Page 60 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

INTRODUCTION UH

disposed of by declaring that the whole soliloquy is
misplaced and 'properly would come before the Ghost
1
scene ,' is seen to fall into its natural and unobtrusive
position as a detail in the dramatic structure.
A little history, of the right kind, throws a flood of
new light over the events of the first act and, moreover,
greatly assists the working of the plot, since it makes it
natural for Hamlet to hesitate and assume his 'antic
disposition,' while it explains his need for the Gonzago
play to test the truth of the Ghost's story. Nor is that all;
both the Cellarage-scene and the apparition in the Queen's
bedroom lose half their meaning unless illumined by
contemporary notions about the spirit-world.
History too helps us to apprehend the political situa-
tion in Hamlet. How would this present itself to an
Elizabethan audience? W e need not go further back
than Dr Johnson to enquire. Like other eighteenth-
century critics, he always calls Claudius 'the Usurper.'
In other words, Hamlet was thought of as the rightful
heir to the throne who had been robbed of his inheritance
by an uncle whom he himself describes as a cutpurse
'
of the empire.' Of course he had suffered a more over-
whelming wrong in the degrading incestuous marriage
of his mother; and this second wrong quite overshadows
the other in his thoughts. But he is not unmindful of the
crown; and, far more important, Claudius is not un-
mindful either. In short, Hamlet's ambitious designs,
or rather what his uncle takes to be such, form a very
significant element in the relations between the two men
right through the play. During the first half Ckudius is
constantly trying to probe them; they explain much in

relevant to Hamlet, and insists that Hamlet's doubts are
honest and natural. Yet he entirely fails to see their bearing
'
not only on To be or not to be* but also on the evolution
of the main plot; his blindness being chiefly due to his
anxiety to explain away the 'delay' motive.
1
J. M. Robertson, The Problem of Hamlet, p. 55.