CRITICISM

Cohen, Michael M. “The Deceitful Hamlet.” Upstart Crow 1, no. 1 (fall 1978): 41-52.

Demonstrates that although Hamlet professes to be disgusted by duplicity and hypocrisy, he excels at deceiving others throughout the play. Cohen concludes that Hamlet's participation in deceit reveals that the play uncovers more moral problems than it resolves.

Elliott, G. R. Scourge and Minister: A Study of Hamlet as Tragedy of Revengefulness and Justice. New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1965, 208 p.

Book-length study of Hamlet as a poetic drama. Elliott contends that the play's meaning is revealed through its structure and sequence, and thus adopts a scene-by-scene analysis.

Fendt, Gene. Is Hamlet a Religious Drama? An Essay on a Question in Kierkegaard. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1999, 264 p.

Examines the possibility that Hamlet should be viewed as a Christian tragedy, and explores the characterization of Hamlet and his delay.

Graves, Neil. “‘Even for an Eggshell’: Hamlet and the Problem of Fortinbras.” Upstart Crow 2 (fall 1979): 51-63.

Investigates several problems related to the character of Fortinbras, including: questions pertaining to Fortinbras's name and his claim to Denmark's throne; the issue of Fortinbras's nature and role in the play, including his role as a foil and his significance in the play's resolution; and the play's stage history, including the casting and cutting of Fortinbras's character.

Lavender, Andy. Hamlet in Pieces: Shakespeare Reworked: Peter Brook, Robert Lepage, Robert Wilson. London: Nick Hern Books, 2001, 260 p.

Examines several unorthodox productions of Hamlet, including productions that are narrowly focused on various aspects of the play, rather than productions of the play as a whole.

Maquerlot, Jean-Pierre. “Hamlet: Optical Effects.” In Shakespeare and the Mannerist Tradition: A Reading of Five Problem Plays, pp. 87-117. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Study of the play as representative of the Mannerist style, in which Shakespeare employed techniques similar to those used by Mannerist painters of the sixteenth century.

Norford, Don Parry. “‘Very Like a Whale’: The Problem of Knowledge in Hamlet.” ELH 46, no. 4 (winter 1979): 559-76.

Examines the eye and ear as organs of knowledge in the play, demonstrating that Shakespeare appeared to be using a phenomenological approach to the issue.

Prior, Moody E. “The Thought of Hamlet and the Modern Temper.” ELH 15, no. 4 (December 1948): 261-85.

Uses the character of Hamlet and the philosophical problems he considers as a means of exploring Shakespeare's philosophical views.

Rosenblatt, Jason P. “Aspects of the Incest Problem in Hamlet.” Shakespeare Quarterly 29, no. 3 (summer 1978): 349-64.

Examines the religious and biblical bases for Hamlet's charge of incest against his uncle and mother, and demonstrates that incest in Hamlet is not only a specific offense but is also symbolic of both religious and political corruption in general.

Simmons, James R., Jr. “‘In the Rank Sweat of an Enseamed Bed’: Sexual Aberration and the Paradigmatic Screen Hamlets.” Literature/Film Quarterly 25, no. 2 (1997): 111-18.

Analyzes several film versions of Hamlet that focus on Hamlet's sexual aberrations or perversions.

Thomas, Gordon K. “Speaking of Reason to the Danes.” Upstart Crow 1, no. 1 (fall 1978): 69-73.

Attempts to better understand the role of reason in Hamlet by studying the various ways Shakespeare used the word “reason” in the play.