In Act 4, Scenes 1-3, death is the focus--first that of
Polonius, and later, the plans Claudius has hatched to see Hamlet executed when he
reaches England.
At the beginning of this act, Hamlet has
again adopted his "antic disposition." Hamlet has grown to be somewhat more savvy
regarding the intrigue of Claudius's court. He has already admitted to Gertrude that he
expects "knavery" from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when they all travel to England, but
Hamlet has plans of his own. By continuing to act mad, along with Gertrude's insistence
that he is indeed insane, he can keep his enemies from knowing his
plans.
In the guise of a madman, Hamlet plays games with
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with regard to where Polonius's body is. Hamlet has fun at
their expense, and even insults them.
In Scene 3, Hamlet
finally comes before the king. Claudius is attempting to find out where Polonius's body
is hidden. Hamlet engages the King in word play. Here, again, he acts as if he is mad.
For example, he speaks in riddles about worms, a fish, and a
king:
HAMLET:
A
man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a (30)
king,
and eat of the fish that hath fed of that
worm.
When Claudius asks what
this statement means, Hamlet allows that in death all men are equal from the perspective
of a worm, saying:
HAMLET:
Nothing
but to show you how a king may go a
progress through the
guts of a beggar.
Getting to
the point, Claudius asks where Polonius's body is. Claudius is a cold-blooded killer.
Hamlet is not. And while he may act mad to throw Claudius off-balance, the man is
shrewd. While Hamlet may expect attempts on his life, he cannot always know what
specifically to expect. Hamlet has given Claudius reason to believe that he is
dangerous, and this does not bode well in terms of the lengths to which Claudius will go
to rid himself of Hamlet. Death in this scene is always close at
hand.
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