Hamlet

Shakespeare

Nasim Mohamadi

Act 4

Scenes 3 & 4

…

Scene 3The king speaks to a group of attendants, telling them of Polonius’s death and his intention to send Hamlet to England. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear with Hamlet, who is under guard. Pressed by Claudius to reveal the location of Polonius’s body, Hamlet is saying that Polonius is being eaten by worms, and that the king could send a messenger to find Polonius in heaven or seek him in hell himself.

Scene3Finally, Hamlet reveals that Polonius’s body is under the stairs near the castle lobby, and the king dispatches his attendants to look there. The king tells Hamlet that he must leave at once for England, and Hamlet enthusiastically agrees. He exits, and Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to ensure that he boards the ship at once. Alone with his thoughts, Claudius states his hope that England will obey the sealed orders he has sent with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The orders call for Prince Hamlet to be put to death.

Scene4On a nearby plain in Denmark, young Prince Fortinbras marches at the head of his army, traveling through Denmark on the way to attack Poland. Fortinbras orders his captain to go and ask the King of Denmark for permission to travel through his lands. On his way, the captain encounters Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern on their way to the ship bound for England. The captain informs them that the Norwegian army rides to fight the Poles

Scene4. Hamlet asks about the basis of the conflict, and the man tells him that the armies will fight over “a little patch of land / That hath in it no profit but the name” (Hamlet). Astonished by the thought that a bloody war could be fought over something so insignificant, Hamlet marvels that human beings are able to act so violently and purposefully for so little gain. By comparison, Hamlet has a great deal to gain from seeking his own bloody revenge on Claudius, and yet he still delays and fails to act toward his purpose. Disgusted with himself for having failed to gain his revenge on Claudius, Hamlet declares that from this moment on, his thoughts will be bloody.

The selection of some related elements of deconstruction in

4 .3 & 4LogocentrismBinary oppositionIterability

logocentrismDerrida believes that western metaphysics has introduced numerous terms , which rule as centers :God ,reason , origin, essence, truth, humanity, being…each of these functions is as an independent and self-sufficient concept; and works out to be a transcendental signified. Derrida names this western tendency for desiring a centre logocentrism . it is a firm belief that exists an absolute and ultimate reality or centre of truth that functions as the basis for all our thoughts and actions. Logocentrism : make s.th the centre of power.

Logocentrism in 4.3

When the king says : “ he’s loved of the distracted multitude, who not like in their judgment , but their eyes” It shows that common people in most time are blind…because their eyes just see some things which authorities show them….not the fact . they can not think by their own judgments but by listening to the lies and seeing the appearances. As the holy Koran says:

Logocentrism in 4.3...They have hearts , but understand not with them; they have eyes , but perceive not with hem; they have ears , but they hear not with them… (179 The Battlements)

... ! دلهاییآنها اندیشند نمی آن با که دارند . گوش بینند نمی آن با که دارند هایی چشم

شنوند نمی آن با که دارند …هایی(اعراف 179)

. Logocentrism in 4.3They make logos for worshiping ,like some politicians, artists, some religious persons which actually do not have any religion! But people like to make some athletes from some authorities and obey them!As a matter of fact , Derrida wants to speak to us (common people) by definition of logocentrism , it is not true to make any logo just GOD! No one else !In this scene we see that people like hamlet because of some his features which are good and actually because of his authority, he was the son of their king!

Binary oppositionBinary opposition is a term introduced in the world of structuralism. The structuralists believe that a just judgment of any social issue is simply possible through the analysis of the pair differences.While deconstruction does not believe in comparing and contrasting two individuals in order to declare one winner and the other one loser. It does not suppose that by degrading someone, the upgrading of the other gets the embossed legitimacy and authority. Indeed, deconstruction yells that the structuralistically two opposition pairs, like black/white, east/west … do not stand against each other but supplement each other.(Dr. Hooti 2013)

با مرا تنها و من میتوان را تو سنجیدبا تو تنها

شاملو احمد

Binary oppositionAs Dr. Hooti defines binary opposition; we see a sample of this element of deconstruction in Hamlet (4.3) when he answer the question of the king:“king : Now, Hamlet , where’s Polonius?Hamlet: At supper.King: At supper? Where?Hamlet: Not where he eats , but where ‘a is eaten. A certain convocation of politic worms are e’en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us , and we fat ourselves for maggots . Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service – two dishes , but to one table. That’s the end.”

Binary oppositionHere , Hamlet speaks about two opposite person : fat king and lean beggar which through structuralists are so much different from each other and these pair differences show us the features of a king and a beggar in the society because based on this differences we treat these two kind of position in the society...BUT… in this dialogue we see that Hamlet speaks about death in this way which shows us after death there is not any rank and race and position…a king is equal with a beggar …and both of their bodies will be eaten by worms! Both of them are dishes to one table! Also deconstruction wants to use these differences for showing a kind of unity, every different things are not opposite each other…they are supplement each other for conveying a single concept.

Death through the eyes of

Shakespeare and

Khayam!

.

Shakespeare in Hamlet:King: Now hamlet, where’s Polonius?Hamlet: at super.King: at super?Hamlet: Not where he eats , but where ‘a is eaten. A certain convocation of politic worms are e’en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us , and we fat ourselves for maggots . Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service – two dishes , but to one table. That’s the end.King: Alas . Alas!Hamlet: a man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.King: what dost thou mean by this?Hamlet: Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar!!!!!!!!!!!!

Death through the eyes of Shakespeare andKhayam!Shakespeare, in his dialogues wants to introduce death as an absolute matter which takes place for every body , rich and poor , bad and good , king and beggar and all of us and our bodies has a single fate…we have been created from soil and we have to be interred ! Our bodies will be eaten by some worms…and that worms maybe will be eaten by some other creatures! We are in a circular process which takes place over and over… but this

repetition is not repetitious(Iterability) because we change and the nature change and we are created from each other in the nature and earth ! But by a single HAND and every one of us has his own soul and face and heart! some times our soil is our body some times it is in nature…it could be a worm ! A fish! A flower! Or as Khayam says: a jar! A jar which is created by our body! There are some energies in our body and when we die, this energies return to the nature and after that…it could be a grass or a flower or a dish for a beggar!Khyam , like Shakespeare believes that we are nothing but a unity of energies and bodies. we are ONE !

khayam

ببین گور ای نه کور اگر دیده ایببین شور پر و فتنه پر عالم وین

زیر سروران و سران و شاهانگلند

ببین مور دهن در مه چو روهای

.رای کردم گری کوزه کارگه در

پای به استاد دیدم چرخ ی پایه درسر و دسته را کوزه دلیر میکرد

ی کله دست پادشاهاز از گدایو

.نادانی هر پای زیر به که خاکی

ستست جانانی ی چهره و صنمی کف

ایوانی ی کنگره بر که خشت هرست

ست سلطانی سر یا وزیر انگشت

. نگشت خردمند یک کام به چرخ چونهشت خواهی شمر هفت فلک تو خواهی

هشت همه آرزوها و مرد باید چونگور چه به خورد دشت مور به گرگ چه و

Before and AfterWhen we can find a sentence in Hamlet of Shakespeare which there is in Holy Koran exactly! That’s so interesting .And I like to express another of these kinds of sentences which is in Koran and in the literary work of Shakespeare :

“Sure he that made us with such large discourse , looking before and after, gave us not that capability and god like reason to fust in us unused.”(hamlet 4.4 )

“He knows what is before them and behind them, and they comprehend Him not in knowledge.”(110 ta ha)علمی » ی احاطه او به آنان و داند می را شان گذشته و آینده خداوند

(110ندارند.) طه