{"id":281,"date":"2021-02-27T19:49:24","date_gmt":"2021-02-27T19:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2021-02-27T19:49:24","modified_gmt":"2021-02-27T19:49:24","slug":"symbolic-darkness-in-shakespeares-hamlet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/?p=281","title":{"rendered":"Symbolic Darkness in Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Darkness–a natural element that absorbs, engulfs, and overwhelms. There is no escaping its reach; there is no retreat from its presence, for as soon as it is allowed a pinch of a hold, it overtakes the whole in one sweep. There is only one element capable of expelling darkness: light. Without the presence of light, darkness would crawl steadily and quickly toward despair, desolation, and ultimately, death. It is present in the physical realm and also the spiritual, mental, emotional–that which is deep within the soul of man. In this realm it manifests as deceit or lies. Shakespeare uses the symbol of darkness in his play, Hamlet<\/em>, to represent this realm and the manner in which minimal deceit and minute lies can grow into overwhelming seas of horror and grief. An evident characteristic of this darkness is that it cannot be controlled. There is no confining it. If it possesses any influence at all, it will steal the rest. There are no degrees or abstract shades of darkness in this realm, but a wholistic presence as real as paper in your hand. Indeed, the darkness within the soul of mankind is alive and seeks only to devour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the very opening of the story of Hamlet<\/em>, dense and profuse darkness is unmistakably apparent. Soldiers gather at the blackest hour of the night to keep watch of a palace already infested with its own form of internal obscurity. As one soldier remarks on the late hour, another subconsciously exposes the very depressed state of the kingdom. \u201c\u2018Tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart\u201d (Shakespeare 1.1.36-38). \u00a0Not only is this conversational introduction offering the audience an image of physical and mystical darkness, but also a symbol of what is to come within the plot: the introduction of Hamlet and the restless, searching mind that he possesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamlet\u2019s entrance into the play is not inconsequential. From his first moment on stage, emotional darkness is evident in his speech and that of others as well. Although rightful pain and sorrow linger in his heart, Hamlet\u2019s ignorant mother rebukes the dark state of his mind. \u201cGood Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark\u201d (1.2.270-271). Rejecting his mother\u2019s advice, Hamlet proceeds to explain that death, although a common occurrence, has wrought a hole in his spirit which is filling more and more with agony and grief. \u201cI have that within which passes show, these but the trappings and the suits of woe\u201d (1.2.288-289).\u00a0 He demonstrates that all the common outward phases of bereavement have no cure for the horror at work in his heart. It is here that Darkness begins releasing its fog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As darkness is a presence\u2014and like any presence, must receive an invitation to be present\u2014one must identify the thoroughfares of such invitations. As depicted in the story of Hamlet, it was death that offered darkness a sweet-smelling aroma by which it drew very close. However, it was the deceit and lies surrounding the death that opened the door for darkness to walk authoritatively in, and command the space. Once it had authority, there was no turning back. The deceit grew larger and irreversible, and the situation graver. It continued to escalate to the end of death and destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To exemplify this point, look intently on the Biblical account of David and Bathsheba. The act of seeing Bathsheba bathing is not what welcomed darkness into the scene; it was David\u2019s deceitful action of secretly seducing her that ultimately led to darkness\u2019 rule and the death of David\u2019s son. In this account, the effect of Darkness\u2019 power is very clear; one minuscule lie led to another\u2026and then to another. \u201cAnd David sent and inquired after the woman [\u2026] and sent messengers and took her; and she came in unto him and he lay with her\u201d (2 Sam. 11:3-4). Then Bathsheba came to David stealthily to tell him she was with child; then David called for her husband and deceitfully tried to persuade him to go home to his wife; one act of deceit after another until darkness had overstretched and grown far out of control. It was Darkness who clouded David\u2019s mind and led him to commit these acts so contrary to his doctrine. It was Darkness who led to the murder of Bathsheba\u2019s husband, and the death of David\u2019s unborn son\u2014but only through the invitation of David’s deceit and lies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a similar manner, observe the symbolic story of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde\u2019s The Picture of Dorian Gray. <\/em>Dorian was a successful, popular, and handsome young man in his society. He was a man of character; innocent and benevolent until deceit crept into his life as well. Upon hearing of his ex-fianc\u00e9e\u2019s suicide, he rejected all responsibility and removed himself from all guilt, deceiving himself first. The moment Darkness entered, \u201cThere was a silence. The evening darkened in the room. Noiselessly, and with silver feet, the shadows crept in from the garden. The colours faded wearily out of things\u201d (Wilde). He then turned his deceit outward and hid the mystical painting which portrayed all his sins in a dark attic. He went on living, demonstrating to the people around him goodness and an innocent, youthful heart; yet at night, and in the dark, he grew more and more wicked, committing unspeakable acts and running further into the tangling arms of Darkness itself. His continuance under its control heightened, as it did with David and Bathsheba. It was Darkness who led Dorian to murder his friend, Basil Hallward; it was Darkness who led Dorian to his own death as well\u2014but again, only through the invitation he had offered by his deceit and lies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same manner, Hamlet welcomes Darkness into his life through deceit. Hamlet\u2019s response to his uncle\u2019s lies and his own reciprocal deceitfulness gives darkness a small grasp on his soul. With this tiny clutch, it takes control. Hamlet enters a downward spiral of confusion, anger, and resentment. This provokes more lies and more deceit. He plans the murder of his uncle in the deep shadows of his mind, believing he was destined to avenge his father. \u201cO cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right!\u201d (1.5.943-944). He renounces his love for Ophelia, although it most certainly never left. \u201cYou should not have believ’d me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not\u201d (3.1.1810-1811). He pretends to be mad to reassure his uncle\u2019s suspicious eye. \u201cYour noble son is mad. Mad call I it; for, to define true madness, what is’t but to be nothing else but mad?\u201d (2.2.1186-1188).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expounding on Hamlet\u2019s deceitfulness through madness, observe the manner in which he composes himself. It is as if he truly lost control of his mind and will\u2014not through madness, but through his unquestioning agreement that feigning it was what he needed to do to achieve revenge. Oscar Wilde wrote of Hamlet in a letter to his friend Lord Alfred Douglas, \u201cHe has no conception of what to do, and his folly is to feign folly\u201d (Bloom). A characteristic of Darkness is its ability to dim the mind and make a wrong answer appear to be the same as a right one. For how else could it convince its victims that more deceit is the right response to the original deceit? With this view, it is clear that it is Darkness who tunnels Hamlet\u2019s vision to the end that he sees only one thing: revenge. It is Darkness who turns his intellect against him and sets his feet on the path to death. Darkness relentlessly pursues him. With every jab, every nudge toward more deceitfulness, its power grows, and Hamlet sinks further into the claws of despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as it composed itself with David and Dorian, it does the same with Hamlet. It enters in through an invitation and usurps all authority. It aggrandizes every little lie until it is large enough to consume life itself. It makes wrong appear right and right appear wrong. Its wicked end is to extinguish life through its craftiness and dark schemes. Shakespeare utilizes the symbolism of darkness to convey these concepts. Darkness is the principle color scheme within the setting\u2014most scenes take place at night or in dim corridors and palace halls. Darkness is the symbolic cloud over each character\u2019s mind. Hamlet was deceived and blind to the truth, and once enlightened, blinded again by revenge and bitterness. Hamlet\u2019s uncle is blind to his fate, and trapped in the torment of the murder he had committed. Hamlet\u2019s mother is ignorant and foolish; Ophelia deceived and controlled; Polonius corrupt and a deceiver himself. \u00a0Shakespeare demonstrates these states in Hamlet\u2019s first speech to his father\u2019s ghost; \u201cmaking night hideous, and we fools of nature so horridly to shake our disposition with thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? Say, why is this? wherefore? What should we do?\u201d (1.4.683-686). \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear that Shakespeare desired a theme of confusion and ignorance to command the setting in this play. His dark scenery represents the darkness of the plot and the darkness of the characters\u2019 minds. He portrays the spiritual, mental, and emotional realm of darkness through the physical representation of it. He presents the manner in which deceit provokes horror and grief and, ultimately death. At the end of the story, every character dies, save Hamlet\u2019s loyal friend, Horatio\u2014arguably the one representation of light throughout the story, who alone stood for truth and understanding and, at the end was left alive to relate the sorrowful tale and bring it into the light. Through this narrative, Shakespeare also conveys that darkness is uncontrollable. Once it possesses a small piece of influence, it is only a matter of time before it steals all the rest. As soon as darkness is welcomed in, its presence fills every crack and crevice, and to turn back would be to fight a raging battle of will. King Claudius illustrates this point through his prayer of repentance, \u201cIn the corrupted currents of this world,\u00a0offence’s gilded hand may shove by justice [\u2026] What then? What rests?\u00a0Try what repentance can. What can it not?\u00a0Yet what can it when one cannot repent?\u00a0O wretched state! O bosom black as death!\u00a0O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,\u00a0Art more engag’d! Help, angels! Make assay.\u00a0Bow, stubborn knees; and heart with strings of steel,\u00a0be soft as sinews of the new-born babe!\u201d (3.3.2339-2353). Darkness is a tangling web, a snare, a bottomless pit. Shakespeare\u2019s use of symbolic darkness proves this truth as he communicates to his audience that deceit and lies will lead nowhere but to the relentless, grappling arms of darkness\u2019 hold. A warning; a call; and a careful beckon toward the sanctuary of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 1, 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloom, Harold. Bloom\u2019s Notes: William Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet. <\/em>Chelsea House Publishers, 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryrie KJV Study Bible. <\/em>General editor, Charles Caldwell Ryrie. Moody Publishers, 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. <\/em>Edited by Dover Thrift Editions, Dover Publications, Inc., 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. <\/em>Produced by Judith Boss, The Project Gutenberg EBook, 2008. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Darkness–a natural element that absorbs, engulfs, and overwhelms. There is no escaping its reach; there is no retreat from its presence, for as soon as it is allowed a pinch of a hold, it overtakes the whole in one sweep. There is only one element capable of expelling darkness: light. Without the presence of light,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[103,102,12],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-critical-analyses","tag-darkness","tag-hamlet","tag-shakespeare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}