Irony
Discussion
Act 3,
Scene 4
Lines 177-
Hamlet seems to be speaking with sarcastic irony. These lines might be interpreted as, “Go ahead and tell Claudius what I’m up to because who but a wise queen would hide such important things from a devilish character like Claudius.” The comparison of Claudius to a toad, a bat, and a monkey is an allusion to Hamlet’s earlier allegation that Claudius had used witchcraft to seduce Gertrude. (These were the forms stereotypically adopted by witches’ assistants.)