A Hamlet timeline – chronicle of events Setting the Timeline – considerations Claudius – planning my foul murder King Hamlet's funeral – where was Hamlet? Gertrude & Claudius – adultery or not? Horatio – Hamlet's friend? Horatio – is he passion's slave? Polonius – the evil that men do Ophelia's love? – did she love Hamlet? Ophelia closetted – Polonius on love O help xxx ....... – Olivier's version Ophelia's change – is Hamlet suspicious? Hamlet feigns madness – protective "cover" Is Hamlet mad? – Polonius's opinion Hamlet kills Polonius – stabs the "Voice" Laertes on Ophelia – madness & death Ophelia's death – a recipe Hamlet's age – digging up the past Yorick – something rotting in Denmark Betting on Hamlet – the fencing match Hamlet's fencing skill – better than Laertes |
Laertes and Ophelia's end Does Laertes ever blame Hamlet for Ophelia's madness and/or death? Laertes: ........ have I a noble father lost; KING CLAUDIUS : Let's further think of this; "We need a back-up plan that MIGHT work," he says. What a joke! Doesn't he mean a back-up plan that WILL work? Claudius's lack of confidence in Laertes to hit Hamlet is so pronounced that he dreams up the poisoned cup plan. He tells Laertes "If he by CHANCE escape your venom'd stuck, run him around until YOU (!) are hot and dry. If Hamlet should ask for a drink he will be dead. He may choose not to have a drink but then again he may in which case 'Our purpose may hold'." Once again Claudius is not sure. He doesn't say this WILL hold but only it MAY hold. Note also that Claudius says Hamlet by 'chance' may avoid the poisoned sword. The mere mention of CHANCE means it is not 100% certainty that Hamlet will be hit. Claudius holds that view and, despite his skill, Laertes doesn't disagree. All in all, they cannot be 100% confident of killing Hamlet. In summary, the murder weapons:
These plans to kill Hamlet are completed in every detail but in no way whatsoever are they in response to Ophelia's death. They can't be, for a very simple reason. When they are made Ophelia is still alive! A few moments after the King and Laertes have finalised their murder plans, the Queen enters to announce that Ophelia has just drowned. Laertes blames nobody for Ophelia's death nor does he respond to it by dreaming up a 4th, 5th and 6th way to kill Hamlet. The next day, at Ophelia's funeral, Laertes curses Hamlet (although not naming him) for killing his father and thus being the indirect cause of Ophelia's madness. Laertes: O, treble woe Laertes, who only the previous day learned that Hamlet had killed his father, knows that Ophelia was never told that their father had been killed. He realised that it was the continued neglect of their father's grave that had induced her insanity. Although it is not relevant to the plot, Laertes's remark tells Gertrude that Laertes has just been let into the closely-held court secret that Hamlet killed Polonius. Later, in his dying moments, Laertes blames the King for the Queen's death, then says: Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Laertes never got around to blaming Ophelia's death on anyone and, given what he ended up saying, it seems unlikely he would have blamed Hamlet for anything. |