Act III Scene i

A little less late... but late nonetheless:

This scene begins with Claudius and Gertrude discussing Hamlet’s change in behaviour with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern say that they were unable to figure out why Hamlet has changed so to speak.  With all the negativity around Hamlet’s behaviour they do mention that Hamlet was looking forward to the watching the players.  With that being something positive Claudius and Gertrude seemed encouraged that Hamlet was exiting his mood swing and they said they would go see the play in the evening.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern leave and Claudius also tells Gertrude to leave saying that he along with Polonius planned on spying on Hamlet’s staged encounter with Ophelia. 

Polonius tells Ophelia to wander in the lobby and wait for Hamlet but he goes back on that idea when he hears Hamlet approaching and Polonius and the king then hide.

Hamlet then enters and says his soliloquy but in that first line of “To be, or not to be: that is the question:” which is Hamlet contemplating suicide (III, i, 64).  But with his contemplation of suicide he also says “But that the dread of something after death,” and with that he’s right because no one know what happens in the afterlife, if there’s an afterlife depending on how you look at things (III, i, 86).  Hamlet also says that not knowing what may or may not come after death “makes us rather bear those ills we have” (III, i, 89).  But in the middle of his philosopher like thought Hamlet notices Ophelia.

Ophelia being told by her father says that she wants to return all of the tokens of love that Hamlet that had given to her.  Hamlet with some hostility it seemed like denies that he had given her any of the gifts.  Hamlet proceeds to complain about the dishonesty of beauty (I’ll get back to this) and then says he loved Ophelia once and then saying he didn’t.  

Hamlet then tells Ophelia to go to a nunnery because women make men behave differently because of their “paintings” which is their physical appearance which is dishonest.  And in the end Hamlet being infuriated he kind of denounces her and other women as well as marriage itself saying he wanted them all to end.

Hamlet leaves and Claudius and Polonius emerge and Claudius says that Hamlet’s strange behaviour didn’t seem like it was madness because his speech wasn’t that of a mad man.  Instead he fears that it’s something else and that something maybe dangerous.  So Claudius wants to send Hamlet to England in the hopes that a change of scenery would change Hamlet.  Polonius agrees to the notion and asks if he can hide in Gertrude’s room after the play so he can spy on another encounter in the hopes that Hamlet would confide to his mother about his love for Ophelia.  Claudius agrees and says that “Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go” (III, i, 202).

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet_3_1.html

150!