Aguirre, Manuel. "Life, Crown, and Queen: Gertrude and the Theme of Sovereignty." Review of English Studies 47, No. 186 (May 1996): 163-74.

Examines the "mythological status of Gertrude" and the themes symbolized by her presence and actions in the play.

Bennett, Robert B. "Hamlet and the Burden of Knowledge." Shakespeare Studies: An Annual Gathering of Research, Criticism, and Reviews XV (1982): 77-97.

Argues that problems and emotions Hamlet experiences, specifically his "anguish and inaction," are not due to some deficiency in Hamlet himself, but rather stem from some "flaw in nature or philosophy."

Charney, Maurice. "Analogy and Infinite Regress." In Hamlet's Fictions, pp. 61-76. New York: Routledge, 1988.

Discusses Hamlet's delay in obtaining revenge as a function of a pattern of infinite regression in which the process of revenge is prolonged in order to heighten excitement, "since the ending is by its nature anticlimactic."

Desai, R. W. "In Search of Horatio's Identity (via Yeats)." In Omnium Gatherum: Essays for Richard Kliman, edited by Susan Dick, Declan Kiberd, Dougald McMillan, and Joseph Ronsley, pp. 191-203. Gerrads Cross, Buckinghamshire, England: Colin Smythe, 1989.

Uses Yeats's writings on Hamlet to study the character of Horatio as well as Horatio's relationship with Hamlet.

Faber, M. D. "Hamlet and the Inner World of Objects." In The Undiscover'd Country: New Essays on Psychoanalysis and Shakespeare, edited by B. J. Sokol, pp. 57-90. London: Free Association Books, 1993.

Examines the oedipal issues in Hamlet and concludes that Freudian preoccupation with incestuous attachment prevents one from apprehending the primary concern of Hamlet.

Fischer, Sandra K. "Hearing Ophelia: Gender and Tragic Discourse in Hamlet." Renaissance and Reformation XIV, New Series, No. 1 (1990): 1-10.

Surveys the feminist criticism of Hamlet, and Ophelia in particular, and argues that Ophelia's tragedy "develops its own, specifically female, mode of discourse."

Foakes, R. A. "Hamlet and Hamletism." In Hamlet versus Lear: Cultural Politics and Shakespeare's Art, pp. 12-44. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Explores the appeal and representation of Hamlet throughout history.

Gorfain, Phyllis. "Toward a Theory of Play and the Carnivalesque in Hamlet." Hamlet Studies 13, Nos. 1 and 2 (Summer and Winter 1991): 25-49.

Argues that the carnivalesque—which includes puns, role-playing, proverbs, songs, and riddles, among other elements—as it appears in Hamlet "is more than an ingredient, digression, or relief," but an "attitude."

Holstein, Michael E. "Actions that a man might play": Dirty Tricks at Elsinore and the Politics of Play." Philological Quarterly 55, No. 3 (Summer 1976): 323-39.

Studies Hamlet's tendency toward play, noting that Hamlet's playing is not "spontaneous, purposeless fun" but informed by psychological stress, Hamlet's sense of filial duty, as well as by politics.

Jenkins, Harold. Introduction to Hamlet, edited by Harold Jenkins, pp. 122-59. London: Methuen, 1982.

Examines the problems posed by the play, and offers a critical review of Hamlet's principal characters and themes.

Leverenz, David. "The Woman in Hamlet: An Interpersonal View." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 4, No. 2 (Winter 1978): 291-308.

Argues that Hamlet is "part woman," and his tragedy is that filial duty is forced to triumph "over sensitivity to his own heart."

Showalter, Elaine. "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism." In Shakespeare and the Question of Theory, edited by Patricia Parker and Geoffrey Hartman, pp. 77-94. New York: Methuen, 1985.

Studies the discrepancy between the fact that Ophelia is neglected in criticism but remains an "obsessive figure in our cultural mythology." Showalter reviews the responses of feminist critics to this disparity and urges that such critics explore the boundaries of their own ideologies in order to "maintain . . . credibility in representing Ophelia."

Stone, James W. "Androgynous'Union'and the Woman in Hamlet." Shakespeare Studies: An Annual Gathering of Research, Criticism, and Reviews XXIII (1995): 71-99.

Assesses the manner in which androgyny ("The collapse of sexual difference") is represented in Hamlet and interpreted by critics, noting that such interpretations range from viewing Hamlet as feminine and impotent to seeing in Gertrude a masculine "castrating woman."