HAMLET

THE COMPLETE GUIDE AND RESOURCE FOR GRADE 12

THEMES, MOTIFS AND SYMBOLS

FOREWORD

THEMES AND MOTIFS

The central subject or topic in a work of literature (or art) is referred to as its theme. A sophisticated work

INTRODUCTION TO
SHAKESPEARE

will usually explore several, interrelated themes. A motif is a recurring idea or contrast examined in a work
of literature and these will usually relate to the themes being explored. There are several major themes and
motifs in Hamlet.
ACTION VERSUS INACTION

SHAKESPEAREAN
LANGUAGE

One of the central themes in Hamlet is action versus inaction. Hamlet is the
epitome of inaction in many ways. He is asked to take action (to kill King Claudius)
by the Ghost, but he struggles to do so. He debates his options and hatches a
plan to verify the Ghosts story first. Once he is certain of the kings guilt, Hamlet

BACKGROUND
TO THE PLAY

seems ready to act, but, yet again, opts against doing so when he hesitates to
kill the king while the monarch appears to be praying.
Hamlets inaction is contrasted with the two other men who have also lost their
fathers: Laertes and Fortinbras. Both of these men are of quick resolve and action.

SUMMARIES
AND ANALYSES

Laertes immediately wants revenge and only exercises a degree of patience at

Claudius urging (and when Hamlet apologises to him for his fathers death).
Fortinbras is also eager to avenge his fathers death and has to be dissuaded by
the King of Norway and offered another fight.

Hamlet debates killing King Claudius while

he appears to be praying because the prince
believes doing so will save the king from
his sins and allow his wicked soul to enter
heaven. Painting by Eugne Delacroix (1843)
(Published by Gihaut Frres, Paris) (Wikimedia
Commons)

THE MINI ESSAY

Critics explain Hamlets inaction in many ways. Some blame his youth, others the indecisiveness of his personality and
many suggest it is his strong sense of morality that holds him back (he is worried that taking revenge is an immoral act).
Perhaps it is a combination of all three?
There are also occasions when Hamlet is quick to act, lending weight to the argument that his inaction is not a character

PERFORATED
RUBRICS

flaw, but a response to the specific task of revenge. Unfortunately, one of those instances is when he murders Polonius
at the end of Act III, thinking he is killing the king a mistake that perhaps serves only to heighten his caution and
hesitancy.

THE PLAY

MADNESS

Madness is a key theme in Hamlet. On hearing the Ghosts story, Hamlet decides to put an antic disposition on (Act
1, Scene 5, line 191). His madness begins as a ruse to elude the suspicious king and his prying spies, Polonius,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and to be left free to investigate the truth of the claims made by the Ghost.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As the play develops, however, and Hamlet remains stuck in his own confusion and inaction, there are times where he
appears to stray into genuine madness and doubts arise about the actual soundness of his mind. Certainly, it would not
be unreasonable for his circumstances to make him paranoid and to weaken his mental state. The pressure of feeling
obliged to kill Claudius, in spite of his strong moral and philosophical objections to the act, combined with the fact
that he knows he is surrounded by people he cannot trust and who are constantly plotting against him, would test the
psychological stability of any character.

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THE COMPLETE GUIDE AND RESOURCE FOR GRADE 12

revenge tragedies at the time). He makes Hamlets madness ambiguous and keeps the audience guessing to what extent
it remains a subterfuge or has become real.
The theme of madness also informs the character of Ophelia. Overwhelmed by her grief at her fathers sudden death,

FOREWORD

In this manner, Shakespeare adds a fresh new dimension to the theme of madness (which was a common theme in

genuine and without ambiguity, whereas his is an ambiguous deception, driven by an ulterior motive.
DISEASE AND DECAY

Images of decay and disease are used repeatedly throughout the play. These images relate to the corrupt state of
Denmark as a result of the unnatural death of the old king and unnaturally quick marriage of the queen to her dead
husbands brother.
This theme is introduced very early on in the play through Franciscos claim that he is sick at heart (Act 1, Scene 1,
line 9). This sense of unease or dis-ease intensifies with the appearance of a ghost, prompting Marcellus to exclaim
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (Act 1, Scene 4, line 99).

SHAKESPEAREAN
LANGUAGE

ends, tragically, in suicide when she drowns in the river. Ophelias madness becomes a foil to Hamlets. Her madness is

BACKGROUND
TO THE PLAY

flowers she chooses to give each person are aptly symbolic, despite her mental instability. Her grief-driven madness

INTRODUCTION TO
SHAKESPEARE

she appears to lose her grip on reality and wanders about, singing songs and handing out flowers. Interestingly, the

There are also references to Denmark descending into a state of decay. Hamlet laments that the country has become
an unweeded garden / That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature (Act 1, Scene 2, lines 137-138).
The many references to diseased and contagious bodies mentions of ulcers and cankers marring the skin, in
particular and to images of decay in nature and even the celestial bodies, all amplify the concept that the state of the
physical world is a reflection of the state of the spiritual realm.

THE MINI ESSAY

supper in his conversation with the king about Polonius dead body (Act 4, Scene 3).

SUMMARIES
AND ANALYSES

The imagery of rotting and decay is used again and again; for example, when Hamlet uses the imagery of a worms

the nation. The king is a usurper who stole the throne dishonestly and this corrupt state of affairs is compounded by
the queens swift decision to marry her husbands brother.
This is contrasted with the ascension of young Fortinbras to the throne at the end of the play. The audience is given a

PERFORATED
RUBRICS

The idea is that the moral fabric of society is rotting because of the dishonest and corrupt behaviour of the leaders of

APPEARANCE VERSUS REALITY

Closely linked to the theme of madness versus feigned madness is the theme of appearance versus reality. This idea is

THE PLAY

glimpse of a hopeful future in which the country might begin to heal.

that he seems to be grieving more than is necessary. He responds to this by saying Seems, madam! nay it is, I know
not seems (Act 1, Scene 2, line 78), highlighting the idea that there can be a schism between what things appear to
be and what they really are.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

introduced in Act One. Queen Gertrude asks Hamlet why he is still so heavily mourning the death of his father, claiming

This theme is also reflected in all of the plotting by the characters. Almost all of the schemes are, ultimately, attempts
to uncover what other characters are really thinking and doing since nearly everyone in the play is hiding his or her
true feelings and intentions. The king and Polonius are trying to figure out what might lurk beneath Hamlets madness,
for instance, while the prince is feigning the appearance of madness to obscure his secret mission to reveal the kings
true murderous nature and to kill his deceitful uncle. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also appear to be Hamlets old

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HAMLET

THE COMPLETE GUIDE AND RESOURCE FOR GRADE 12

friends, but this is merely a ruse to conceal their secret

FOREWORD

assignment to spy on the prince. Polonius sends his

servant, Reynaldo, to spy on his son in France as well,
convinced that Laertes is not the respectable young man
he appears to be, but actually embroiled in activities of a

INTRODUCTION TO
SHAKESPEARE

dubious nature. (Yet, contrary to this, he pretends to be a

trusting parent when Laertes asks him for advice.)
The Ghost is another investigation of this theme. Is it an
apparition, is it real or is it somehow both? It appears to

SHAKESPEAREAN
LANGUAGE

be the previous king, but can its appearance be trusted?

The sensational claims made by the Ghost appear
to contradict reality (the belief that Hamlets father
was bitten by a poisonous snake and not deliberately

The Play Scene in Hamlet: King Claudius is about to leap to his feet and, in
doing so, reveal his guilt. Painting by Daniel Maclise (1842) (Tate National
Gallery, London) Tate, London 2013

BACKGROUND
TO THE PLAY

poisoned by Claudius), but the Ghost is, in fact, exposing

Hamlet to the real truth.
The play within the play is also an exploration of
this theme, and a great example of metafiction. The

SUMMARIES
AND ANALYSES

very nature of acting is the putting on of an appearance

and this is wonderfully illustrated when Hamlet asks
the actors to make the play as realistic as possible. In
this instance, the actors are trying to make a fictional

THE MINI ESSAY

play (that actually accurately reflects the reality of the

previous kings murder) as realistic as possible.
HONOUR AND REVENGE

As a revenge tragedy, one of the central themes in Hamlet is vengeance. Closely related to revenge is the idea of honour.
PERFORATED
RUBRICS

Hamlets duty to avenge his father is tied to his honour as a good son. When speaking to the Ghost, for example, Hamlet
declares, Speak, I am bound to hear, to which the Ghost responds: So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear
(Act 1, Scene 5, lines 10-11). This exchange highlights
the relationship between revenge and honour, and the

THE PLAY

accepted duty of a son to take revenge on behalf of

his father.
This theme is emphasised and expanded through the

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

inclusion of Laertes and Fortinbras, two other sons who

feel it is their duty to avenge their fathers deaths. The
fact that both men are portrayed as highly honourable
and dutiful reinforces how acceptable and established
this duty was considered.
THE SUPERNATURAL

Shakespeare, like many Elizabethan playwrights, often made use of the supernatural in his plays and Hamlet is no
exception. The opening scene takes place at midnight, traditionally the witching hour and the time when supernatural
creatures are most likely to appear.

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still used in horror and suspense stories today. When a movie starts with an ominous looking house, at night, against a
stormy sky, the audience immediately knows something eerie or scary is about to happen.
The presence of a ghost would have conveyed the idea that all is not well to Elizabethan audiences and Shakespeare

FOREWORD

The appearance of a ghost sets the tone of the play, invoking a sense of foreboding and fear. The same technique is

inciting Hamlet to take revenge.

Shakespeare establishes that the Ghost is not just an illusion by having several people witness it, including the everrational Horatio. In Elizabethan times, ghosts could be either good or evil spirits and so the audience would have been

INTRODUCTION TO
SHAKESPEARE

uses its appearance in Hamlet as the catalyst for the action in the play revealing the murder of the previous king and

Hamlet to question its purpose and to devise a way of confirming that it is telling him the truth.

SYMBOLS

SHAKESPEAREAN
LANGUAGE

intrigued to find out this ones intentions. The ambivalent nature of ghosts is why it would have been perfectly natural for

idea or quality. Symbols usually represent something else by association, resemblance or convention.
Shakespeare employs symbolism throughout his plays, using physical things to represent intangible or
invisible ideas or qualities in particular.

SUMMARIES
AND ANALYSES

YORICKS SKULL

BACKGROUND
TO THE PLAY

Symbols are objects, characters, shapes or colours used to represent something else, usually an abstract

The appearance of Yoricks skull in the final act of the play symbolises death
and its inevitability. Hamlet knew Yorick, the court jester, as a child and his
fond memories of the man lead him to ponder the idea that death serves as

THE MINI ESSAY

an equaliser among people, whether rich or poor, good or bad, lower class or
highborn. He wonders out loud where the remains of Alexander the Great ended
up, concluding that we all share the same fate in the end and return as dust to
During his rumination, Hamlet is, quite literally, staring death (in the form of
Yoricks skull) in the face. This is particularly poignant when one considers the
death surrounding the prince: his plans to kill the king, the king and Laertes
plans to kill him, and the funeral about to take place for Ophelia.
This symbol of death and its inescapability appears at a critical moment in the

Hamlet contemplates Yoricks skull and the

nature of death in the graveyard. Painting
by Eugne Delacroix (1893) (The Louvre
Museum, Paris)

play: shortly before its catastrophic ending when most of the major characters will meet their deaths.

THE PLAY

PERFORATED
RUBRICS

the earth.

or not to be soliloquy (Act 3, Scene 1); the presence of a ghost; the murder of the previous king; the enacting of murder
in the play within the play (The Murder of Gonzago),
the repeated use of poison and, of course, the many
deaths. The use of a skull at this point in the play is a

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It should also be noted that the idea of death recurs throughout the play: Hamlet explores the idea in his famous To be,

way of physically representing this recurring idea of

death.

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HAMLET

THE COMPLETE GUIDE AND RESOURCE FOR GRADE 12

OPHELIAS FLOWERS
FOREWORD

The tragic scene during which Ophelia hands out flowers exploits the symbolism of the flowers. The rosemary she gives
to Laertes represents remembrance and was traditionally worn at weddings and funerals. She also gives her brother
pansies, which represent grief a very apt gesture considering his circumstances. The fennel and columbines she
gives to Claudius represent flattery, deceit and ingratitude, respectively.

INTRODUCTION TO
SHAKESPEARE
SHAKESPEAREAN
LANGUAGE
BACKGROUND
TO THE PLAY
SUMMARIES
AND ANALYSES
THE MINI ESSAY
PERFORATED
RUBRICS

Although mentally unstable, Ophelia hands out poignantly symbolic flowers to the other characters. Painting by Henrietta Rae (1890)
(Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool)

The rue she hands to the queen keeping some for herself as well represents repentance and was often worn in
church in order to gain Gods mercy. Ophelia also says to the queen, Theres a daisy: I would give you / some violets,
but they withered all, when my father / died (Act 4, Scene 5, lines 195-197). Daisies represent false appearances and

THE PLAY

violets are used to symbolise faithfulness, making it quite apt that these had withered, considering the queens lack of
faithfulness towards her late husband.
Despite the fact that she is so stricken with grief that no one can reason with her, Ophelias handing out of flowers is

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

uncannily appropriate. She gives each person a flower that is most suited to his or her situation. The flowers become a
way of emphasising the qualities different characters are expressing at that particular moment in the play.
The flowers also take on extra meaning shortly after this scene as Ophelia drowns trying to hang her flowers on a tree
and will then be the one who is receiving flowers when they are strewn across her grave. As the queen scatters flowers
on Ophelias grave, she observes that she had always thought she would be laying flowers on Ophelia and Hamlets
wedding bed, rather than on Ophelia's grave.

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THE COMPLETE GUIDE AND RESOURCE FOR GRADE 12

The modified version of The Murder of Gonzago the play within the play also serves as a symbol for the actual
murder of the old King Hamlet by King Claudius. As the play within the play is a physical representation of the original
murder, the symbolism is direct and straightforward: the king in the play represents the old King Hamlet, the queen

FOREWORD

THE PLAY WITHIN THE PLAY

KEY FACTS
AUTHOR: William Shakespeare
TYPE OF WORK: Play
GENRE: Revenge Tragedy
LANGUAGE: English
COMPOSED (TIME AND PLACE): England, between 1599 and 1602

BACKGROUND
TO THE PLAY

SHAKESPEAREAN
LANGUAGE

FULL TITLE: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

INTRODUCTION TO
SHAKESPEARE

represents Queen Gertrude, and the poisoner represents King Claudius.

TONE: Dark, brooding, contemplative and violent

SETTING: Denmark, during the late middle ages, although precise time is unclear.
PROTAGONIST: Hamlet
ANTAGONIST: Claudius
CONFLICT: Hamlets duty to kill King Claudius to avenge his fathers murder.

THE MINI ESSAY

later in the Second Quarto.

SUMMARIES
AND ANALYSES

PUBLISHED: 1603: condensed version published in the First Quarto. The full-length version was published a year

of his madness. Hamlet sets a trap for the king, using a re-enactment of the murder of his father to bait a damning
reaction from him.

PERFORATED
RUBRICS

RISING ACTION: Hamlet feigns madness to hide his intentions, while the king and Polonius plot to uncover the cause

CLIMAX: After successfully confirming the kings guilt, Hamlet is resolved to take action. He mistakenly kills Polonius

Laertes loathing of Hamlet helps the king to orchestrate the princes murder.
FALLING ACTION: Hamlet is sent away to England, but events allow him to return. He and Laertes have an altercation

THE PLAY

behind the arras, which gives the king a pretext to send him away and prompts the return of Laertes from France.

king and the queen.

FORESHADOWING: The Ghost and his warnings regarding the state of corruption in Denmark.
THEMES AND MOTIFS: Action and inaction, madness, decay and disease, appearance versus reality, honour and

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

at Ophelias grave, which leads to a fencing match between them and, ultimately, the deaths of Hamlet, Laertes, the

revenge, and the supernatural.

SYMBOLS: Yoricks skull, Ophelias flowers and the play within the play.

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