Unmanly Grief

“But to persever in obstinate condolement is a course of impious stubbornness. ‘Tis unmanly grief. It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, a heart unfortified, a mind impatient, an understanding simple and unschooled. For what we know must be and is as common as any the most vulgar thing to sense, why should we in our peevish opposition take it to heart?” -page 27

In this passage, King Claudius viciously berates Prince Hamlet for daring to continue mourning his father. A lot of this scene is spent discussing Hamlet’s grief and how ridiculous it is. It is claimed that he should put a stop to it in the interest of moving the Danish government forward, but there is another, deeper reason that Claudius is so intent on muffling Hamlet’s sadness--it is, as he himself puts it, unmanly.

“‘Tis unmanly grief,” Claudius tells Hamlet. Hamlet is supposed to be the prince of Denmark, a royal, and he cannot waste his time doing anything as feminine as crying. Besides “unmanly”, Hamlet is also referred to as “obstinate”, “unfortified”, “simple and unschooled”, “vulgar”, “peevish”, and “unprevailing”. These are all awful adjectives, ones that an uncle/stepfather should never use in reference to his nephew/stepson, but they can all also be used as derogatory terms for women. Stubborn. Stupid. At every turn, Hamlet is referred to as a horrible, disgusting thing--he is referred to as a woman.

At the time the play takes place, women were, of course, discriminated against much more than we are used to. “Frailty, thy name is woman,” is said by Hamlet himself just moments after this passage takes place. As the new king, Claudius has a lot to worry about, including the man who will take his throne once he dies. He has a list in his mind of what a good ruler should be, and a woman is most certainly not one of them. Therefore, when a month passes and Hamlet is still expressing pain and emotions over the death of his father, Claudius sees this as dangerous. Hamlet, in his mind, is acting in a very feminine way, and this does not befit a future king. He makes this known, then, with all of his demeaning language. In doing so, he also makes it known that Hamlet’s grief makes him weak, stupid, and unmanly.

Hamlet's First Soliloquy: Explicated

(page 29 Act 1 Scene 2 lines 134-164)

Hamlet: 

"O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon 'gainst <self-slaughter!> O God, O God,
How ,weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come <to this>
But two months dead — nay, not so much, not two.
So excellent a king, that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she ,<would> hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on. And yet, within a month
(Let me not think on't; frailty, thy name is woman!)
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears — why she, <even she>
(O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourn'd longer!), married with mine uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good;
But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue."

To note first, this is Hamlet's first soliloquy. This is important because how a character speaks when he/she is alone shows true characterization. This soliloquy gives a reader insight to the character's mind and in this case let's one see how much Hamlet thinks and the level of activity in his mind. Once that is deduced, one must look at the subject of his thoughts and then the word choices. 

Hamlet's soliloquy is about his mother's betrayal. He emphasizes how gross it is, even calling it "incestuous". He shows how personally he took it because he thought of his father as a good man and "so loving to [his] mother". A "Hyperion" type man does not deserve what his mother did according to Hamlet. He thinks its was way too soon: "within a month... a little month". Hamlet is very displeased with the way his mother conducted herself regarding his father and her husband's death. He feels resentment to both her and his new step-father calling him a "satyr" . However dramatic, Hamlet feels very passionately about this topic and is not afraid to say it. 

Hamlet's word choices in this passage make all the difference. His mother does not just move on with speed, but instead a "wicked speed". He says that women are "frail" because his mother could not act appropriately. He purposefully chooses mythological words to highlight his points. He starts off his solo speech (or in this case thoughts, but are spoken words due to the literary play) with very negative, imagery words. "Solid flesh would melt" sets up a tone that is not pleasing. "Self-slaughter", "weary", "stale", "flat", and "unprofitable" he uses to describe the world he is in. An "unweeded garden" is not successful and since he compares the world to it, it is implied that neither is the world. His mother would "hang" on his father. This undignifying word shows Hamlet's interpretation of his mother. Lastly Hamlet says he "must hold [his] tongue", which perfectly shows the reader why this passage is a soliloquy versus a monologue. 

The Accoutrements of Grief

HAMLET:
"Seems," madam? Nay, it is. I know not "seems."
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods,shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed "seem,"
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passes show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe."
(1.2.79-89)

    Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, marries his mother, Gertrude, less than two months after Hamlet's father dies. Hamlet takes the death much harder than his mother does, as one can assume due to her quick and somewhat disconcerting marriage to Claudius. Since Old King Hamlet's death, Hamlet has been wearing black, the color of mourning in most western cultures, and moping around with self-pity. Here, he responds to his mother questioning him on why he still wears such dismal clothing and why his mourning seems so distinct and personal. In his answer, he shows his poor emotional state as well as his regard for his mother's actions.
    Hamlet begins his response by criticizing his mother's words. Claiming "I know not 'seems,'" he implies that his actions are obviously justified (1.2.79). This is particularly biting, as he is essentially insulting his mother's obliviousness to his emotional state and her lack of sharing that same sense of mourning. He says that his mourning is in fact deeply personal, and that there's nothing unusual about it.
    To justify his outward appearance, Hamlet affirms it is his emotions that dictate how he presents himself. It is not his "suits of solemn black," his "fruitful river in the eye," tears or watery eyes, that is, nor his "suspiration," or sighing that define his grief (1.2.81-83). Rather, it is his mental or emotional state. He harbors the grief inside him that show his visible expressions as "the trappings and the suits of woe" (1.2.89). In other words, all that Hamlet displays to the world is just a husk of what he actually feels.
    This passage characterizes not only Hamlet's profound feeling of emotion, but also how he regards his mother after her quick marriage to Claudius. His portrayal of his external image as insignificant compared to what he really feels shows his sensitivity to his emotions. It seems he is rather insensitive to those of others (or at least his mother's), however, when he provides a sharp and ill-intended response to his mother's concerns. In this passage, Hamlet provides some of the first clues to his emotional state and personality.

Laertes and Ophelia

LAERTES:

"Then, if he says he loves you,

It fits your wisdom so far to believe it

As he in his particular act and place

May give his saying deed, which is no further

Than the main voice in Denmark goes withal.

Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain

If with too credent ear you list his songs

Or lose your heart or your chaste treasure open

To his unmastered importunity.

Fear it, Ophelia; fear it, my dear sister,

And keep you in the rear of your affection.

Put of the shot and danger of desire.

The chariest maid is prodigal enough

If she unmask her beauty to the moon." (Act 1. Scene 3. 27-41)

Young Ophelia is madly in love with Hamlet, a young man that her brother, Laertes, and her father, Polonius, do not approve of. Ophelia seems to see only the good and beautiful in Hamlet while her father and brother see only the dangers and poor fortunes they believe her heart will succumb to. They fear that Ophelia will become a passing love affair for Hamlet while she becomes completely immersed in their relationship and his fading affection for her.

Laertes believes his sister to be oblivious to the dangers of a relationship with Hamlet, saying that "it fits [her] wisdom] to believe him if he told her that he loved her. He doesn't seem to have faith in Ophelia's judgment and inexperienced heart. As he continues, he alludes to Hamlet's lack of consistency in relationships by stating that his words and actions are "no further than the main voice in Denmark," insinuating that his words and actions do not have depth and cannot be followed or believed wholly. Laertes also tells his sister to "weigh what loss your honor may sustain," implying that her potential relationship with Hamlet will fail and harm her honor and reputation immensely. It seems as if he is more concerned with Ophelia's reputation being tarnished than her heart being broken. Laertes does not want his sister's name and their family name itself to suffer, and neither does his father. 

Within the next couple of lines, Laertes touches upon the purity and innocence of his sister and the possibility of her losing this to Hamlet. His words, "lose your heart or your chaste treasure open," refer to Ophelia giving Hamlet her heart and virginity without even a second thought. Laertes does not want his sister to be taken advantage of and scrapped aside by Hamlet for a quick fling, he knows that his sister is better than this and deserves more from a man and his "mastered importunity," implying that he is an inexperienced and selfish lover. Laertes repeated to his sister to "fear" Hamlet's love for her and urges her to "keep [herself] in the rear of [her] affection," meaning to pay attention to her own needs and desires before Hamlet's. Laertes wants Ophelia to always protect herself. He also urges her to remember the "danger of desire" when she's with Hamlet so that she does not become involved with him and regret it afterwards once Hamlet breaks her heart. 

Laertes closes this statement with a final, summarizing phrase: "The chariest maid is prodigal enough

If she unmask her beauty to the moon." With these words, he is trying to make one final attempt at convincing Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet. He informs her that only she is responsible for what happens between them because she has the ability to convey her beauty as she chooses to. Laertes is nearly begging at this point for Ophelia to refrain from her relationship with Hamlet but does not seem hopeful that she will listen. 

  

The Madness Within

HAMLET:
"O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? O fie! Hold, hold, my heart,
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee?
Ay, thou pour ghost, whiles memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial, fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmixed with baser matter."
(1.5.99-111)

Because there is no non-dialogue description of characters or events in plays (these things being demonstrated by the production of the work) there must be some assumptions made when reading plays. This allows for directorial interpretation of characters and their emotional and physical states. A figure of grief, entirely obsessed with the events surrounding his father's death, Hamlet's monologue after his talk with the ghost of his father supports theories that he is going mad.

The monologue begins after old Hamlet's ghost has left his son, beseeching him to remember what has been said between them. Hamlet immediately calls, desperately and sarcastically, to the "hosts of heaven" (angels and saints, presumably) and to the earth to bring even more shocking news (1.5.99). He asks if he will "couple hell," meaning that he is questioning the fate of his soul (1.5.100). These are quite natural reactions to an encounter with the ghost of one's father, especially when said ghost reveals that he was killed by his own brother, who has now married the ghost's wife. Hamlet's reaction to these things is understandable, but depending on the choices of the director and the actor, these words could be made more or less desperate and panicked.

Hamlet also speaks to himself, appealing to his inner strength. He tells his heart to "hold" and his "sinews" to "grow not instant old, / But bear [him] stiffly up" (1.5.100-102). In translation, he is trying to calm his emotions and keep his body strong and stable. This could be simply an attempt to steady himself. However, the director could have made the choice to show Hamlet in Act I as very feeble due to poor self-care since the death of his father. Depending on the choices made with Hamlet's appearance and way of carrying himself, these few lines, and the lines that follow, can be interpreted as representative of Hamlet's madness.

For the rest of the monologue, Hamlet swears to his father that he will remember what has been revealed to and asked of him. He repeatedly asks, "Remember thee?", as if doubtful that he could do anything else (1.5.102,104). He not only promises to remember -- he says that he will remove all other memories from "the table of [his] memory" so that his father's "commandment all alone shall live [there]. . . unmixed with baser matter" (1.5.105,109-111). Whether this is Hamlet's -- and Shakespeare's -- natural dramaticism or Hamlet's insane preoccupation with his father's death is determined by the decisions of the director and the actor. Hamlet could be making a measured and rational oath, or he could be whipping himself up into a passion about avenging his father's death.

Hamlet's sanity is completely unregulated by the script. Hamlet can be interpreted as a hero and martyr, or as a madman and murderer. The decision has to be made for each production of the play, because Hamlet's sanity or madness must also entirely shape the audience's understanding of the play. The reality of the ghost's appearance, the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet, and the audience's perspective of Claudius are all dependent on the audience's interpretation of Hamlet and his state of mind.

Are You My Uncle or My Father ?

Passage: Like Niobe, all tears-why she, <even she>
(O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer!), married with my       155 
uncle,                                                                       
My father's brother, but no more like my father
than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,                    160
She married.  O, most wicked speed, to post 
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue (Act 1. Sc. 2. 31).

The plot of Hamlet breaks out amidst a tumultuous time for the royal family.  King Hamlet has recently died and his brother, King Claudius, is to marry his widowed wife, Queen Gertrude.  As expected when one's uncle marries one's mother, young Hamlet is distraught about the matter and is struggling to except it as reality.  The passage above begins to develop Hamlet as a character in general and characterizes his feelings about the marriage.

The passage shows that Hamlet is a thoughtful and educated individual.  Hamlet compares his mother to Niobe, a character in Greek mythology.  After all fourteen of her children were killed as a result of her making fun of another goddess' two children, Niobe turned into a rock which became well-known as the Weeping Rock.  By comparing his mother to this deceitful, wicked character, Hamlet reveals his education on Greek mythology and his ability to relate it to his own life. Hamlet once again references Greek mythology when he says "my father's brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules" in lines 157 & 158.  He shows how he knows how irrational it would be for him to be Hercules' father and makes the direct comparison to himself and his uncle, King Claudius.  His ability to understand and apply characters from Greek mythology to his life shows that he is a thoughtful and intelligent individual.

The language Hamlet uses when talking about the marriage between his mother and uncle characterizes his opinion about the marriage and shows that he is a passionate individual.  In lines 154 & 155, Hamlet says that "a beast that wants discourse of reason would have have mourned longer".   By saying that a "beast" would have mourned longer shows that he thinks that his mother and uncle did not mourn the death of his father for an appropriate amount of time.  By labeling the tears of his mother as "unrighteous", Hamlet makes a powerful statement.  He basically is saying that the tears his mother cries and wicked and not genuine.  He does not think that the tears can be genuine if she so quickly decided to marry her late husband's brother.  Line 162, "with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!", perfectly summarizes Hamlet's feelings.  The word "dexterity" shows that Hamlet is disgusted by how efficiently his mother and uncle took to bed.  By calling the sheets "incestuous", Hamlet makes that assertion that he is totally disgusted by the marriage and looks at the situation as if it is incest.  The powerfully, passionate language that Hamlet uses as he describes the marriage characterizes himself and his opinions on the recent marriage.

The passage reveals a lot about Hamlet as a character and his thought process in tricky situations. His utilization of Greek mythology shows thoughtfulness and intelligence.  The words he uses to describe the marriage between his mother and uncle reveal how he is not a big fan of calling his uncle dad. The passion he shows when describing his feelings indicate the kind of character he will be for the rest of the play.

Emotional Appeals

   The three film adaptions of Jane Eyre that we watched in class each took aspects of the novel and either lessened them or enhanced them. Two of these aspects that I found most important were the emotional appeal of Jane's struggles with reason and passion and the portrayal of nature. Along with these, I weighed cinematography, setting, and soundtrack in how much I liked each one. I can't choose a favorite, because in some I love adult Jane and dislike the portrayal of her childhood, and in others it is the opposite. Personally, I most enjoyed Franco Zeffirelli's 1996 adaptation in terms of Jane's childhood, while I preferred Susanna White's 2006 adaptation in terms of her adulthood.

   In all honesty, the only reason I prefer Zeffirelli's portrayal of Jane's childhood is because every other director's portrayal of it is absolutely ridiculous. Nothing really stood out as fantastic in Zeffirelli's version, but nothing stood out as terrible either. He dramatized and combined a couple of events to be efficient, but nothing wandered too far away from the novel. In White's version, the film opens with Jane standing in a red robe in a desert. If that isn't wandering away from the novel, I don't know what is. This version also dramatized every scene in Jane's childhood to the point of absurdity. I think the portrayal of the red room in this version is what really did it for me, I just couldn't take the red lighting seriously. In fact, the red room was what did it for me in the other version as well. Cary Fukunaga's 2011 adaptation has a red room that is not red, and that apparently has a ghost that lives in the chimney. Jane also knocked herself out in this one, which I found really strange. In short: Zeffirelli's appealed to me because it wasn't gaudy.

   I prefer White's adaptation for Jane's adulthood really for only one scene. The proposal in this version struck me as more emotionally appealing than any of the others, and I'm a sucker for emotionally appealing movies. This version was so much more appealing to me because of how Jane expressed her emotions. In both other versions we watched, Jane still seemed controlled to some degree. In the novel, Jane claims that her emotions had taken complete control of her and that she had almost lost free will during this scene. I think White's version does a significantly better job of showing Jane's surrender to her emotions than the other films do (also, the other two just weren't very moving).

   I haven't given anything to the last (Fukunaga's) version yet, so I will say that I enjoyed the soundtrack more than any of the other movies. I also enjoyed the scenery and cinematography in this adaptation as well. The flaw I found in this version, however, is that nothing really moved me. I think that's because it felt like there was a lack of vulnerability in the characters, and that's what I enjoyed so much about White's version (of the proposal, I guess). It appears that in order for a film to appeal to me, emotional appeals are the most important factor.