Though this be madness, yet there is method in't

The second section of this year's 'entrance' exam question on Hamlet was a traditional essay question and asked: (b) ‘In the world of Hamlet trust is a rare commodity.’ Using your knowledge of the play’s opening scenes, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations. The first thing you need to do is form a hypothesis which engages with the statement that  ‘In the world of Hamlet trust is a rare commodity.’ Is trust rare? Who trusts whom? Who doesn't? What happens at the start of the play to set this up? What kind of overarching idea do you have? But it is also worth thinking about 'trust' in more hopeful terms. Where are the moments and relationships of trust? Could this actually form the thrust of your argument? Or at least some kind of 'counter' to a bland acceptance of the statement. Horatio's presentation as a trustworthy character, reinforced by the ending? The strong all...

Ophelia makes Polonius 'present' in the absence of a body This is the shortest act of the production at just 28 minutes, but is full of pace and action. The stage is filled with ever-changing movement. Increasingly sinister and ominous music between scenes contributes to the building sense of threat, and the movement to different locations seems almost seamless; as though we are running through the castle with the characters. There are instructions, letters, machinations, plotting. Hamlet's arrest by a guard is very physical: he is thrown to the floor in a half-nelson submission hold. His insolent foot tapping and movement, and loose-limbed rebellious mocking of Claudius get the audience on side and there is much laughter - but his reactions seem those of a man who has run out of options and has nothing left to lose. Everything about Essiedu's appearance and manner is subversive; down to his shabby clothing and turned-up trousers - in such contrast to the costume...

Act two is slightly shorter than the opening act, at 31 minutes. Might we add 'stingy' to our ideas of Polonius as he has to be persuaded to give more to his emissary? Ophelia's evident distress as she explains Hamlet's behaviour towards her greatly contrasts with her composure of the previous scene. She seems to emphasise the physical: that he 'held me hard' (II.1.87), and makes reference to the transformation that we are about to witness for ourselves, 'He falls to such perusal of my face/As a would draw it' (II.i.90-91). Now Polonius switches his own shoes, and bends down for Ophelia - reversing the dynamic of the previous scene. He seems a loving, if misguided, father attempting to do the best for his daughter. The embrace at the end of this exchange emphasises their closeness. The representation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as bumbling, white, camera and luggage-laden tourists makes them as conspicuously out of joint with their enviro...

The pacy, almost real-time movement continues into another short scene as Rosencrantz announces that they have brought Hamlet to the King. Claudius reveals something of Hamlet's popularity, which hasn't been directly alluded to before. 'He's lov'd of the distracted multitude' (IV.iii.4). Hamlet's wordplay also continues - in somewhat poor taste, perhaps. He refuses to give a straight answer to the question of where Polonius' body lies, but emphasises its corporeal nature as fodder for worms, and jokes that if it isn't found within a month then the King will be able to detect his decaying corpse and 'nose him as you go up the stairs' (IV.iii.36). It is at least a hint as to the location, and enables Claudius to dispatch his attendants in search of it. The air of melancholy and general futility of life that he expressed earlier in the play underlies sentiments such as 'we fat ourselves for maggots' (IV.iii.22). But death is ...

This scene is short, just 45 lines, and perhaps its primary plot purpose is to have Rosencrantz and Gildenstern despatched to hunt for Polonius' body, last seen being dragged off unceremonioulsy by Hamlet at the end of Act III to 'lug the guts into the neighbour room' (III.iv.214). But very importantly, we also see Gertrude's explanation to Claudius about Polonius' murder - the very thing that Hamlet has asked her not to do. Gertrude describes Hamlet's wild and violent madness as that of 'the sea and wind when both contend/Which is the mightier.' (IV.i.7-8). Claudius is strengthened in his resolve to send Hamlet to England. If you are interested in continuing to collect imagery of contagion, note that Claudius describes Hamlet as the embodiment of a 'foul disease' that has begun to 'feed even on the pith of life' (IV.i.21-23). An enraged Claudius registers 'discord and dismay' in what feels like a flippant couplet at the e...

Rosencrantz and Gildenstern enter with the King, who confirms his decision to send Hamlet to England with them. It is framed as a protective measure: it would be dangerous 'To let his madness range' (III.iii.2) and it will not do for the King's safety to be compromised, since the fortune of the king determines that of his subjects. This belief is acknowledged by Rosencrantz 'Never alone/Did the King sigh, but with a general moan' (III.iii.22-23), but as ever, dramatic irony is at play here. The divine right theory of kingship (which asserted that kings derived their authority from God, and supported the idea of hereditary monarchy) and Chain of Being (a Christian concept codifying the religious hierarchical structure of all life and matter) have been disrupted. Both were significant ideas in terms of Elizabethan philosophy and ideas about World Order; Claudius is a usurper, not a rightful ruler. Next, Polonius enters, reiterating his intention to 'conve...