Explore Shakespeare’s presentation of confrontations in Hamlet, with references to the characters’ understanding and misunderstanding of each other’s states of mind.

In Hamlet, some remarkable scenes of the play are the confrontations between characters, after which significant developments in character growth and plot progression take place. Confrontation is an element of conflict where an argumentative meeting happens between two parties, in hope to engage each other to draw out a conclusion or a solution to the situation. This is vivid in the exchanges between Hamlet and his mother Gertrude, as well as Hamlet and Laertes’s last fight, in which both cases end up with some form of resolution with the characters understanding each other more deeply. However, while both parties should be honest and direct in order to reach the most favourable compromisation after facing each other, confrontation does not necessarily mean telling the other person the truth. In cases such as the exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia, this leads to both parties not reaching a mutual understanding but deepening their hurt for each other at the end. Once remarkable scene of confrontation is the one between Hamlet and Ophelia, in which the peaceful and intimate conversation slowly transitions into an intense and hostile exchange. This arises from the conflict between them as Ophelia accuses him of being fickle and having shown a change of heart. The tension between them starts to rise when Hamlet begins to raise his voice at Ophelia: “Are you honest? ”, “Are you fair”, repeatedly seeking an affirmation of the validity in her words, for which she does not give a direct response to. The outburst of rage in Hamlet begins when Ophelia pulls the last straw by lying to Hamlet, saying her father is “at home” while he is actually eavesdropping their conversation at the moment. At the peak of the confrontation, Hamlet, filled with extreme disappointment and rage, repeatedly tells Ophelia to go to the nunnery: “To a nunnery go, and quickly too”, so that she does not make monsters out of men by cuckolding and being unfaithful to them, like how she is lying to Hamlet. For Hamlet, Ophelia’s lies confirm his belief in women’s dishonesty, as she makes him think that she has betrayed their love and trust to one another, allying herself with Claudius and not him. Ophelia however, in response to Hamlet’s hostile injunctions, seems to avoid responding to his words, and calling out to divine forces to save him instead: “O help him, you sweet heavens! ”, “O heavenly powers, restore him”. This shows Ophelia’s rejection towards Hamlet as she has given up on reasoning with him and trying to understand him, believing that he is truly mad and cannot be helped. The very imbalance between Hamlet and Ophelia where one keeps confronting and the other keeps avoiding has further deepened the misunderstanding between the two parties, as the lack of clarification between them makes them unable to understand what the other is truly thinking and feeling internally. This eventually leads to Hamlet losing the only person he could rely on and shares his burden with, as well as worsening Ophelia’s mental instability as she is deeply hurt by her lover’s words. Another confrontation scene in the play is the one between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude, as Hamlet confronts his mother about her unchastity in her engagement with Claudius. The tension between them starts to build up when Hamlet phrases his responses to Gertrude in parallel structure: “Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended” versus “Mother, you have my father much offended”. Hamlet uses Gertrude’s words against her, blatantly criticising her directly for her insincerity towards the late King. This back-and-forth exchange makes the air between them becomes more intense, contributing to the disputant nature of a confrontation. This tension reaches an extreme point where it manifests through the physical interaction between the two characters, shown through Gertrude’s fright: “What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me? ”. This reaction from Gertrude indicates that Hamlet must have been somewhat forceful towards her in making her looks into the mirror and facing her flaws. This tension is maintained through Hamlet’s multiple attempts in awakening Gertrude’s conscience, forcing her to confront her immorality. He questions her shamelessness: “O shame, where is thy blush? ”, calling her “Rebellious hell” as she could not control her sexual desires, and even goes as far as describing her incestuous sexual relation with Claudius: “an enseamed bed, | Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love | Over the nasty sty”. The vivid, detailed description together with the animalistic image of the “sty” emphasises Hamlet’s resentment of his mother’s sexual exploits. All of these are Hamlet’s constant and deliberate attempts to shake Gertrude into her consciousness, in order to make her recognises her wrongdoings. Along with Hamlet’s clarification of his true intention in aggressively confronting her and faking his madness, Gertrude is able to understand Hamlet more deeply and agrees to follow his words. This leads to the restoration of Hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship as both characters reach a mutual understanding, with Hamlet opening up to his mother about his motifs and Gertrude taking Hamlet’s side. Last but not least, one scene of confrontation in the play is between Hamlet and Laertes as they compete against each other in their sword fight. The tension between two men starts to form when Hamlet acknowledges Laertes’ proficiency in fencing, “like a star i’th’ darkest night, | Stick fiery off indeed”. This compliment is genuine coming from Hamlet’s side as he praises Laertes’ skills to be on higher par compared to him, yet it is received by Laertes as a ridicule: “You mock me, sir”, for Laertes thinks Hamlet is exaggerating the compliments about him. This tension further rises as both men progress in their match, which is highlighted through the sound component on the stage: “[Drums and] Trumpets sound, and shot goes off”. The various sound devices such as “drums” and “trumpets” used here help in building up the dramatic intensity between the two competitors. As Hamlet and Laertes confront each other, the truth starts to unveil as Laertes could not stand the guilt for causing the death of an innocent person. He proceeds to reveal Claudius’s villainy, helping Hamlet understand the situation and enabling him to take immediate revenge against his uncle. Ultimately, with Hamlet’s account for the incidents happened earlier with Polonius and Laertes’ disclosure of the wicked plot, the two men finally understand the true intention of each other. This allows the restoration of faith between Hamlet and Laertes, with both of them forgiving one another at the end: “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet”, allowing them to go to the afterlife without regrets. All in all, it is evident that confrontation plays an important role in the play. It allows the characters to express their true insights without restraints, or further complicates their misunderstanding. Either way, confrontation is undeniably a necessary factor in the characters’ progression, in both their decisions and their relationships with others.