The debates have been raging unabated for 400 years:
- Hamlet: Insane, or faking it — or Becoming the Mask and actually becoming insane without realizing it? Too Good for This Sinful Earth prince manipulated into evilnote ? Deeply troubled youth wrestling with moral and honor codes? Spineless whiny git who killed in cold blood many times before hitting his actual mark? Misogynistic, Oedipal, whiny jerk? Non-Action Guy Bookworm who would prefer to be back at school studying or writing more poetry for his girlfriend instead of carrying out the unsavory task of murder, unlike his predecessors in the Revenge Tragedies his story deconstructs? A total sociopath? Suffering from multiple personality disordernote ? A self-aware figure in argument with his author? All of the above?
- When he was plotting to wait to catch Claudius in some sin before killing him, was it because, as he stated, that he wanted not only to kill Claudius, but to ensure his damnation, or was it because Hamlet couldn't work up the nerve to kill his uncle in cold blood, and watching him commit a wicked act would make it easier to kill him?
- Ophelia: Is she a:
- Sweet but fragile girl who got caught in the political crossfire between her father and boyfriend?
- Pathetic and stupid doormat who was Too Dumb to Live?
- Girl who was driven mad due to having to hide her pregnancy from her father, brother, and lover? For that matter, does she really go mad with grief, or does she suffer brain damage from drinking a badly-mixed abortifacient potion made from the herbs and flowers she hands out in her madness?
- Cassandra-like oracle who can see the future but only speaks in riddles, rhymes and metaphors due to her insane state of mind?
- Or, as was the trend in the psychoanalytic interpretations of the 1960s and 1970s, a sexually-frustrated young woman torn between her lust for her Hamlet and her lust for—wait for it—Laertes. Hey, we said 'overanalyzed', didn't we?
- "Cut the crap, Hamlet! My biological clock is ticking and I want babies NOW!"
- The Victorians did not question for a minute that Ophelia loves Hamlet. Some readers, nowadays, wonder if Ophelia's affection is real or another political ploy on her father's part — but if it is, why does she take Hamlet's abuse so much to heart?
- A specific scene with Hamlet: when he's exhorting her to "get thee to a nunnery", is he simply being a massive asshole to her because he's stressed? Or mental imbalance? Or, under the cover of this, is he intentionally trying to drive her away from the castle entirely, so that she's way outside of the line of fire when things inevitably have to go down? Others have noted that since Hamlet speaks of his own sins and character flaws just after he says it for the first time, it could be interpreted as "you deserve better than me." It's been noted that it is very easy to change the entire tone of the scene just from the delivery of that one line.
- Was she Driven to Suicide or was her death accidental? We only have Gertrude's word as to what happened and how Ophelia ended up in the river, and she might have been lying to spare Laertes' feelings; but we've already seen how Ophelia was utterly removed from reality by this point, so she might really have fallen in by accident and not understood the danger she was in. Even in-universe, the priest and gravediggers overtly doubt Gertude's account of events and imply they believe it was a suicide. A third theory is that Gertrude actually murdered her and made it look like an accident, either as a Mercy Kill, or because she had become too much of a "truth teller" in her madness, or because she was pregnant with Hamlet's illegitimate child.
- Some productions have Ophelia witness the "to be or not to be" speech. (Keep in mind, that scene happens just before "get thee to a nunnery".) This makes her distraught reaction to Hamlet's actions even more understandable — if you'd just overheard your boyfriend contemplating suicide, wouldn't you be worried? And then there’s the possibility that she took his words to heart, and, when her own father was murdered by a man she trusted, chose “not to be”.
- Claudius:
- While there's no doubt whatsoever that he's a villain (he admits in prayer to murdering his own brother), some think that he still was a pretty good ruler, and that Hamlet's revenge on him just made things worse for Denmark.
- It's debatable whether he did love Gertrude at all - he tells Laertes he really does love her and wanted to avoid Hamlet's death in a manner that would be more direct than looking like an accident. However, he fails to do more to stop Gertrude from drinking poison than just telling her not to drink from the cup. He could be seen as letting logic rule over him for that moment, simply being too late to stop her by the time she drinks (where he is standing at the time depends on the adaptation), it can be seen as clear proof he really doesn't care, or it could just be an Oh, Crap! moment- as soon as he tells her not to drink it, he realizes he's basically admitted that the drink is poisoned and he's just tried to murder her son.
- The line "Give me some light, away!" (with which Claudius stops the play-within-a-play after the Catch the Conscience scene) is pivotal to the character and the drama. But what's going through Claudius's mind when he says it? Shakespeare gives us no stage directions, so the line can be, and has been, read as anything from annoyance with Hamlet to paranoia to rage to guilt to a psychotic break.
- Horatio: Motivated by friendship and loyalty? Something else entirely? Is he even Danish? Did he even know Hamlet very well beforehand? If not, what the hell is he doing in Denmark? Does he even exist except to give Hamlet someone to talk to when he's alone?
- Fortinbras: Noble war hero who acted the most logically and justly of the cast? Bloodthirsty barbarian prince who's willing to send hundreds to their deaths for a scrap of land? Deus ex Machina on legs? Expy for King James?
- Polonius: Magnificent Bastard or stupid, stupid, stupid bastard?
- A genuinely caring father looking out for his son's personal development and raising legitimate concerns about his daughter's future, or a domineering, invasive patriarch spouting cliched wisdom and taking advantage of his children for political favour-currying?
- Gertrude:
- Loving mother forced to marry her brother-in-law to save her son's life or deceitful accomplice in a palace coup? (Some believe that Hamlet's emphasis on revenge over capturing the throne for himself implies that Gertrude was the queen regnant, and both Hamlet's father and Claudius were only kings consort — which at the time would have made them the rulers, not her. If this is the case, the play may also have been in part Shakespeare's approval of Elizabeth I's unmarried status. Roger Ebert and others note that Gertrude may be practical to avoid a power vacuum that would invite usurpation of the throne.)
- The scene in which Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine is also open to interpretation; in some adaptations, she is unaware that there is poison in the wine and her line "I will, My Lord, I pray you pardon me" is said as if she's just having a good time. In others, "I will..." is delivered to imply that she knows exactly what's in there and has been Driven to Suicide. Or taking the poison for her son.
- And speaking of Driven to Suicide, Gertrude's report of how Ophelia died is realistically rather suspect since it implies someone saw her fall into the water, and watched her slowly sink to her death without trying to help her. Did she actually kill her as a Mercy Kill, or did something else happen entirely? Did they find Ophelia's drowned body after the fact and assume she committed suicide, but did Gertrude try to do some damage control to salvage the girl's reputation: telling Laertes a gentle lie to spare his feelings and all but royally decreeing that it was an accident so that Ophelia could be properly buried (which sadly doesn't seem to work, given the attitudes of the Gravediggers and the officiating priest)?
- King Hamlet:
- Ever read The Scottish Play? There's this great line: "and oftentime, to win us to or harms, the instruments of darkness tell us truths." Consider if the above quote applies to him, if he's actually an evil spirit. Hamlet himself even lampshades this possibility. Mind you, some scholars would say that any good Elizabethan would consider any spirit as an evil one.
- One issue raised in the play itself is the question of whether the Ghost is indeed his spirit or simply a demon impersonating him (or if it is him, he's incompetent). The Ghost leaves when the cock crows, a behavior associated with evil spirits, and he purports to be suffering in flames and torment, which could mean he comes from Purgatory, but this concept was rejected by Protestantism (the play is ambiguous/inconsistent about its religious background). In terms of intention, the Ghost is extorting Hamlet to do something arguably immoral (under the view that only God should take revenge on sinners), and his commands lead to the deaths of tons of people, including some (e.g. his son and wife) who King Hamlet would presumably want to live.
- From the play one could walk away with the impression that the King was a cold, stern, warmongering bastard in life who neglected his wife, bullied his little brother and was raising his son to be as much of a douche as he was and Denmark is better off with him dead, even if he was killed for selfish motives. One of the first things Claudius does on talking the throne is make peace with their enemy Norway- was King Hamlet unable to do this, or was he unwilling to try? One notes how Hamlet seems to care more about him than his mother, partly because she married Claudius and did so shortly after her husband's death: was he a crap husband and is she relieved he's gone? And was he a cold and distant "Well Done, Son" Guy Hamlet has a higher opinion of than he should? Does he want justice for his death or revenge? Or does he see no difference? Maybe he died because he was a crap brother too?
