Hamlet Criticism
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a seminal work in Western literature, critically acclaimed for its intricate exploration of themes like madness, revenge, and the dichotomy between appearance and reality. The play's narrative follows Prince Hamlet as he seeks vengeance for his father's murder, a quest that intertwines familial turmoil with political corruption in the Danish court. This pursuit is central to many critical discussions, with scholars such as Paul Gottschalk examining Hamlet's redemption arc in Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge, while John Hunt's A Thing of Nothing: The Catastrophic Body in Hamlet addresses his struggle with corporeal acceptance.
The play's theatricality is another focal point in critical scholarship. Charles R. Forker, in Shakespeare's Theatrical Symbolism and Its Function in Hamlet, and Brent M. Cohen, in 'What Is It You Would See?': Hamlet and the Conscience of the Theatre, both explore how the play uses theater as a metaphor for uncovering hidden truths and challenging perceptions. Thematic conflicts like fate versus self-determination are explored by Michael Taylor and Eric Levy in their respective essays, The Conflict in Hamlet and The Problematic Relation between Reason and Emotion in Hamlet.
Examining gender roles, James W. Stone's essay Androgynous ‘Union’ and the Women in Hamlet investigates the collapse of sexual distinctions and its moral implications. Modern interpretations, both on stage and screen, continue to refresh Hamlet's relevance, as seen in Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 film adaptation analyzed by John P. McCombe and Samuel Crowl. Critical perspectives on characters like Gertrude and Ophelia have evolved, with scholars like Rebecca Smith and Elaine Showalter re-evaluating their roles in light of gender and societal norms.
Hamlet's language and imagery also receive significant attention, with Richard A. Lanham's analysis of rhetoric in his essay and Henri Suhamy's exploration of decay imagery within Denmark. Kenneth Muir further examines symbols of warfare and theatricality, enriching the text's layered narrative. The political and social undercurrents of the play are scrutinized by scholars such as Larry S. Champion and Donald K. Hedrick, who draw parallels to Elizabethan politics and employ satire as a lens for analysis.
Psychoanalytical interpretations have deeply influenced the understanding of Hamlet. Philip Edwards delves into Freudian readings that frame Hamlet's delay as a reflection of repressed desires, while C. L. Barber and Richard P. Wheeler emphasize broader social and psychological struggles. Janet Adelman and H. R. Coursen provide alternative psychoanalytical perspectives, focusing on Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude and inner conflicts. Joanna Montgomery Byles explores the interplay between Hamlet's ego and superego, contributing to the play's enduring psychological complexity.
Scholars' diverse approaches to Hamlet ensure its continued relevance, as it offers a profound examination of identity, morality, and societal norms through its enduring narrative and characters.
Contents
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Hamlet (Vol. 59)
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
(summary)
The critic examines the complexity of "Hamlet" by exploring the protagonist's choices, the chaotic state of Denmark, familial and societal relationships, and ethical dilemmas, highlighting themes of identity, revenge, and the blurring of distinctions as central to the play's tragedy.
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Criticism: Character Studies
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The Art of Cruelty: Hamlet and Vindice
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1973, Foakes compares Hamlet to Vindice in The Revenger's Tragedy, contending that “it is the strength of Hamlet, not his weakness … that he cannot kill, that he fails to carry out his revenge.”
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‘Nor th' exterior nor the inward man’: The Problematics of Personal Identity in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Levy charts Hamlet's probing of the nature of human identity and argues that the play conceptualizes an alternative to the usual inward/outward polarity.
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Manhood and the Duel: Enacting Masculinity in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Low examines the duel at the end of the play and contends that it is a rite of manhood that focuses Hamlet's attention on how masculinity should be shown and enables him to unite his private and public selves.
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The Art of Cruelty: Hamlet and Vindice
(summary)
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Criticism: Gender Issues
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Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism
(summary)
In the following essay, Showalter probes a number of crucial questions surrounding the character of Ophelia which involve her status in the play and bring to the forefront the relation between madness, representation, women's sexuality, and femaleness.
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Hamlet and Gender
(summary)
In the following essay, Thompson and Taylor review the shifting critical attitudes to the female characters in Hamlet.
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Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism
(summary)
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Criticism: Language And Imagery
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Superposed Plays: Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1976, Lanham traces the use of rhetoric in Hamlet and investigates the relation between elaborate and theatrical rhetoric in the play.
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'Never Doubt I Love': Misreading Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Habib offers a close reading of Hamlet's love poem to Ophelia and argues that Hamlet deliberately intends his poetry to be misread. The critic further contends that misreading of all kinds is central to the action and meaning of Hamlet.
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Hamlet's Account of the Pirates
(summary)
In the following essay, Farley-Hills defends George Miles's linguistic argument (from 1870) that Hamlet planned his meeting with the pirates before he left for England. His defense involves some comparison of the Q2 and F versions of the play.
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Mouse and Mousetrap in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Hassel examines the mouse and mousetrap imagery in Hamlet.
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Superposed Plays: Hamlet
(summary)
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‘Ower Swete Sokor’: The Role of Ophelia in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1986, Guilfoyle traces Ophelia's character to the legend of Mary Magdalen as developed in medieval drama.
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Criticism: Thematic Roles
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Life, Crown, and Queen: Gertrude and the Theme of Sovereignty
(summary)
In the following essay, Aguirre examines the symbol of the cup from which Gertrude drinks in the play's final scene, and attempts to delve further into the mythological status of Gertrude and, beyond this, to explore the role, and the fate, of myth in Hamlet.
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Hamlet, Revenge!
(summary)
In the following essay, Bell contends that Hamlet does not fulfill his expected role as a revenger because Shakespeare's intent was to satirize the revenge-play genre that was popular at the end of the sixteenth century.
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Life, Crown, and Queen: Gertrude and the Theme of Sovereignty
(summary)
- Further Reading
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
(summary)
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Hamlet (Vol. 71)
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
(summary)
In the following essay, Blits offers an overview of Hamlet, examines the play's characters, language, structure, and content, and argues that the play provides a critique of the Renaissance.
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Criticism: Character Studies
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Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge
(summary)
In the following essay, Gottschalk examines Hamlet's character, contending that although he reveals his villainy and spiritual confusion in the prayer scene, he ultimately achieves redemption and spiritual regeneration at the play's end.
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A Thing of Nothing: The Catastrophic Body in Hamlet.
(summary)
In the following essay, Hunt analyzes Hamlet's corporeal imagery as a means of exploring Hamlet's persistent state of indecision, asserting that before Hamlet can respond to the demands of the Ghost, he must first come to accept his own physicality and overcome his contempt for the body.
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Hamlet and the Trauma Doctors: An Essay at Interpretation
(summary)
In the following essay, Simon reviews the major trends in the psychoanalytic analysis of Hamlet, and interprets both the play and Hamlet's character on the basis of trauma theory.
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Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge
(summary)
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Criticism: Production Reviews
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Toward an Objective Correlative: The Problem of Desire in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet
(summary)
In the following review, McCombe assesses Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 film production of Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson as Hamlet and Glenn Close as Gertrude. McCombe faults the production for its overemphasis on the dysfunctional bond between Hamlet and Gertrude, and notes that the film fails to fully explore the political elements of the play, such as the corruption of the Danish court.
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Zeffirelli's Hamlet: The Golden Girl and a Fistful of Dust
(summary)
In the following review, Crowl examines Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 film version of Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson as Hamlet and Glenn Close as Gertrude. Crowl praises Zeffirelli's casting, textual editing, and exploitation of cinematic space and landscape, and claims that the film offers a full exploration of the play as a family romance centered around Gertrude.
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A Richness of Hamlets
(summary)
In the following review, Kliman compares two stage productions of Hamlet, one directed by John Caird and the other by Peter Brook. Kliman praises both productions, particularly the performances of Simon Russell Beale as Hamlet in Caird's play and Adrian Lester's Hamlet in Brook's production.
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Peter Brook's Adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet
(summary)
In the following review, Tassi comments on Peter Brook's stage production of Hamlet. Tassi observes the production's simplicity and starkness, praises Adrian Lester's performance of Hamlet, and notes that the production at times suffered from problems due to Brook's script alterations.
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Toward an Objective Correlative: The Problem of Desire in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet
(summary)
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Criticism: Themes
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Shakespeare's Theatrical Symbolism and Its Function in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Forker analyzes the implications of the way the theater functions as a symbol in Hamlet, contending that the theater serves as a symbol for the exposure of unseen realities and the revelation of secrets.
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The Conflict in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Taylor contends that the main conflict within Hamlet is between man as fate's victim and man as the master of his destiny. Taylor further argues that this conflict reflects the confusion in ethical and religious thinking that pervaded Shakespeare's time.
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‘What Is It You Would See?’: Hamlet and the Conscience of the Theatre
(summary)
In the following essay, Cohen demonstrates that the physical conditions and structure of the Elizabethan theater allowed Shakespeare to challenge his audience in unique ways, for example, by giving audience members a conflicted understanding of their role within the action of the play. Cohen emphasizes that in Hamlet, Shakespeare used the theater, theatricality, artifice, and performance to develop the audience's sense of self-consciousness; he did not use the theater, Cohen stresses, for the purposes of encouraging audience identification with the characters in the play.
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Androgynous ‘Union’ and the Women in Hamlet.
(summary)
In the following essay, Stone studies Shakespeare's representation of androgyny in Hamlet, and finds that the collapse of sexual difference in the play leads to a parallel disintegration of moral boundaries.
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The Problematic Relation between Reason and Emotion in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Levy investigates the conflict between reason and emotion in Hamlet, demonstrating the ways in which the play explores not only the importance of rational control of emotion, but also the role of reason in generating emotion. Levy also comments on the relevance of Christian-humanist doctrine to the play's treatment of the relationship between reason and emotion.
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Shakespeare's Theatrical Symbolism and Its Function in Hamlet
(summary)
- Further Reading
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
(summary)
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Hamlet (Vol. 82)
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Hamlet and Counter-Humanism
(summary)
In the following essay, Knowles asserts that Prince Hamlet's thought processes reflect the evolution of Western beliefs about the place of human reason and emotion in society and that, therefore, the play is an important Renaissance document.
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Polonius, Our Pundit
(summary)
In the following essay, Stimpson rejects the characterization of Polonius as a foolish “meddler,” arguing instead that he should be viewed as a seasoned political insider.
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Criticism: Production Reviews
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A Simpler Melancholy
(summary)
In the following review of Michael Almereyda's 2000 film adaptation of Hamlet, Mitchell commends the modern setting of the film, as well as the performances of most of the actors, but suggests that actor Ethan Hawke's portrayal of Prince Hamlet lacked depth and maturity.
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Hamlet
(summary)
Carnegy reviews Steven Pimlott's 2001 stage production of Hamlet, concluding that overall it was a memorable and powerful production.
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A Pacifist Prince in Brits' Latest Hamlet.
(summary)
In the following review, Isherwood compares John Caird's Royal National Theater production of Hamlet to Peter Brooks's production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, remarking that while Brooks's shortened version of the play lacked emotion, Caird's lacked credibility. Isherwood notes that although Simon Russell Beale's performance in Caird's production was conscientious, the actor was too overweight and somber to make a convincing Hamlet.
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Hamlet
(summary)
In the following review, Eisner describes Campbell Scott's 2001 film adaptation of Hamlet as “the most accessible … yet” and notes that Scott's pre-World War I setting suits Shakespeare's theme of decay.
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Aye, in a Harlem Courtyard, the Witching Time of Night
(summary)
In the following review, Gates praises the Classical Theater of Harlem's production of Hamlet for its use of an outdoor, multi-leveled setting and its vivid costumes, but notes that the actors had a “less than flawless command of Shakespeare's language.”
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A Simpler Melancholy
(summary)
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Criticism: Themes
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‘It Is No Novelty for a Prince to Be a Prince’: An Enantiomorphous Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Hedrick argues that Hamlet is both a heroic and a satiric play, and notes that in both Renaissance England and Hamlet's Denmark satire is used by the powerless to undermine the unscrupulous acts of the powerful.
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‘A Springe to Catch Woodcocks’: Proverbs, Characterization, and Political Ideology in Hamlet.
(summary)
In the following essay, Champion remarks on the numerous proverbs that appear in Hamlet, suggesting that they are used not only to delineate the characters, but also to highlight the political tensions surrounding the aging Elizabeth I and the lack of an heir to her throne.
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Hamlet and Friendship
(summary)
In the following essay, Doubt examines three types of friendship in Hamlet: the loyal friendship that Horatio sustains with the Prince; the ultimately self-serving friendship extended by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; and the friendship that the dying Laertes offers. In Doubt's view, Laertes's friendship is the most meaningful because it is the most charitable.
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‘It begins with Pyrrhus’ (2.2.451): The Political Philosophy of Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Planinc contends that Hamlet is evidence that Shakespeare's abilities as a political philosopher are on par with those of Plato. Planinc asserts that both King Hamlet and King Claudius come up short as Platonic ideals, but that Shakespeare endowed Prince Hamlet with the greatness of mind to become Plato's philosopher-king.
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‘Vows to the Blackest Devil’: Hamlet and the Evolving Code of Honor in Early Modern England
(summary)
In the following essay, Terry outlines the ways in which Shakespeare used the characters of Horatio, Laertes, and Hamlet to reflect England's notion of honor as it shifted from the chivalric code of the medieval period to one based on the individual's relationship to the state.
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Doing Nothing
(summary)
In the following essay, Zamir contends that Prince Hamlet's failure to avenge his father's death is the result of his fear of revealing his own individuality.
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Hamlet's Neglect of Revenge
(summary)
In the following essay, Foakes argues that Hamlet is not a revenge tragedy but a play about whether or not violence is an acceptable choice in a world caught between the ancient heroic code of retaliation and the Christian commandments that reject it.
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‘It Is No Novelty for a Prince to Be a Prince’: An Enantiomorphous Hamlet
(summary)
- Further Reading
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Hamlet and Counter-Humanism
(summary)
- The Last Mystery
- Hamlet and the Scottish Succession
- Mourning and Misogyny: Hamlet, The Revenger's Tragedy, and the Final Progress of Elizabeth I, 1600-1607
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The First Quarto of Hamlet: Reforming Widow Gertred
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Introduction
(summary)
The First Quarto of Hamlet presents a unique portrayal of Gertred, who deviates significantly from her counterparts Gertrard in the Second Quarto and Gertrude in the Folio. As observed by Dorothea F. Kehler, this version of Gertred is seen as more sympathetic, as she aligns herself with Hamlet once she learns of her husband's murderous nature. Unlike the typical Shakespearean "woman with divided loyalties," Gertred is depicted primarily as a devoted mother, maintaining a guise of marital loyalty only to deceive Claudius. Despite the misogynistic undertones and unresolved questions about her sexual behavior, Gertred's character is a notable point of divergence among different versions of the play.
The First Quarto, discovered in the 1820s, remains enigmatic and is often labeled a "bad" quarto due to its textual inconsistencies, such as uneven writing quality, poor proofreading, and disordered plotlines. It is shorter than the Folio and Second Quarto, with differing character names and scene arrangements, including a unique scene where the queen sides with Hamlet. Despite these issues, the quarto's title page claims it was performed in prestigious venues like Cambridge and Oxford, although evidence of these performances remains scant.
This version's portrayal of Gertred is linked to its social and cultural context, serving as a quasi-allegorical critique of remarriage for widows, reflecting societal prejudices of the time. Kehler suggests that understanding where and why Q1 was performed can shed light on its interpretation of Gertred and the societal attitudes it embodies.
- I. Widows and Remarriage
- II. The Widow Gertred
- III. "Else-Where"
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Introduction
(summary)
- Hamlet and A Matter Tender and Dangerous
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Hamlet (Vol. 35)
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Overviews
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Hamlet—The Plot's the Thing
(summary)
In the following essay, Walcutt describes Hamlet as 'the imitation of an action,' and outlines the relationship between plot and characterization in the play.
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Hamlet's Grief
(summary)
In this essay, Kirsch examines the theme of grief in Hamlet, arguing that the betrayed character of Hamlet suffers throughout the play in a manner more consistent with a state of mourning than one of melancholy and mental derangement.
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Hamlet, 'A Man to Double Business Bound'
(summary)
In the following essay, Nardo notes the pervasiveness in Hamlet of the double-bind, a paradoxical situation that forces its victim to choose between impossible alternatives, and identifies it as the organizing principle of the play.
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Hamlet—The Plot's the Thing
(summary)
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Madness
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Hamlet's Therapy
(summary)
Below, Jorgensen undertakes a psychological study of Hamlet's malady in terms of Renaissance and Freudian interpretations of melancholy as repressed anger, misdirected toward one's self rather than expressed outwardly.
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On Ophelia's Madness
(summary)
In the following essay, Camden argues that Ophelia's madness is largely precipitated by her unrequited love for Hamlet, rather than her father's death.
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Hamlet's Precarious Emotional Balance
(summary)
In the essay that follows Lidz analyzes Hamlet's madness, including his real and feigned insanities and the conclusions he reaches while in these states.
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Madness
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Aldus investigates the madness of Hamlet on a mythical level, exploring his "poetic" madness as a projection of Shakespeare himself and the prince as a paranoid schizophrenic.
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Dangerous conjectures: Madness in Shakespearean Tragedy
(summary)
In the excerpt below, Salkeld describes the political dimension of madness in Hamlet, as indicative of the power of subversion.
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Hamlet: A Document in Madness
(summary)
In the following essay, Findlay focuses on the 'relationship between words, madness and the desire for order' in Hamlet, especially in terms of the discourses of gender and language.
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Hamlet's Therapy
(summary)
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Revenge
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Spirit of Health or Goblin Damned?
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Prosser asserts that Shakespeare's Ghost is not Hamlet's father but an incarnation of the Devil, and details the manner in which this demon exhorts Hamlet to revenge.
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Revenge, Honor, and Conscience in Hamlet
(summary)
In this essay, Skulsky examines the myriad motivations operating in Hamlet's character, including feelings of honor and nobility, thoughts of cowardice and suicide, and the desire for revenge.
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Hamlet: Revenge and the Critical Mirror
(summary)
Here, Andrews argues that in Hamlet Shakespeare was not necessarily leveling a moral judgment on revenge, and likely intended to arouse tragic emotions in his audience and their approval of his hero.
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Problematic Revenge in Hamlet and King Lear
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Keyishian observes that Hamlet is a "good revenger" who succeeds in avenging his father's death while maintaining his moral integrity.
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Spirit of Health or Goblin Damned?
(summary)
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Characterization
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Dramatis Personae: Sounding Through Their Masks
(summary)
In the excerpt below, Grebanier analyzes the natures of Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, Horatio, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern.
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Hamlet's Mother
(summary)
In the following essay, Maxwell maintains that Gertrude is a passive character, dominated by Claudius until the final moments of the play.
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Hamlet and the Modern Dilemma
(summary)
Here, Aichinger remarks that Hamlet's character is not afflicted by a tragic flaw, as many commentators have contended, but rather faces a dilemma similar to those posed in the twentieth-century Theater of the Absurd.
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Hamlet: The Name of Action
(summary)
In the following essay, Calderwood examines structure and the language of naming in Hamlet in order to arrive at an assessment of Hamlet's character—forged throughout the play as a conjoinment of the concrete and the universal.
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A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare's Gertrude
(summary)
In the essay that follows, Smith contends that Shakespeare's Gertrude is not lascivious or deceitful, but rather submissive, compliant, nurturing, and caught in the struggle between her two loves, Hamlet and Claudius.
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Freud's Hamlet
(summary)
In this essay, Muir investigates Hamlet's character in terms of Freud's theory of the superego.
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Dramatis Personae: Sounding Through Their Masks
(summary)
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Imagery
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The Owl and the Baker's Daughter: A Note on Hamlet IV
(summary)
In the following essay originally presented as a lecture in 1963, Tracy comments on the symbolism of both chastity and sensual love associated with Ophelia's character.
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The Metaphorical Fallacy
(summary)
In the following essay, Suhamy asserts that the disease imagery in Hamlet elicits a variety of interpretations at once, some of which are contradictory and paradoxical.
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The Owl and the Baker's Daughter: A Note on Hamlet IV
(summary)
- Further Reading
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Overviews
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Hamlet (Vol. 37)
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Introduction
(summary)
Hamlet, one of William Shakespeare's most analyzed plays, presents a complex exploration of human subjectivity and psychological depth. Scholars have debated the nature of Hamlet's character, with post-structuralist critics like Francis Barker suggesting that Hamlet's psychological depth is "gestural" and lacks an essential self. Barker argues that at Hamlet's core lies "nothing," reflecting a broader commentary on the unstable nature of subjectivity. However, contrary to this view, other scholars contend that Hamlet's apparent psychological incoherence is actually indicative of a more nuanced understanding of human nature in Shakespeare’s time. Hamlet exemplifies a divided self, characterized by partial self-awareness and a struggle for self-control, reflecting the contemporary view of the human condition. His inability to directly and fully articulate the truth of his subjectivity stems from this complex interiority, which complicates self-knowledge. This complexity is evident in Hamlet's self-reflective soliloquies, where he questions his own motives and acknowledges the potential for error in his thinking. These soliloquies, as discussed by critics like Belsey, highlight the tension between action and inaction, portraying Hamlet not as psychologically incoherent but rather as a character deeply engaged with the philosophical and existential dilemmas of his time.
- Hamlet's Subjectivity
- Notes
- Works Cited
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Introduction
(summary)
- Nobler in the Mind: The Dialect in Hamlet
- Hamlet's Ear
- Grinning Death's-Head: Hamlet and the Vision of the Grotesque
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Hamlet (Vol. 44)
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Overviews
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On the Value of Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Booth reviews the events of Hamlet from the audience's perspective, arguing that the issues which critics have identified as problems with the play are made bearable in performance since the play provides the audience with "the strength and courage . . . to flirt with the frailty of its own understanding."
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The Play and the Critics
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Edwards surveys important critical interpretations of Hamlet and offers his own critical review of the play's events, characters, and themes.
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On the Value of Hamlet
(summary)
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Psychoanalytic Interpretations
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'Who's There?': Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, originally presented in 1982, Coursen argues that a Jungian analysis of Hamlet clarifies some of the critical problems of traditional Freudian analysis. Coursen suggests that Hamlet's oedipal issues are themselves symptoms of 'a deeper disturbance within Hamlet's psyche, that is, his inability to contact his feminine soul' or anima.
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Sight Lines on Hamlet and Shakespeare Tragedy
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Barber and Wheeler maintain that the psychological pattern in Hamlet involves Hamlet's "struggle to cope with the desecration of his heritage." The critics stress that this turmoil is the social reality which enables the play's psychological constructs to be expressed and which ensures the historical relevancy of Hamlet.
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Man and Wife Is One Flesh: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body
(summary)
In the following essay, Adelman explores the way in which Gertrude disrupts the familial and sexual relationships in Hamlet, and argues that her presence disables the son's relationship with the father.
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Tragic Alternatives: Eros and Superego Revenge in Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, Byles examines the psychological origins of revenge in Hamlet, arguing that for Hamlet, the demands of his ego and superego conflict, leaving him ashamed of his father's command to revenge as well as ashamed of his inability to fulfill his father's command.
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'Who's There?': Hamlet
(summary)
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Gender Issues
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Maternal Images and Male Bonds in Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Erickson studies the importance of male bonds in Hamlet, maintaining that because both Gertrude and Ophelia fail to meet Hamlet's needs to be nurtured, Hamlet transfers these emotions to Horatio.
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Jewels, Statues, and Corpses: Containment of Female Erotic Power in Shakespeare's Plays
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Traub discusses the erotic nature of male anxiety regarding women in Hamlet, asserting that this anxiety is only relieved through the death of the woman, as in the case of Ophelia, or through the woman's discarding of her sexuality in favor of chastity, as Hamlet instructs Gertrude to do.
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Gazing at Hamlet, or the Danish Cabaret
(summary)
In the following essay, Danson reviews points in the cultural history of Hamlet when Hamlet's gender has been defined in unusual ways. Danson discusses in particular three different portrayals of Hamlet in which his feminine nature is a central aspect of his characterization.
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Maternal Images and Male Bonds in Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear
(summary)
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Hamlet And His Dilemma
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Chapter II: Hamlet
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1981, Kirsch argues that the source of Hamlet's anxiety is not repressed fantasy; rather, it is situated within the reality of the play's events. Kirsch also reviews Freud's distinction between melancholy and mourning, and examines Hamlet's experience with grief.
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Hamlet and Death: A Recasting of the Play Within the Player
(summary)
In the following essay, Hillman explores the relationship between loss of meaning in life and death, and maintains that Hamlet is plagued by a 'suicidal fatalism' which conflicts with his avowed goal of revenge.
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'To be, or not to be': Hamlet's Dilemma
(summary)
In the following essay, Jenkins responds to the criticism regarding Hamlet's 'To be, or not to be' speech, arguing that while it may not seem to be related to Hamlet's particular problems, the speech is evoked by Hamlet's dramatic role as revenger.
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Chapter II: Hamlet
(summary)
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Secondary Characters
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The Character of Hamlet's Mother
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1957, Heilbrun argues that the traditional critical opinion of Gertrude as shallow and feminine ('in the pejorative sense') is wrong. Heilbrun instead asserts that Gertrude is 'strong-minded, intelligent, succinct, and, apart from this passion [Gertrude's lust] sensible.'
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The Claudian Globe
(summary)
In the following essay, Gurr examines Claudius's role in the play, stating that Claudius initiates every action in the play, except for the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia. In terms of Hamlet's political plot, Gurr argues that it is Claudius's story, "the narrative of his struggle to maintain order and security in the state."
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Representations of Ophelia
(summary)
In the following essay, Ronk examines the way in which Ophelia is represented first as a projection of other characters, and then the way she is represented by Gertrude, when the queen describes Ophelia's drowning.
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The Character of Hamlet's Mother
(summary)
- Further Reading
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Overviews
- Framing Ophelia: Representation and the Pictorial Tradition
- The 'Heart of My Mystery': Hamlet and Secrets