Hamlet shows how much he has lost faith in himself and analyses himself and life in general thoroughly. It is evident that Hamlet has lost faith in women's constancy due to his mother's remarriage, which supports Alice's comment about him not believing in himself or anything else. He is still shaken by his mother's hasty marriage and tries to confront her about her seemingly immature behaviour.
'Hamlet's self-questionings are mere pretexts to hide his lack of resolve. He believes in neither himself nor anything else, and so loses himself in caverns of introspection' (William Alice, 1890) and to what extent does this agree with Branagh's interpretation"
William Alice has read Hamlet from a certain position, and by using these views, he has reached the conclusion in the title from the play. He believes that Hamlet questions himself because deep down he has many uncertainties and insecurities about avenging his father's murder. Due to the sequence of events, he has become to feel isolated and he can only look deep inside himself for answers. In this essay, I will be looking at to what extent I agree with Alice's views and to what extent Branagh's film ties in with this.
Hamlet's character before his father's death is unknown. Therefore, we can only base Alice's statement on what we know of him from the play; but it must be taken into account that his character is bound to have changed because of the traumatic events that have recently gone on. Anybody would act differently and become more insecure due to the loss of a parent and a mother's hasty remarriage. Branagh clearly shows that he is in a state of mourning in the film as he is constantly dressed in black, which is a colour traditionally associated with grief and sorrow. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet is so depressed that he even contemplates killing himself, 'His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. O God, O God, how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!' This quotation shows that he does not believe this world has anymore 'uses' for him and he may as well not be here: he has lost faith in himself and everything else, which enforces Alice's conclusion. However, he cannot commit suicide because it is against God's laws, which shows that he has not lost belief in everything entirely as he still has faith in God. We can also already see how he loses himself in caverns of introspection as he tortures himself with memories of his parent's seemingly happy marriage, which leads him to become extremely angry with his mother, 'a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer,' he is saying here that an animal would have mourned longer for it's mate than his mother did for his father. It is evident that Hamlet feels extremely fragile at the moment and also isolated, 'But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.' We can gather from this quotation that as much as his father's death and mother's remarriage hurts, he feels he cannot speak to anyone about it as everybody seems to have adjusted well to it, which once again implements Alice's criticism of Hamlet losing belief in anything around him as he has nobody to turn to. However, in his first soliloquy, Hamlet does seem quite consistent and confident in what he is saying, even though it is negative but after seeing his father's ghost we sense that Hamlet feels vulnerable and unsure of himself, 'O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? And shall I couple hell"' This is the first time that Hamlet questions himself and this continues throughout the play and it is evident that the knowledge of his father's murder has triggered this. Branagh shows this sudden vulnerability in the film, as immediately after the ghost leaves Hamlet, he falls to the ground, representing his weakness.
In his famous soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1, Hamlet shows how much he has lost faith in himself and analyses himself and life in general thoroughly. Branagh shows this, as he is looking in the mirror throughout this speech, which shows that he is reflecting on himself intensively, both externally and internally. Once again he is considering suicide, 'To be, or not to be- that is the question'. It seems he is giving up on avenging his father and on life itself, 'Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them,' In this quotation, he is wondering whether to endure or 'suffer' what is going on around him or to 'take arms' and fight. Hamlet loses himself in caverns of introspection as he reflects on what happens after death and what stops people committing suicide. Towards the end of his soliloquy, he talks about how people may want to do something but thinking it over and our conscience makes us hesitant, 'Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,' Here, Hamlet could be referring to himself, as his conscience and self-questioning has led to him delaying his father's murder, which once again backs up Alice's conclusion that Hamlet's self-questioning are pretexts to hide his lack of resolve. This quotation could also be hinting that the 'dread of something after death' which suggests some kind of hell is what keeps Hamlet alive to avenge his father. This soliloquy truly reflects the state of desperation in which Hamlet is in as he once again contemplates suicide. Hamlet's growing awareness of the betrayal of his mother and malevolence of Claudius leads to a deepening despair and madness.
Hamlet seems to have lost sight of what his father has asked him to do. On his first encounter with the ghost, Hamlet was told, 'Taint not thy mind, nor let soul contrive against thy mother aught'. However, Hamlet seems to have forgotten that he is not meant to blame his mother, and rather than trying to avenge his father's murder, he decides to waste time in Act 3 Scene 4 and confront his mother, 'O shame, where is thy blush"' He tries to make her feel embarrassed for what she has done and gets so worked up in his rage that he accidentally kills Polonius and does not seem to care at all, 'Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!' When the ghost reappears and reminds him of his task, 'Do not forget. This invitation is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose,' it seems that Hamlet's resolve is strengthened. In his final soliloquy in Act 4 Scene 4, Hamlet's usual self-questioning has disappeared, although, he is still very over-analytical and does lose himself in caverns of introspection, 'Whether it be bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple of thinking too precisely on th' event.' In this quotation, Hamlet is looking at why he has not yet avenged his father's murder, and after much analysis, he decides to remain completely focussed on doing so, 'From this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!'
It is evident that Hamlet has lost faith in women's constancy due to his mother's remarriage, which supports Alice's comment about him not believing in himself or anything else. He is still shaken by his mother's hasty marriage and tries to confront her about her seemingly immature behaviour, 'You go not till I set you up a glass where you may see the inmost part of yourself,' this quotation tells us that Hamlet was trying to show her the error of her ways. Branagh shows how Hamelt despises the relationship of his mother and uncle as when he is talking, there are flashback images of the King and Queen drinking and collapsing onto the bed together, depicting a physical and reckless relationship. However Gertrude sees no wrong in what she has done, 'What have I done that thou darest wag thy tongue in noise so rude against me"' It seems that her ignorance has contributed to Hamlet losing faith in the women around him. His conversation with Ophelia in Act 3 Scene 1 also shows why he no longer believes in the faithfulness of women. as Ophelia knows that both the King and Polonius are listening to their conversation from outside and she lies to Hamlet by telling him that her father is 'at home'. It is not clear at what point Hamlet realises they are listening in, but he changes his opinion of Ophelia from the beginning of the conversation when he referred to her as 'fair', to the end when he implies that she is a whore, 'Get thee to a nunnery...you jig and amble,' he is obviously very disappointed and feeling betrayed that Ophelia knew that people were listening to their conversation and along with the way he feels about his mother, he feels he can no longer trust women. However, it does not seem to be just women he no longer believes in, he seems to have isolated himself from all of his friends but Horatio as they too are plotting against him. He has been friends with Rosencrantz and Guilderstein from when he was young but the second he is reunited with them he no longer trusts them, 'I know the good King and Queen have sent for you,' he feels betrayed by them and this makes himself feel isolated further.
In the final confrontation in Act 5 Scene 2, we see a different side to Hamlet. He seems to have returned to Denmark with a newfound mental strength and realises that it is now his right duty to eliminate the King, 'Is't not to be damned to let this canker of out nature come in further evil"' He is saying here that he cannot allow the King to live, as he is a threat and infection to all, and even though he is still questioning and slightly losing himself in caverns of introspection in this quotation, he seems to have a strong sense of resolve. As the scene goes on, Hamlet seems to accept death and not question it or lose himself in caverns of introspection like how he has previously done, 'If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come- the readiness is all,' all that matters to him now is being prepared for the next world. Branagh shows in his film is a lot more action and fighting than talking in this particular scene, which shows Hamlet's strong desire to finally avenge his father's murder, rather than constantly analyse and question it.
I do think that Alice's analysis of Hamlet is correct for most of the play. He questions himself a lot throughout the play and most definitely is indecisive. Before his encounter with the ghost, he is not prone to self-questioning, and in his last visit from the ghost and his visit from Fortinbras, his resolve is strengthened. Fortinbras like Hamlet mourned his father, who was killed by old Hamlet. Fortinbras actively seeks revenge and the recapture of lands lost after his father's death. In his soliloquy in Act 4 Scene 4, Hamlet sees himself as a coward and admires Fortinbras for controlling his army so well and trying to keep himself in high spirits, 'Witness...stake,' he also learns from his encounter with Fortinbras that honour must always be defended. Therefore, I do think that Alice is correct in saying that his self-questionings were pretexts to hide his lack of resolve. He does lose belief in himself many times, as he does contemplate suicide and giving up quite a few times. He also does isolate himself from a lot of people, such as Ophelia, throughout the play. However, after he returns to Denmark, he seems to have a lot more belief in himself and accepts his duty to avenge his father's murder. He has not quite lost belief in everything else as he still has quite a good friendship with Horatio, so I do not entirely agree with Alice. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates suicide but his faith in God stops him and when he has the first opportunity to kill Claudius, faith stops him again, which shows that Hamlet does have strong morals and is certain in his faith, which contradicts Alice's criticism. I do believe though that Hamlet constantly loses himself in caverns of introspection- he is always extremely analytical of everything, from the beginning to the very end of the play.
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