The Serpent that Wears a Crown: Nineteenth-Century Illustrations of the Off-scene in "Hamlet"

This article discusses the visual interpretation of a key off-scene in Shakespeare’s Hamlet within nineteenth-century illustrated editions. An off-scene is a pivotal event, such as Old King Hamlet's poisoning, which is narrated by a character—the Ghost—but not performed on stage. The Ghost’s narrative explicitly identifies Claudius as "the serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown," providing both gory details and a powerful metaphor. Nineteenth-century illustrated editions played a crucial role in making Shakespeare accessible to a rapidly stratifying readership and allowed artists freedom to provide imaginative visual interpretations that the theatre could not easily achieve. Illustrations of the poisoning scene generally oscillated between two approaches: a realistic depiction of the murder itself and a symbolic interpretation of the "serpent" imagery. Early examples include John Thurston’s emblematic frontispiece (1825), and Frank Howard’s outline engravings (1827–1833). The Works of Shakspere (1840–1843), edited by Barry Cornwall and illustrated by Kenny Meadows, integrated character-focused engravings directly within the text, achieving a striking harmonization of image and word. Other editions, such as Charles Knight’s (1838-1843) and Howard Staunton’s 1856 edition of the Plays of Shakespeare, illustrated by John Gilbert (1856) highlighted the staged reenactment of the poison off-scene, The Murder of Gonzago, as the visual representation of the crime. These illustrations, blending text and image, significantly shaped popular understanding of the play before the market shifted toward scholarly, unillustrated editions.