Hamlet is a play that explores various complex scenarios from greed for power to disputes between dynasties as well as love and relationships among others. It is one of the plays that have received great interpretation and adaptation in to different works such as movies and reviews. Prince Hamlet is the son of Gertrude and the deceased King Hamlet of Denmark. The King was killed by his brother Claudius who wants to take over power and Gertrude the King’s wife. Hamlet embarks on a journey to avenge for his father’s death by striking a plan to kill Claudius his uncle. He is however not sure about who killed his father but plays a trick until he confirms it is his uncle. The king’s elimination by Claudius is further confirmed by king’s own ghost. Prince Hamlet is a player in his father’s play and this can be explained through Dramatic irony, the metaphors he uses and him mentioning his father being in purgatory among other issues depicted in the play.
Hamlet is a player in his father’s play because after the King is killed he purposes to know the killers and take revenge on behalf of his father. One of the indications that Hamlet is his father’s player is that after the king’s death the prince continues to mourn and grief after others have made peace with the death. And this is evident when Claudius scolds Hamlet for mourning for along time. The long grieving period is an indication that he has his father at heart and even though he is departed Hamlet still feels his absence and shows it through lengthy period of mourning. After he is scolded he still narrates about the goodness of his father Hamlet states “But two months dead—nay, not so much, not two. So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and Earth, Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him As if increase of appetite had grown.. (Shakespeare I.II.p29). In his heart Hamlet is troubled and wonders why his father would die yet he was extremely good.
In playing his father’s play Hamlet uses dramatic irony where he pretends to be mad so that he can establish the killers of his father. In reality the characters such as Polonius, Ophelia and Gertrude do not know that Hamlet is pretending but the audience know about it. Polonius believes that Hamlet has gone crazy because of love but the audiences are aware that he is not insane because he had planned to behave in such a manner so that he can establish the killers of his father. Polonius states “That hath made him mad. I am sorry that with better heed and judgment I had not coted him. I feared he did but trifle And meant to wrack thee”(Shakespeare II.2.p81). It is a depiction that he is a player of his father because he goes an extra mile to do bizarre things just to establish the killers of the king and there after pursue vengeance.
Additionally, Hamlet is a player of his father depicted through dramatic irony where he and the readers are the only ones who know about the cause of his father’s death as Claudius has made everyone among the characters to believe that he died of a snake bite. The ghost reveals to him stating “So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forgèd process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown” (Shakespeare I.5 p59). The quote shows the revelation made to Hamlet so that he can know the truth about his father’s death. The characters are left unaware while Hamlet and the readers are the only ones with the knowledge hence a dramatic irony depicted as part of the journey towards fighting for vengeance and a confirmation that the prince is his father’s player.
Similarly, Hamlet is his father’s player as depicted by his urgent urge to know the killer of his father. While he is conversing with the ghost he requests it to quickly reveal to him the killer of his father so that he can revenge, little did he know that the spirit was that of his father. He uses metaphors to put emphasis on the need to know the killers he metaphorically states “Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift, As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge(Shakespeare I.v. p58-59). The metaphors “wings as swift” to show his urgent need to know the enemy who killed his father. Similarly, he uses the metaphor “sweep to my revenge” to declare his plan for vengeance once he knows the killer.
Finally, Hamlet is his father’s player as depicted in his soliloquy to revenge when Claudius is on his knees praying. Even after his father dies he is still concerned about his welfare and decides not to kill Claudius while in prayer because his soul would go to heaven and that of his father is still in purgatory. His father’s soul being in purgatory means that his soul has not reached its final destination as it is awaiting judgment. Hamlet states “Now could I drink hot blood And do such bitter business as the day Would quake to look on. Soft, now to my mother. O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom. Let me be cruel, not unnatural…”(Shakespeare III.2.p.161). It is evident that he burns with anger to execute his plan for vengeance but refrains himself because his father has not reached his final destination.
In conclusion it is important to note that Hamlet is a player of his father as seen from his long period of grief while others heal in a short while. He is goes an extra mile of acting mad so that he can know the killer of his father. Hamlet gets to fight for vengeance of his father after the Ghost reveled to him that it is Claudius who killed the King. The play utilizes dramatic play, metaphors and purgatory to explore Hamlet’s role as a player in his father’s play.
