Rebecca Rampp
English 205
British Literature I
Dr. J. M. Dean
May 2, 1997

Relationships in Shakespeare's Hamlet: Causes and Effects of Superficiality

© 1997 Rebecca Rampp. All rights reserved.

Throughout Hamlet we see many relationships that are based on different types of bonds which should be strong and unquestionable, such as the bond of blood, that of friendship, and that of position. Superficially these bonds are present and represented, yet during the play we see that the ties are either loose or undone or even falsely placed. The relationships in question are those between Claudius and his dead brother, King Hamlet, Polonius and Laertes, father and son, as well as those between Polonius and Hamlet, a servant of the king and the former king's son, Hamlet and Ophelia, and even Hamlet and his "friends." Certain bonds which appear to have been long-standing are easily broken, as in the case of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and others which should be upheld if only because of position are ignored when Polonius tells Ophelia that Hamlet, the son of his former king and master, is merely playing with her emotions and that his advances should be disregarded. The theme of superficial bonds courses through the play and is one of the main catalysts for the series of tragic events, and by looking at them more closely this point can be made clear.

It is the initial connection between King Hamlet and his brother, Claudius, that is the central superficial relationship around which many of the others are formed, and which is the main cause of the entire tragedy of the play. Although we never see for ourselves the relationship between King Hamlet and Claudius, we learn of its false nature from the ghost of the King, when he tells Hamlet that, "with traitorous gifts . . . Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand/ Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatched" (I, 2, 50-82). Thus one of the strongest bonds, that of the blood between brothers, is the most easily broken by Claudius, because of his greed for power and jealousy of his brother. It is indeed treachery when such a strong trust and alliance, especially one formed by consanguinity, is broken. From this point in the play, when King Hamlet reveals his murderer, the succession of tragic events follows, as upon hearing of his uncle's treachery Hamlet begins to construct his course of vengeance and not trust anyone.

In trying to discern the true mind of Hamlet, who has been acting the part of a mad man, Claudius sends his "friends," Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to find out whatever they can about what has brought about Hamlet's "transformation." Although it appears at first that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will betray Hamlet with whatever news they find of him while playing the part of friends, it is in fact Hamlet who beguiles them into the belief that his relationship with them is firm and trusted. Hamlet calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern his, "sure, dear friends" (II, 2, 289), and calls on them by the "rights of our fellowship . . . by the obligation of our ever-preserved love" (II, 2, 300-301), to admit to Hamlet that they have been sent for, and they admit it. Yet their admission seems to be based on the grounds that Hamlet will reveal the truth of his thoughts to them due to their "fellowship," and it is here that Hamlet takes advantage of their ignorance and dances around the truth with a speech on man and his dislike for him. He then hints to them later that, "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind/ is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (II, 2, 388-389). Hamlet knows that this information will be passed on to the king, but he tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern anyway, knowing that the news will set the king at more unrest, questioning the reasons for Hamlet's feigned madness. Hamlet then, later in the play when he is on his way to England with the two, once again breaks whatever long-standing ties he had with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he takes the commission they carry which, unknown to them, issues his death, and changes it to instruct the reader to put Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to "sudden death" as soon as the letter is read. When Horatio's tone reprimands Hamlet for his actions in this case, Hamlet replies, "Why, man, they did make love to this employment!/ They are not near my conscience" (V, 2, 62-63). His reading of the commission only heightened his anger toward Claudius and made any loyalties to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern obsolete, yet the connection that they must have once had would never have been able to go as far as allowing them to be put to such a tragic end -- it was Claudius's treachery that made it so.

There is yet another infraction of a more formal bond made by Polonius in his treatment of Hamlet until Polonius's death. Although this is merely a bond of position, it is still one of an implied loyalty which should not be breached. Polonius served under King Hamlet, Hamlet's father, and although now he serves under Claudius, as king, he should still maintain a certain loyalty to the prince and son of his former king, if it is only to protect or guide Hamlet. Yet Polonius does not uphold this loyalty from the first moment we see him. This moment is in the third scene of Act one when, after listening to Laertes's warning to Ophelia about taking Hamlet's attentions too seriously, and Ophelia's protestations that Hamlet's love is honorable and sincere, Polonius orders her to refuse to see him. He tells her, "Do not believe his vows; for they are brokers . . . mere implorators of unholy suits,/ Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds,/ The better to beguile" (I, 3, 134-138). At this early point there is not much reason for Polonius to think so lowly upon Hamlet, yet he maintains a base opinion of him. Instead, then, of Polonius being happy that his daughter is being wooed by a prince, he defiles Hamlet and shows his low opinion of him. Later, Polonius puts it upon himself to find any information he can on Hamlet and return it to the king. For the brief rest of his life Polonius is setting up occasions under which to spy on Hamlet and test his madness and the reason for it, and eventually his perfidy against Hamlet results in his being murdered by Hamlet.

This murder of Polonius leads to another relationship which, although not treacherous or superficial, is still a unique one. That relationship is between Polonius and Laertes, father and son--a tie which is frequently considered the ultimate bond. It is a bond which contains the necessary love and respect of the relationship, but yet it lacks the closeness, or real emotional bonding required in a true father-son relationship. Polonius as a father loves Laertes and listens to him and councils him on different topics. He is proud of his son and his intelligence, yet he does not altogether trust this intelligence enough to let him use his own discretion in France. In the first scene of Act Two, we see Polonius sending Reynaldo to France with fresh funds for his son, yet he also sends Reynaldo as a spy to see if Laertes is leading too wild a life. A father who is secure in his methods of parenting and who trusts his grown son as a parent should, would not do something so underhanded as to send a spy to survey his actions. Laertes, too, however, seems to lack a certain respect for his father that ought to necessarily be present considering their blood relationship. When Polonius is giving Laertes advice, for example, before Laertes leaves for France, Laertes barely makes any remarks that would suggest that he respects his father's knowledge of the world and his advice, instead he simply leaves with a brief farewell. Although this relationship lacks the proper trust and perhaps respect, however, it does not prevent Laertes from being loyal to that bond, as Polonius was his father, when it is time to revenge Polonius's death. Only then do we see the true strength of that father - son bond, as Polonius's death leads to the most tragic event of the play--the duel between Hamlet and Polonius--which leads to the death of not only Laertes and Hamlet, but also of Gertrude and Claudius.

Perhaps the most tragic of failed relationships in Hamlet is that between Hamlet and Ophelia. This relationship was one that both participants considered real until Hamlet was forced by the pressures of vengeance to make it appear superficial. In Act Three, upon Polonius's direction, Ophelia meets with Hamlet so that Polonius can observe the credibility of Hamlet's "madness." It is here that Hamlet falsely tells Ophelia, "I loved you not" ( III, 1, 129). It is also here that Hamlet insults Ophelia, degrades her, and tells her, "for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them . . . To a nunnery, go" (III, 1, 149-150), and he also states, more for the ears of Polonius than Ophelia, that women and their ways are the cause of his madness, as he tells Ophelia, "it [the ways of women] hath made me mad" (III, 1, 156). We are led to believe that Hamlet, for his cruel taunting of Ophelia's heart, is at least part of the reason for her suicide, although we are aware that it is also due to the shock of the death of her father. When Hamlet finds that Ophelia is dead, however, he has no need to continue his charade that he does not love Ophelia and that his previous advances were superficial. Instead, he tells Laertes, "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ Could not (with all their quantity of love)/ Make up my sum" (V, 1, 270-272). Perhaps this tragic event, like many of the others, could have been prevented if Hamlet had continued to treat Ophelia according to his true feelings instead of using her, too, in his plan for vengeance against Claudius.

Hamlet is a play that is based on a series of tragedies and superficial relationships, none of which would have begun without that initial superficial relationship of false love between Claudius and King Hamlet; nor would the play have been able to continue without the breakdown and/ or falsifying of relationships. Instead of following a course of deceit to gain power or to quell a jealuosy, Hamlet's struggle against Claudius is that of revenge. It is a revenge against the cruelest treachery of all--the breaking of or faking of the bond between brothers, as Claudius did with King Hamlet. In order to fulfill his revenge, however, Hamlet has to follow Claudius's example and betray relationships as well, and although in the end his actions do more harm than good, he at least can die with the knowledge that he has fulfilled the promise of one true relationship--that with his father.