Purpose of the long Trojan war speech in Hamlet

Shakespeare conveys the central meaning of his plays through the three techniques of cohesive unity (of the entire play), thematic resonance, and focused allegorical scenes. Cohesive unity refers to the fact that every part of the play (with no exception whatsoever) contributes to its central meaning. 

This includes all the scenes that do not move along the main action of the play. Hamlet has a great abundance of these kinds of scenes, which I have called “focused allegorical scenes” because they artistically amplify the main themes of the play using symbolism, analogy or parody.

In two previous posts, I have stated that Hamlet’s delay in his revenge and the long swearing ritual (prompted by the ghost) points to the immoral nature of seeking vengeance. The long Trojan war speech is another focused allegorical scene that reinforces this immoral nature of revenge and is thus part of the cohesive unity of the play.

After welcoming the visiting players, Hamlet requests a performance of a passionate speech from a play he remembers:

Hamlet. One speech in it I chiefly loved; ’twas Aeneas’ tale to Dido; and thereabout of it especially when he speaks of Priam’s slaughter. If it live in your memory, begin at this line—let me see, let me see—

The rugged Pyrrhus, like th’Hyrcanian beast—

It is not so. It begins with Pyrrhus—

The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms,

Black as his purpose, did the night resemble

When he lay couched in the ominous horse,

Hath now this dread and black complexion smear’d

With heraldry more dismal. Head to foot

Now is he total gules, horridly tricked

With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons,

Baked and impasted with the parching streets,

That lend a tyrannous and damned light

To their lord’s murder. Roasted in wrath and fire,

And thus o’ersized with coagulate gore,

With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus

Old grandsire Priam seeks.

So proceed you.

Shakespeare presents us with a powerful and terrible imagery of the avenger. The avenger is Pyrrhus, whose father, Achilles, was killed in the Trojan War by Paris, the son of King Priam. Pyrrhus is now crouched in darkness within the Trojan Horse, preparing to wreak havoc on Troy and to kill Priam. Significantly, it is Hamlet who recites the first part of the speech that describes Pyrrhus, thus strengthening the link between himself and the image of terror it portrays.

Hamlet’s false start provides us with the image of the Hyrcanian beast, which is a tiger, a predatory creature, colored black and red. These primitive hues are then intensified by the heraldic terms for black (sable) and red (gules) and used to suggest the darkness and flames of hell. Pyrrhus, “roasted in wrath and fire, and thus o’ersized with coagulate gore, with eyes like carbuncles,” is thus depicted as a messenger from hell.

Shakespeare’s intent is clear. As with the scene of the swearing ritual, he provides an experience of the diabolical and horrific nature of revenge.

The traveling actor now takes over from Hamlet:

1st Player. Anon he finds him,

Striking too short at Greeks. His antique sword,

Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls,

Repugnant to command. Unequal matched,

Pyrrhus at Priam drives, in rage strikes wide;

But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword

Th’unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium,

 to feel this blow, with flaming top

Stoops to his base, and with a hideous crash

Takes prisoner Pyrrhus’ ear. For lo, his sword,

Which was declining on the milky head

Of reverend Priam, seemed i’th’air to stick;

So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood,

And like a neutral to his will and matter,

Did nothing.

But as we often see against some storm

A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still,

The bold winds speechless, and the orb below

As hush as death,…

With this dramatic pause, this haunting image of horror is frozen to linger in our minds. The avenger is poised like a demoniac monster ready to slaughter the helpless, while civilization collapses around him, giving way to his terrible will to soak all in blood and pain. After the pause, the avenger proceeds remorselessly with his brutal task:

1st Player. …anon the dreadful thunder

Doth rend the region; so after Pyrrhus’ pause

Aroused vengeance sets him new awork,

And never did the Cyclops’ hammers fall

On Mar’s armour, forged for proof eterne,

With less remorse than Pyrrhus’ bleeding sword

Now falls on Priam.

Out, out, thou strumpet Fortune! All you gods

In general synod take away her power,

Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel,

And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven

As low as to the fiends.

The speech is Shakespeare’s commentary on the horror of revenge. Note that it is with “aroused vengeance” that Pyrrhus resumed his bloody task after the pause. It reinforces the immoral nature of seeking vengeance, already suggested by the long swearing ritual, which is also the reason why Hamlet delays his revenge. It is all part of the cohesive unity of the play designed to convey a sage message to humanity.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare not only points to the immoral nature of revenge but also explains why it is so. This is the reason for the link with the other key motif in the play that focuses on our mortality and our ability to face up to it.