Queen:
This is the very coinage of your brain.
This bodiless creation of ecstasy
Is very cunning in.
Hamlet:
(Ecstasy?)
My pulse as yours doth temperately keep time
And makes as healthful music. It is not madness
That I have uttered. Bring me to the test,
And I the matter will reword, which madness
Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace,
Lay not that flattering unction to your soul
That not your trespass but my madness speaks.
It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,
Whilst rank corruption, mining all within,
Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven,
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come,
And do not spread the compost on the weeds
To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue,
For, in the fatness of these pursy times,
Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg,
Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.
In Hamlet, the reader (or viewer) of the play must determine for herself the state of Hamlet's sanity, or lack thereof. Hamlet's behavior often points towards some form of mental illness: he frequently discusses with himself the possibility of committing suicide, displays obsessive behavior, and seems to continually exist in a sort of nightmarish daydream. This is complicated, however, by Hamlet's motives and a desire to be seen as mad in certain situations. Here, Hamlet insists that his mental health is fine, and that his mother is only calling him mad to soothe her own guilt over marrying Claudius.
Hamlet's tirade begins with a questioning of his mother's assertion of his "ecstasy," or madness. He then compares his health with hers, stating "my pulse as yours doth temperately keep time," and he goes on to claim that it even has the cadence of music. He dares her to test him and his sanity, and claims that he will "reword" the matter and expose the truth about Gertrude's claims of Hamlet's insanity. Hamlet's rewording is not a simple change in diction, however. Instead, he turns the blame on his mother.
Hamlet suggests that his mother's accusation of madness is primarily caused by her guilt over joining Claudius in marriage so soon after King Hamlet's death. She is using her claims of Hamlet's madness as an unction, or an ointment, to cover the wound in her soul, according to Hamlet. Furthermore, he asserts that this coping mechanism of Gertrude's will prove ineffective, and that her guilt will fester underneath the "film" of her accusations. He advises that she "repent what's past" and appeal to God for forgiveness, as what she does now worsens the situation at hand, or makes weeds ranker. In the end, Hamlet defends himself through claiming that unpredictability and unsavoriness of his circumstances justify unusual or immoral actions. Using this and his mother's guilt as excuses, Hamlet dismisses any notion of his madness.
This post is really interesting and very well-written. I like the way you go through each piece of the excerpt and make it clearer, and your diction and syntax are skillful and interesting, while still making your post easy to read. I might suggest having a clearer introduction and conclusion, to draw the reader in and ease the reader out. These could be used to show how this passage connects to the play as a whole, or what Hamlet blaming his mother says about his character. I would be really interested to read what you'd have to say about that. Otherwise, this post is beautifully written and very compelling!!
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