Where Hamlet Kills Polonius Language Analysis

Jonathan S. Goldberg Spring 2016 English 130 Professor. Lewis

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Part 1

In Act 3 Scene 4, where Hamlet kills Polonius, several phrases are pivotal to the scene. When Hamlet asks why he has been summoned, his mother Queen Gertrude lets him know that it is because Hamlet has offended his father. This statement announces the beginning of the altercation between mother and son. Hamlet suspects his mother played a part in the death of King Hamlet and is filled with anger and vengeful thoughts. For most of the play, he has contemplated suicide and questioned his actions. He decided not to kill Claudius as he was praying and this makes him feel as though he has failed in his quest for revenge. Hamlet wants to show Queen Gertrude the error in her decision to marry Claudius and tells his mother:

Come, Come, and sit you down; you shall not budge;

You go not till I set you up a glass;

Where you may see the inmost part of you.

The

Queen Gertrude is emphasizing how painful and hurtful it is to hear what Hamlet has to say. She is pained and tormented by Hamlet’s view on her marriage to her late husband’s brother. Oxymoron has also been used when Hamlet says. “I must be cruel, only to the kind”. This shows that he was kind to Polonius in killing him though it was a cruel act. Paradox is used when Hamlet tells Queen Gertrude. “You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife.” This statement gives us a look into the reason for Hamlet’s anger. Alliteration was used in line when Hamlet says, “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!” Use of eulogia was used before Hamlet left his mother’s room ‘Once more, good night: And when you are desirous to be bless 'd, I 'll blessing beg of you.’ Irony is used when it is shown that Hamlet is not actually insane and Gertrude is spying on Hamlet with