“O heavy deed! It had been so with us, had we been there. His Liberty is full of threats to all” -Claudius (said to Gertrude after Claudius finds out about Polonius’ death).
I think what Claudius is saying is that if he had been there that he would have been killed. Claudius realizes that Hamlet did not plan to kill Polonius. Claudius knows that Hamlet thought that he was behind the curtain. Now that Claudius knows for sure that Hamlet wants to kill him, he can use the murder of Polonius as an excuse to put thousands of miles between Hamlet and himself. He wants to kill Hamlet or jail him, but he knows that the public is on his side. Sending him away to England is a quieter way to get Hamlet out of his hair. The king of England seems to owe Claudius some favors. Hopefully for Claudius, The King of England will come through for him and deal with his “Problem”.
“To draw apart the body he hath killed, O’er whom his very madness, like some ore among a mineral of metals base, show itself pure. He weeps for what he has done” – Gertrude (She says this to Claudius in her conversation about Hamlet)
Even though she knows that Hamlet killed Polonius and is “most certainly” crazy, she defends her son. She doesn’t want to admit to herself that her son’s mind is lost. However, Hamlet’s actions do seem strange. Why did he move the body? It wasn’t to hide the evidence, because he knows his mother will tell Claudius. It also seems strange that Hamlet would cry for what he has done. When he discovered he had killed the wrong man he didn’t seem to upset, so why would he weep now for what he did?
Questions:
Will the king of England come through for Claudius and kill Hamlet?
Why would Fortinbrus lead an invasion to capture worthless land? Could this just be a clever ploy to get his troops into Denmark? Maybe he still has plans to get his father’s land back from Denmark.
Has Ophelia gone insane? Her singing suggests she may have.
Is Hamlet’s capture, by pirates, a true story, just a clever fabrication of his mind, or a trick?
What does Lamond have to do with anything the king and Laertes are talking about?
Was Ophelia’s death a natural one?
