Thoughts on Hamlet

Prostitution is everywhere in Hamlet, and I feel that it probably has a higher purpose than to simply illustrate the dirty minds of men. In fact, it sometimes seems as if Hamlet himself is a prostitute. Hamlet comments in his final soliloquy of Act II that Hamlet must, "like a whore, unpack [his] heart with words." I thought of his comment as likening himself to a prostitute in that he must not get emotionally attached to anyone or anything on his quest. Prostitutes cannot allow themselves to get attached to any of their "clients," and must fill their hearts with a hardness that leaves them almost incapable to love in order to achieve their goals. Similarly, Hamlet must harden his heart on his quest for his father's revenge. That is, if his father even needs revenge. He must fill his heart with words instead of of love or even soul, and his attempts to fill himself with words explain his conversation earlier in the scene with Polonius.

Speaking of Polonius, he is a kind of prostitute in one sense. He doesn't seem to have a strong sense of loyalty, rather changing sides whenever it benefits him most. Hamlet even alludes that he is like a dog, but a dead dog at that one. Hamlet hints that Polonius doesn't even have enough loyalty that he can be classified as a dog, and will eventually die, and maggots will come out of Polonius' dead, decaying, corrupted body. What a beautiful image. Polonius is also related to prostitution in a different way. He is a "fishmonger," someone trying to sell his own daughter in order to gain the favor of the king. Salesmen always try to boost up the image of the product they are trying to sell, usually lying in the process. However, Polonius is almost worse than the normal salesman; he is not only trying to sell a person, but trying to trick not only Hamlet but also Ophelia and, in some ways, even Claudius.

On an unrelated tangent, I wanted to discuss my views of Hamlet's relationship with the other characters. Now that we've watched the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet, I can't imagine Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship as anything more innocent. If Hamlet is as old as he seems, and as passionate and emotional as Hamlet is in his soliloquies, I can't help but imagine the only love Hamlet will have as fiery and completely passionate. He doesn't strike me as the type to slowly approach Ophelia to wait for her hand in marriage; rather, in his irrationality, he probably did open her chaste treasure.

Although I can understand Hamlet's feelings of betrayal towards his mother, I feel like he often takes his father's side a bit too much. If his mother had married anyone but his uncle, I wonder, would he be as upset and appalled? I really wonder what Hamlet's relationship with Claudius was before King Hamlet died/was murdered. It might help explain Hamlet's confusing attitude.