Formalist
The structure of the play helps to convey the deeper subtleties in relationships between the different characters, most notably in Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes. The form of narration, in which each character is their own individual with their own voices helps to accentuate the inner conflicts of each character while conveying their individual moods and tones. The segmented lines of each individual character so dear to plays helps to paint the intricacies of the labyrinthine plot.
The use of rhetorical questions within Act 5, Scene 2 helps with the flow of the plot and gives the play a more realistic approach. For instance, Hamlet asks “The concernancy, sir? Why do we wrap the gentleman in our more rawer breath?” (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 134-136). In return, Osric responds by saying “Sir?” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 137), to which Horatio responds with another question. This flow of dialogue and conversation helps to let the plot flow and make interactions more interesting and more realistic.
Another tool that Shakespeare uses in this section of the play is the monologue, several of which are memorable. Hamlet’s monologue directed towards Laertes starting on line 240 and ending on line 258 is memorable in that it provides comprehensive insight into Hamlet’s real feelings toward Laertes. In it the reader learns that Hamlet sympathizes with Laertes, noting that Polonius’s death was Hamlet’s fault. The protagonist even compares his own quest for revenge with Laertes’s own quest for vengeance against Hamlet, saying that “I have shot an arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother” (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 257-258). This leads to Laertes’s acceptance of Hamlet’s “offered love” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 266), but also paves the way for their fateful duel.
At the end of the play, the image of tragedy in which the entire royal family is found dead evokes a sense of disbelief, yet is fitting to the plot as a whole. The cycle of revenge is broken, with Laertes leading to Hamlet’s death and Hamlet leading to Claudius’s death. When looking back at the mission old King Hamlet’s ghost bestowed on Hamlet, the plot is complete. Even the revenge that Fortinbras sought out is satiated when the image of Fortinbras at the site of the tragedy comes to mind.
The use of rhetorical questions within Act 5, Scene 2 helps with the flow of the plot and gives the play a more realistic approach. For instance, Hamlet asks “The concernancy, sir? Why do we wrap the gentleman in our more rawer breath?” (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 134-136). In return, Osric responds by saying “Sir?” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 137), to which Horatio responds with another question. This flow of dialogue and conversation helps to let the plot flow and make interactions more interesting and more realistic.
Another tool that Shakespeare uses in this section of the play is the monologue, several of which are memorable. Hamlet’s monologue directed towards Laertes starting on line 240 and ending on line 258 is memorable in that it provides comprehensive insight into Hamlet’s real feelings toward Laertes. In it the reader learns that Hamlet sympathizes with Laertes, noting that Polonius’s death was Hamlet’s fault. The protagonist even compares his own quest for revenge with Laertes’s own quest for vengeance against Hamlet, saying that “I have shot an arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother” (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 257-258). This leads to Laertes’s acceptance of Hamlet’s “offered love” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 266), but also paves the way for their fateful duel.
At the end of the play, the image of tragedy in which the entire royal family is found dead evokes a sense of disbelief, yet is fitting to the plot as a whole. The cycle of revenge is broken, with Laertes leading to Hamlet’s death and Hamlet leading to Claudius’s death. When looking back at the mission old King Hamlet’s ghost bestowed on Hamlet, the plot is complete. Even the revenge that Fortinbras sought out is satiated when the image of Fortinbras at the site of the tragedy comes to mind.
Psychological
Hamlet’s conflict is an internal one as well as a situational one. Hamlet must decide whether he is to avenge his father’s death at the hands of Claudius, while also having to deal with his mother remarrying shortly after his father death to Claudius, bringing to light his Oedipal complex. Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother for both the act remarrying and at the choice of Claudius as her husband. Hamlet struggles to act both in dealing with his mother marriage and to avenge his father. Hamlet is trapped by honor to try and avenge his father, while not having the drive to follow through. Had he followed through the problem of mother’s marriage and his father's revenge would have both been solved
Marxist
The entire shell of class distinctions comes to a full circle within Act 5 of the play. At first the most noticeable class distinction lies in between Hamlet the 1st and Claudius, and Hamlet the 2nd and Polonius. The proletariat, or the working class that includes Horatio , Marcellus, etc. actually do not truly tie into class conflict within this play. In the end and the beginning, those of the working class do not end off any worse than with which they began, nor do they gain any benefits within the internal struggle of Denmark. The entire premise of the plot arises within the class conflict between Hamlet the 1st and his brother Claudius. Hamlet the 1st is currently at the top of the proverbial food chain, therefore the conflict lies in Claudius, the greedy brother. As seen in the beginning of the entire play, Claudius’ ability to climb the social ladder has stagnated, as the highest position was occupied by his brother, and could not claim it without reason for the throne. Therefore he got rid of his brother. This lead to conflict with his nephew, which in Act 5 is cleared by both their deaths. Another class conflict lies between Hamlet the 2nd and Polonius, the king’s advisor, that indirectly leads to Hamlet’s death in this Act. Polonius, despite being of the noble class, in one of distinctly lower rank than that of the family of Hamlet, which causes his daughter to cease seeing Hamlet, which only leads to intensify his fake insanity. Thus, this eventually leads to Polonius’ death, then Ophelia’s death, to Laertes’ revenge, and then finally Hamlet’s death.
Biographical and Historical
Because the play is written in a third person perspective, the author’s personal experiences were not prevalent in the play. However, the author’s time period did influence the play’s characters’ decisions. The play is set in the 1500-1600s where revenge and fighting dominates scholarly debate, hence violence is seen throughout the play, particularly in act 5. The fact that the major characters all die in the play is typical of a play of this time period.
Structuralist
The purpose of structuralist literary critique is to examine the structure of a literary work in order to identify underlying patterns, themes, and motifs. An examination of Act 5 of Hamlet identifies this play as a tragedy, because the hero (Hamlet) chooses the path of revenge and suffers a downfall from a prince to a “madman.” Also in this tragedy, almost all of the characters in the play die by the end of Act 5. Other patterns were present in the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras, all of whom appeared in Act 5. By this time, all three characters have lost their fathers through murder. Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Similarly, by the end of Act 5, all three characters have obtained closure for their revenge. Hamlet kills Claudius, Laertes makes peace with Hamlet, and Fortinbras finds the royal family dead, but honors Hamlet by treating him like a soldier.
Deconstructionist
At the onset of the act the gravediggers refer to a Christian Burial, not indicating what that entails exactly. The usage of the word “spade” is another instance of the breakdown of language. The word spade being able to be translated as slave, worker, or a shovel. When Gertrude speaks of a female dove, the meaning could be interpreted to mean either a female bird representing peace or that a female person dove into some body of water. Followed by the phrase golden couplets, a phrase that could mean two golden colored birds or golden tablets etched with poetry. Goblins, said by Hamlet, could refer to physical mythical creatures or as merely revolting situations. When Hamlet and Osric have their exchange the meaning of temperature is not absolute. They could be referring to physical temperature, the amiability of the court, or of the attitudes Hamlet is portraying.