole used suggests that Hamlet’s view is unreliable, and his judgment is clouded, after all, he is clearly biased.
Rotten {Marcellus}
Foul {Ghost}
‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ 1.4.90
‘Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder’ 1.5.25
The lexical field of death and decay used throughout portray the deceptive misconduct carried out in Denmark, with morals and politics both corrupt due to Old Hamlet’s death, and Claudius’ sin - this idea of a ‘foul and unnatural murder’ challenges the King’s divine right, signifying that he is not the natural King and indicating an unbalance to the whole state, where a hero is needed to restore nature to this ‘unnatural’ situation - it is therefore ironic that only through killing Claudius’, and creating more deaths, that Hamlet can return Denmark to a peaceful country - in may aspect’s, Shakespeare indicates the endless cycle of deaths, where revenge is constantly needed. In this way, the play is a ‘morality play’ showing the constant struggle with sin, and warning the audience of the consequences of such actions.
Serpent {Ghost}
‘The serpent that sting thy father’s life now wears his crown’ 1.5.39
The sibilance, along with the snake like metaphor, highlights Claudius’ sly and deceptive nature, emphasizing him as a King without morals, who is clearly a sinner - the biblical imagery of the ‘serpent’ is reminiscent of Satan, directly challenging Claudius’ divine right as a King by placing him against God - this further foreshadows Hamlet’s determination to send Claudius to hell, as if he belongs there.
Seeming {Gertrude}
Incestuous {Hamlet}
‘Seeming-virtuous Queen’ 1.5.46
‘Incestuous sheet’ 1.2.57
The ghost highlights the Queen’s deceptive qualities, by using sibilance to indicate her true nature as the opposite to virtuous: sinful. His mother’s betrayal to his father through her remarriage and surrender to desire, giving into her ‘will’, is seen in an especially negative light to Hamlet because lust in women was often discouraged in the Elizabethan era, and was seen as a sin in the Bible. Further more, it was forbidden for a man to marry his brother’s wife in Christianity, and so Gertrude’s remarriage is often portrayed as unnatural and wrong, even sly through the use of sibilance.
Blossoms {Ghost]
‘Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin’ 1.5.76
A catholic reading would refer to the Ghost not having a chance to absolve for his sin, forced to face purgatory, and yet this murder, rather ironically, can only be righted by Hamlet also sending Claudius to the ‘other place’ - by using an euphemism to refer to Hell, a contrast to his outright reference to ‘heaven’, Hamlet shows his fear of death, constantly concerned with the afterlife. Further more, this quote highlight’s Claudius’ cruelty, suggesting he has no conscience, after all he could have killed Old Hamlet when he was praying, allowing him to avoid purgatory - by heartlessly sending his own brother to Hell, the need for vengeance is justified, and the idea of a certain kind of death, one to send Claudius to Hell, shows that death can indeed be a relief in some aspects, as well as a punishment. A modern reader may interpret the form of this play to be a ‘morality play’, one which examines mankind’s struggle against sin, in order to provide a moral lesson to the audience.
Harlot’s cheek {Claudius}
‘The harlot’s cheek beautied with plast’ring art is not more ugly to the thing that helps it than is my deed to my most painted word’ 3.1.50
The King’s remarks align his own deception, through lies and crafty language, with the use of cosmetics, to cover up something ugly - this reveals the true nature of his actions, with the aside demonstrating the sin haunting his guilty conscience to the audience for the first time, in comparison to his appearance as a morally good King. While this suggests that the King does have a conscience and morals, his greed and desires win over, and this play may be seen as a lesson in regards to the detrimental effects of sinning.
Quintessence {Hamlet}
‘What piece of work is a man - how noble in reason…how express and admirable in action…what is this quintessence of dust?’ 2.2.270
When considering the worth of life, Hamlet points to some human qualities, looking at morality and yet determining that there is no point in life, a point which appears to be an influence of the study of ‘humanitas’ in the Renaissance - this suggests that not even morals and a human’s conscience is enough reason to exist for Hamlet. Shakespeare’s use of an oxymoron in ‘quintessence of dust’ indicates the confusion that life produces, and yet the religious connotations of the fifth essence, the substance which heavenly bodies were thought to be composed off show the influence of Christianity holding him back from committing suicide. This is a clear battle in Hamlet’s mind, involving his conscience, morals and feelings.
Cowards {Hamlet}
‘Thus conscience does make cowards’ 3.1.83
It appears that Hamlet is finally facing his delay in action, indicating his conscience as the root of his problem - this introspection may refer to his soul rather than his innate sense of good and bad, his fear of punishment in the afterlife preventing him from carrying out his duty. In one sense this quote is ironic, after all, a person’s conscience should in theory enable them to do good in this world, and yet Hamlet indicates his conscience as restricting him from doing what he needs to do.
Methinks {Gertrude}
‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks’ 3.2.224
Ironically, the Queen judges her own character in a negative light, perhaps adding some comic relief to the play in her utter ignorance, and yet there is an indication of the Queen’s darker nature - the real character of Gertrude is colder, perhaps more heartless and gives in more easily to Claudius than the Queen in the play within a play does. This appears to contrast with the typical feeble, weak Elizabethan woman, in that Gertrude’s decisions appear self-motivated, suggesting her to be independent, and yet lacking morals.
Guilt {Hamlet}
Light {Claudius}
‘Occulted guilt…unkennel in one speech’ 3.2.77
‘Give me some light, away’ 3.2.260
The King’s guilt in personified as an animal that emerges from its lair, or as something that overflows from the gutter - it underlines the hidden effects of the King’s actions beneath his appearance of a morally just King, and suggests that all deceptions are eventually revealed. It is interesting that Hamlet refers to the King’s guilt as being his downfall, aware that it is his own conscience that also prevents him from both carrying out his duty, making him a ‘coward’, and stopping him from committing suicide. It appears that Hamlet’s predictions are correct: the light may be symbolic of the King attempting to seek purity, trying to ward of the darkness that Hamlet forced him to face within himself when watching the play within a play - it is as if the guilt of his sin is too much for the King to bare, preferring to be in denial rather than face the truth and reminder of his betrayal. This suggests that the King is attempting to run away from his conscience, but Shakespeare presents it as something you can’t live without, one of the downsides to committing a sin is the guilt that forever haunts people.
Daggers {Hamlet}
‘I will speak daggers to her but use none, my tongue and soul in this be hypocrites’
This comment indicates that Hamlet may feel an urge for physical violence, and yet shows that his conscience prevents him from acting out of this urge. Alternatively, it could mean that his soul seeks justice rather than direct violence, but he will take mercy on his mother, only speaking to her, due of his conscience and the guilt he would feel if he enacted out his revenge on her. Both interpretations demonstrate a certain struggle between a person’s soul and their conscience, demonstrating that morals are not completely straightforward.
Deer {Hamlet}
‘Why let the stricken deer go weep, the hart ungalled play’ 3.2.263
‘Let the galled jade wince’ 2.3.236
The lines appear to be a part of a stanza from an otherwise unknown ballad that Hamlet recites, and the juxtaposition between ‘stricken’, meaning wounded, and ‘ungalled’, meaning uninjured, continues the metaphor of ‘let the galled jade wince’. Hamlet may be implying that the guilty person, with the metaphor of an injury to their conscience even, gives away their sins, whereas an innocent person remains fine - this again shows that guilt always catches up to a person, and the animal imagery used to express this, where animals are usually thought of as not having a conscience, imply that there is no exception for anyone.
