Hamlet Group

Question:


yetta
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Is Hamlet's father named Hamlet too?

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Posted by yetta on Friday May 1, 2009 at 8:52 AM and tagged with hamlet.

Answers:

  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Yes, he is. I have wondered if underlying this choice in names Shakespeare were not insinuating some kind of Oedipus complex between Hamlet and his mother. But then, it was Claudius who did the "substitution thing" instead....

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/ghost-character-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/ghost-he-really-hamlets-father
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/hamlet

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    Posted by parkerlee on Friday May 1, 2009 at 9:01 AM

  2. eabettencourt
    eabettencourt Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Also, Hamlet being his father's namesake leads the reader to think of the royal lineage his father was most likely hoping to establish.  It draws our attention once again to the fact that Prince Hamlet should be the next king of Denmark, and serves to remind us throughout the play of Claudius's usurpation.

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    Posted by eabettencourt on Friday May 1, 2009 at 9:07 AM


  3. amberangel Student
    High School - 12th Grade

    Yes, he is. I have wondered if underlying this choice in names Shakespeare were not insinuating some kind of Oedipus complex between Hamlet and his mother.

    Different readings suggest different things. If you watch the Zefferelli film, you'll see it's more than implicated, really.

    It depends how you view the play.

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    Posted by amberangel on Monday May 11, 2009 at 12:17 AM

  4. cosso
    cosso Student
    High School - 12th Grade

    yes

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    Posted by cosso on Wednesday June 10, 2009 at 7:42 PM