Elsinore Economics: Who’s taking care of the books?
Servants to Hamlet are either a) very bad at their jobs or b) fewer than he’d like or is used to.
Let’s assume this dreadful attendance has happened in recent months. Has Claudius rearranged the budgets to have a sumptuous wedding or prepare for war and not only deprived Hamlet of his title but his servants as well? I mean, both wars and weddings are expensive and the money must come from somewhere. Or is Polonius in charge of the ledgers? If so, Hamlet has a lot more reason to be annoyed and frustrated by him. It explains his taunting of someone who might otherwise be sympathetic. Might. Depending on the production.
What does dreadful attendance look like to the Prince of Denmark? How populated was the Danish court? Does he have someone to dress, to wash him, to carry his stuff? How many people is a paucity for a prince?
The Hamlet Project 