Not All Tragic – The Comedy of Shakespeare’s "Hamlet"

One of the key elements of Hamlet apart from the revenge and amidst all the bloodshed there is a sense of dark humour that takes place by the key character Hamlet. This dark humour is used most effectively. An example in Hamlet would be in Act 4 scene 2 where Rosencrantz and Guildenstern go searching for Hamlet just as he has hidden away the dead body of Polonius. In this scene it starts with Hamlet saying “safely stowed!” This indicated towards the dark humour and here Hamlet talks about the dead body as if it were a piece of meat that he put away to be safely stored away. He goes on to say “Who calls on Hamlet?” This can be seen to be deliberately bringing out the farcical element.

One of the good characteristics that Hamlet has is his subtle and constant ability to use humour in every situation. It is used almost in every serious situation or right after a serious situation and it shows the essential soundness of his mind. This also goes on to show constantly that Hamlet is indeed not consumed by madness nor is he mad at any point though it may seem to other characters in Hamlet that he is. Though Hamlet is troubled by the events that take place to those around him making his task of revenge and that too being told this by a ghost is enough to unbalance almost any mind, Hamlet keeps a calm and collected mind in every situation even the more complex ones.

The quality of humour is important in comedy, it is more important in tragedy, whether it is in the tragedy of life or in the tragedy of the theatre. In terms of the element of humour in the play of Hamlet for instance, the darkness of tragedy is made blacker by the jewels of humour with which it is portrayed. This can be best shown in Act 1 Scene 2 where hamlet says “A little more than kin, and less than kind.” This is said in the form of a pun as here hamlet in his typical humour characteristic does a play on words as he indicates that the kings designates himself as not only Hamlets father but he is also his uncle and he is acting in a way that could be seen as unnatural. The reason this would be seen as unnatural is that the king is Hamlets uncle yet he is taking the role of his father and trying to bond with Hamlet in a father figure level which can be seen as an unnatural thing to do. After Hamlet says this the King replies “how is it that the clouds still hang on you?” “Not so, my lord; I am too much in the son,” says Hamlet, toying with grief. Again we see Hamlets humorous side especially whilst he is depressed as the king uses the metaphor of clouds to hint that Hamlet is still upset and depressed and typical to Hamlets characteristic his reply is a sarcastic pun on the words of sun and son.

In the graveyard scene in Act 5 Scene 1 with the clowns Hamlet is shown to take part in a grim and melancholy humour. On the first skull he says: “It might be the pate of a politician… one that would circumvent God, might it not?” In my opinion this would be the best example of the comic tool being used most efficiently and to its most effectiveness as essentially here Hamlet makes light of the serious situation he is in which is in a graveyard whilst being face to face with skulls of those who once lived but now are dead. There is also a light humour theme when the gravedigger just throws out the skulls from the graves.

In conclusion I think that Shakespeare uses the tool of comedy in Hamlet very well. The evidence of just how effective Shakespeare is with using comedy as a tool in Hamlet is best shown in the gravedigger scene. In this scene Ophelia is being buried after she killed herself in the church which back when the play was first written which was in a time where Catholicism was powerful and so a person who killed themselves and was being buried in church would have cause a few people to get upset the serious mood is quickly lightened through the humour of verbal joust which takes place between Hamlet and the gravedigger.