Hamlet (Formalistic Approach of Criticism)

1. The Trap Imagery/ Metaphor

i) Different kinds of entanglement

Figure 1: Birdlime/ lime(glue) to catch the birds
ii) Examples of Trap Images: springes, lime,
nets, mousetraps, and angles or
hooks”
iii) Claudius: Double business bound
Figure 2: springes to catch the woodcock
My Stronger guilt defeats my strong intent;
And like a man to double business bound,
I stand in pause where I shall first begin,
And both neglect.
a. Hamlet’s quest to know about the truth, itself trapped him
b. He was overthinking to be sure of it and clear about the reality but actually it
entangled him to more complexities so much so he lost everything including his
own life at the end.
iv) Polonius referred to ‘holy vows of heavens’ are ‘springe to catch woodcocks’
v) (Ophelia was told by her father and brother that Hamlet may be just seducing
her and not serious to marry her)
vi) Laertes referred he is “as a woodcock to mine own springe”
vii) ‘The Mousetrap’
viii) About the play Hamlet said “the thing/ Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the
King”
ix) Claudius felt trapped seeing the play and said, “O limed soul, that, struggling to
be free… Art more engag’d
x) Hamlet realized about his friend’s intentions and found himself “thus be-netted
around with villainies”
xi) Hamlet’s friends were asked to find out the reason of Hamlet’s madness and
they themselves got entangled and lost their lives.
xii) Hamlet changed the letter and his friends got hanged.
xiii) Claudius and Laertes planned against Hamlet and got themselves the victim of
the plan.
xiv) The Ghost appearance and asking Hamlet to take revenge and kill Claudius.
Hamlet being entangled.

2. The Cosmopolitan Trap

a. Guards felt the sense of mystery and deep anxiety about seeing the ghost as if a bad
omen/ a divine sign of danger for the country. They shared this feeling with Horatio.

b. Cosmic situation of Denmark reflected in Hamlets’ talk with his friends

HAMLET: Denmark’s a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ: The is the world one.
 HAMLET: a goodly one; in which there are many confines, wards and
dungeons. Denmark being the one o’ th’ worst.

c. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”

d. Frailty thy name is woman
e. …”this goodly frame the earth seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent
canopy, the air, look you, this brave o’erhanging firmament, this majestical rood
fretted with golden fire – why, it appearth nothing to me but a found and pestilent
congregation of vapors”

f. How, weary, stale, flat and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on’t, ah, fie, ‘tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely.

3. Seeing and Being

a. Seemingly mad and being intelligent, wise and unconventional. His arguments and
words were of high intellect.
b. Ghost revelation – seeing and being – although secret seemed to be true but he used
the play took to catch the conscience of Claudius and to know the real story
c. Mother is saying that she felt bad too but then she was only saying so no action of
her shows that she actually felt bad
d. Ophelia seeming to be his girlfriend but she was plotting as her father and brother
wanted to check if Hamlet was actually mad so apparently she seemed to be a
girlfriend but she was being a spy to know the reality
e. Friends were apparently accompanying a friend but actually acted being the spy
f. Words of Hamlet though not making sense but actually meant sense
g. Madness but with a method. There is a method in his madness
h. “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in
form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in
apprehension how like a god, the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! And
yet to me what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me – no, nor woman
either, though by your smiling you seem to say so.”

4. Seeing and knowing

a. Ophelia, in her madness says, “Lord, we know what we are, but we know not what
we may be”
b. Hamlet said about the play, “I know my course” but actually he didn’t know anything
about himself or his plans.
c. Gertrude said
“O Hamlet, speak no more
Thou turnist mine eyes into my very soul,
And there I see such black and grained spots
As will not leave their tinct.”