Kimberley Da Cunha 13Go 21 st March ‘23

Hamlet Part A:
Discuss the following passage from Act 4 Scene 7, exploring Shakespeare's
use of language and its dramatic effects. [15 marks]

This extract is taken from Act 4, Scene 7, where the scene begins in medias res with Claudius
and Laertes forming an alliance, as they hatch a plan to kill Hamlet in a fencing duel; they
decided that Laertes’ sword would be dipped in poison, which would seal Hamlet’s fate. 
The extracts begins with Claudius imposing an interrogative, “Laertes, was your
father dear to you?” Claudius asks this, so that he can manipulate Laertes’s loyalty, anger,
and grief as a faithful son, and uses it as a puppet for his own gain. This line is the epitome
of Claudius’ evil, as he falsely insinuates Hamlet’s murder and channels Laertes’ anger,
which eventually leads to the imminent death of the everyone; this is the turning point where
Claudius’ devious plot will turn into murderous actions. This causes the audience to further
dislike the character of the king.
Claudius proceeds to compare love to a candle - “There lives the very flame of love,
a kind of wick, or snuff that will abate it.” The imagery evoked here interplays neatly with
the preceding words “spark” and “fire”. His interpretation of love is described as a flame,
like that of a candle, which can be “abated” or extinguished by its own inherent
characteristics. Claudius’ language causes the audience to see him as a hypocrite and a
villain, as he implies that love withers away, however he explains that his love for Gertrude
is endless, and he only voices this because he wants to exploit the anger within Laertes to
finally rid himself of Hamlet’s threat. Furthermore, Claudius’ repetition of “would” suggests
to the audience that he is blatantly sending subliminal messages to Laertes that he should act
on his intentions now before they fade away. Claudius doesn’t want this, and so uses the
power of words to reduce Laertes to a pawn to act on his vengeance, before he hesitates and
Claudius loses the chance to eliminate Hamlet threat to him as the King of Denmark. 
Laertes’ declarion to Claudius’ second interrogative “what would you undertake, to
show yourself your father’s son in deeds, more than words?” would flabbergast the audience
as he replies that he would “cut his throat in the church”. Laertes implies that he will risk
eternal damnation to accomplish his revengeful plan for his father, which would stun a
Jacobean audience as it alludes to the corruption of religion. Additionally, this line can be
seen as proof of how Hamlet and Laertes are foils of each other, as this scene causes the
audience to recall Hamlet’s decision not to kill Claudius while in the act of praying, while
Laertes will kill someone in the church to avenge his father, this leads the audience to see
that Hamlet is verbal, while Laertes is  physical. Claudius replies to this with “No place,
indeed, should murder sanctuarise”, if Hamlet had heard what Claudius said, he wouldn’t
have spared Claudius in the confession booth. This line holds great irony, as Claudius is
unaware of what could have happened to him in the confession room, and so is brazen at the
idea of murder within the walls of the church. After this, Claudius politely asks Laertes to
stay in his room until the plot is in motion, as he is trying to maintain control of the situation,
and prevent Laertes from flipping out on seeing Hamlet, which would interfere with his
plans. Claudius’ character would be seen, to the audience as a symbol of the true
Machiavellian villian, his nature and language indicate that he is desperate and will do
anything to keep his position as king and keep his Queen; even though the cost is the death of
his brother and nephew.
The structural climax of the extract can be argued to be Laertes’ response, “I will do
it.” As he accepts his fate as the avenger, similar to Hamlet, however we immediately notice
that Laertes is a man of action, and Claudius fueling his rage only speeds up the enevitable
end that this tragedy brings to the audience. Laertes thirst for revenge is seen through the
Kimberley Da Cunha 13Go 21 st March ‘23

line “draws blood no capaplasm so rare”, this reinforces within the audience Laertes need
for vengeance of his father’s death; he is determined to avenge his father's death and is
willing to go to any lengths to make sure that he gets his revenge. It shows that he isn’t afraid
to use violence. Laertes is a man of action and will not rest until he has achieved his goal, as
opposed to Hamlet’s procrastination and his inability to achieve his role of the tragic
revenger. His need for vengeance is further amplified to the audience with Laertes’ use of
disease imagery – “I’ll touch my point with this contagion, that if I gall him slightly, it may
be his death.” He perpetuates the motif of disease, as it shows he doesn’t want Hamlet to
escape from this duel alive, and wishes to gain is own version of revenge. Structurally, this
is the most lines Laertes says aligning with Claudius in the extract. Claudius dominating the
conversation shows his ability to skillfully communicate his thoughts to make Laertes seem
like he had thought of killing Hamlet by himself.
Finally, Claudius ends this extracts portraying all the attributes associated with the
corrupt king the audience sees him as. His calculating nature is seen in the lines, “Twere
better no assayed… did blast in proof.” His evil intentions and mastermind nature is
unsettling to a Jacobean audience. He ends the monologue saying that “Our purpose may
hold there.” This resonates within Laertes, as the word “our” signifies their bond and
signing the alliance. Additionally, their “purpose” may cause the audience to make a
connection with fate and destiny of which they held in high regard, however seeing Claudius
take matters into his own hands, causes them to be repulsed by his character.
To conclude, this extract hold great dramatic significance as it portrays Claudius’
dual persona as a good king and a evil villain, eager to keep his kingdom and crown.