TIME+ACT+IV

Jaime Kozlik Time/Timing // Hamlet: “High and mighty, you shall know I am set naked on your kingdom” // The line 44-45 clearly displays the motif of timing, with the sense of being in "The right place at the right time." While Claudius had explained to Laertes that Hamlet had killed polonious, a messenger ironically distributes a letter to the King sencerely from Hamlet. The letter indicated that Hamlet is returning to Denmark by himself. Laertes is excited because now with Hamlet coming back home he will have an opportunity to revenge his fathers death. If Laertes wouldn't have been sitting there with the king, and would have heard the news of Hamlet returning home, the outcome of Hamlet's death could have altered.
 * Scene 7 pg 237 lines 44-45 **

Laertes: //let come what comes, only I'll be revenged most throughly for my father"//
 * Scene 5 pg 215 lines 140-141**

This line demonstrates another example of "timing" but instead of being in the right place at the right time, perhaps Laertes was in the wrong place. With the news of his fathers death Laertes bursts through a pair of doors with a mob of peasents ready and willing to get revenge. While Laertes is threatheng the king and deamanding for an explanation of his fathers murder, Orphelia enters the room. Laertes withdraws his sword and his anger and rage turn into pitty and sorrow. He cannot believe what has happend to his sister resulting in him to slow down and think about what had happened, giving Claudius the change to truly explain the tradgic result of his fathers mishap. With Orphelia's timing of entering the room of distraught and distracting her brother from the current confrontation between Cladius and him, it than braught Hamlet to the center of the dinner table, with revenge as the main course.

Hamlet : //O, from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!"//
 * Scene 4 pg 203 lines 67-68**

Fortinbras sends his captain to deliver a message to the king that, they are still marching through Denmark, and they mean no harm. Hamlet approaches the captain and asks what whose army is down below. He is than confronted with their plan to march through Denmark, and invade Poland. Hamlet than asks the captain, what they are fighting for and he responds by saying " //We go to gain a little patch of ground that hath in it no profice but the name//" meaning that they have no reason to be fighting for this land, other than the fact that it would be there to call their own. After hearing Fortinbras plan Hamlet begins to ponder the fact that nearly twenty thousand men are in an army and are willing to die for no cause, no reason, but hear his father was murdered by his uncle who took over the kingdom in a matter of "minutes" if you will, and married his mother, his fathers wife, and yet he hasn't taken action. He finally comes to realize that he has waited to long and it is finaly **time** to revenge his fathers death.

Aaron Cranfill The Concept of Time/Timing

Hamlet: //"Why, then, the Polack never will defend it."//
 * Scene 4: p. 199, Lines 24**

This is an important point in this scene as far as timing goes because of the significance of when it transpires in the chronological order of the story. Hamlet has just been dismissed by the King to England as basically exile, and then to be killed eventually. Hamlet's fortunes are looking pretty bleak at this point and then he meets the captain of this army, an army with no purpose. This is a turning point in the story in how it gives Hamlet a little spark of an idea as you can almost see the wheels turning in Hamlets head during the movie. It seems this might be the thing to turn it around for Hamlet and puts the idea in the readers mind of why this army is in there and "why it has no purpose," yet later we learn it needs one which adds to the growing turmoil as the events unfold and the story nears its end.

Laertes: //"How, Now what noise is that?// (Enter Ophelia) Laertes: //O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye!//
 * Scene 5: p. 227, lines 160-162**

Laertes comes to Denmark with the only idea of avenging his fathers death. He believes he his about to have all his questions answered and get his revenge, when Ophelia enters the picture. He had probably completely forgotten about her in his fit of rage, and now she comes crashing back into his life with such a force that all his anger turns to sadness. This is such a monumental point of the scene a the Audiences sympathy then goes with Laertes as his family is pulled apart even more, and fuel is added to his internal struggle and The stage is now set for what he must do since all this pain in his life is caused by one man, Hamlet, and he must avenge his father and sister.

Queen: //"One woe doth tread upon another's heel, So fast they follow. Your sister's drowned, Laertes."//
 * Scene 7: p. 235, Lines 166-167**

The King and Laertes have just set the stage for Hamlet's murder. Laertes is finally calmed down now that he can focus solely on thee task at hand since he is now going to avenge his fallen father. With this sudden outburst, everything crumbles for Laertes and even though he has to kill Hamlet, the composure he had just recovered is lost. The second death of the story is unfortunate, but the second one to be in Laertes family, when the issue was just resolved minutes before keeps the plot rolling and conflict continuing. Shakespeare once again makes a terrible situation into a horrible one as the feelings Laertes are experiencing are also apparent for the audience and the timing adds to the hurt.