Hamlet key themes PDF

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Key themes in Hamlet with quotes and critics...

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Ha ml e t : Ke yt he me ss umma r y( Par tB)

Inaction vs Action A01 (Inaction):  Shakespeare deliberately sabotages the whole genre of revenge tragedy who refuses, for reasons he cannot fathom himself, to play the stock role in which he’s been miscast by the world  Shakespeare makes his purpose plain by juxtaposing Hamlet with Fortinbras and Laertes, two conventional sons determined to avenge their fathers  Hamlet’s resistance to action + revenge could express a justified rejection of a whole way of life, whose corruption, injustice + inhumanity he now sees clearly + finds intolerable  Everything in the play could confirms that Hamlet’s conclusion that the world is a prison + the his inaction is caused by the tragedy of having to live, love and die on the soul-destroying terms of such a world AO1 (Action):  Hamlet does have the ability to act decisively when he wants to, as he does when he charges fearlessly after the ghost; when he sets The Mousetrap, when he slays Polonius in the belief that he’s stabbing the king; when he foils Claudius’s plot to have him murdered in England, consigning his treacherous friends to the fate meant for him; and when he kills Claudius without hesitation in the heat of the duel he has no qualms about fighting  Can argue that he’s secretly not deterred not just from taking revenge, but from taking revenge, but from taking life at all, by the Christian objections of his conscience, this is proven by his keenness to kill Claudius in a damnable state of sin + by his lack of guilt following the deaths of Polonius, Rosencrantz + Guildenstern A05:  Romantics critics considered Hamlet’s delay for the first time o Goethe- Suggested that Hamlet cannot balance his thoughts + actions because he’s so highly intelligent, he cannot reconcile his morality with the horrible act he is going to commit o Samuel Coleridge- Argues that Hamlet was a psychological study of an over-imaginative person with an unwillingness to act= Hamlet thinks too much + can’t make up his mind, he also argued that the play’s message was that we should act, rather than delay  20th century critics concerned with character analysis o Freud- Rejected Goethe’s idea that Hamlet’s intelligence prevented him from acting + instead argued that he did take action e.g. killing

Polonius + also argued that Hamlet’s hesitation comes from his unconscious mind- because he has a repressed desire for his mother o Erlich- Argues that the delay occurs because Hamlet wants his weak father to be strong + take revenge rather than getting Hamlet to do it o A.C Bradley- Diagnosed Hamlet in his influential study Shakespearean Tragedy as afflicted by the form of depression called melancholy in Shakespeare’s era + that Hamlet’s inaction is a result of Hamlet’s “inward struggle” + reluctance to fill the role of the traditional revenger + also argued that Hamlet’s inaction is caused by his disgust for his mother’s lustfulness Quotes:  “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Act 1, Scene 5)  “With wings as swift/As meditation or the thoughts of love,” he will “sweep to [his] revenge” (Act 1, Scene 5)  “Denmark is a prison” (Act 2, Scene 2) – [ in relation to A01 about refusal to act based on society]  “I have of late – but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth.” (Act 2, Scene 2) [ Related to A.C Bradley’s critical POV]  “To catch the conscience of the king” (Act 2, Scene 2) [ Hamlet takes action]  “Suit the action to the word, the word to the action” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Death AO1:  The theme of death plagues the play  The play begins with Old Hamlet’s death, which plants the seed of corruption + death in the play  Hamlet is obsessed with death, thinks about it all the time, is often suicidal + melancholic  Hamlet realises that death is inevitable + that no matter where someone comes from, they will end up in the grave  The ghost represents the fear of being forgotten after death  Even in death, women are represented in misogynistic manner + there is an opposing argument that Ophelia is only free in death AO5:  Wilson Knight o ‘Hamlet is a figure of nihilism and death’ o ‘Hamlet is disgusted by life and everything in it, a disgust that varies in intensity, rising at times for a longing of death’ o ‘The general thought of death… the pain in Hamlet’s mind, is thus suffused through the whole play’  Greenblatt- Argues that Hamlet was addressing the Elizabethan fear of being forgotten after death + argues that the ghost represents a common fear (among the living) of being completely forgotten after death

 David Leverenz- ‘Ophelia’s drowning signifies the necessity of drowning both words and feelings’  Yi-Chi Chen o ‘On the one hand, Polonius’ death frees Ophelia from his manipulation’ o ‘Ophelia and Hamlet endeavour to break through the cruelty of death and betrayal that they are deeply and painfully plunged into’ o ‘Death enables Ophelia to be the coveted object for Hamlet again, because from now on, she is forever unattainable’ Quotes:  “O that this too sullied flesh would melt… how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Act 1, Scene 2)  “I am thy father’s spirit, doomed for a certain term to walk the night” (Act 1, Scene 5)  “To be or not to be- that is the question” (Act 3, Scene 1)  Second Clown “If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o’ Christian burial” (Act 5, Scene 1)  “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Women AO1:  Women are victimized in the play  Subject to an inherently patriarchal society  Ophelia’s actions, attitudes, emotions and thoughts are restricted by the men in her life, she echoes what is said to her- has no voice of her own  Ophelia not able to build her self-hood, her singularity and language AO5:  A.C Bradley- Considers Ophelia despite her madness to be ‘beautiful, sweet, loveable, pathetic and dismissible’, on the other hand feminist critics interpret her madness to be ‘her liberation from silence, obedience, and constraint or  Rebecca Smith o ‘Although he clearly loves her- Claudius shares the Hamlet’s conception of Gertrude as an object. She is possessed as one of the effects of his actions’ o ‘Gertrude has not moved in the play toward independence; only her divided loyalties and her unhappiness intensity’  Elaine Showalter

o ‘The madwoman is a heroine, a powerful figure who rebels against the family and social order’ o ‘Ophelia is deprived of thought, sexuality and language’ o ‘She represents the strong emotions that the Elizabethans as well as the Freudians thought womanish and unmanly’ o ‘Hamlet’s disgust at the feminine passivity in himself is translated into violent revulsion against women and into his brutal behaviour towards Ophelia’  David Leverenz o ‘In her madness, there is no one there. She is not a person… she has already died. There is now only a vacuum where there was once a person’ o ‘Driven mad by having her inner feelings misrepresented, not responded to, or acknowledged only through chastisement and repression’ o ‘Not allowed to love and unable to be false, Ophelia breaks. She goes mad rather than gets mad’ o Concludes that Ophelia’s dramatic function in the play to be that ‘everyone has used her: Polonius, to gain favour; Laertes, to belittle Hamlet; Claudius, to spy on Hamlet; Hamlet, to express rage at Gertrude and Hamlet again, to express his feigned madness with her a decoy’  Wagner o ‘Shakespeare intended Ophelia to be a minor character, using her sparingly and almost forgetfully through the plot’  Yi-Chi Chan o ‘For the male characters in the play—such as Hamlet, Polonius, and even Claudius- Ophelia is merely a convenient tool to be exploited and manipulated’ o ‘Hamlet’s misogynistic attitude demonstrates his abhorrence for hypocritical women’ o ‘Polonius’ death frees Ophelia from his manipulation’

Madness A01:    

Hamlet’s madness is real and Ophelia’s madness is real Hamlet’s madness is feigned vs Ophelia’s real madness Hamlet’s madness is initially feigned, then becomes real Hamlet is truly mad

A05: o Anna K. Nardo- psychological criticism in which Nardo uses the double bind theory to explain Hamlet + Ophelia’s madness, the theory contends that a

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person who is receiving two different mutually exclusive demands from a family member e.g. Hamlet’s mother ( marrying uncle, acts as a detachment but then asks for Hamlet’s love)+ deceased father (asking him to avenge his death but do nothing to his mother) place double bind situation + Nardo argues that Hamlet’s feigned madness is how he escapes true madness + Ophelia's also caught in double bind situation (Polonius tells her to be both chaste + to wind Hamlet over with her body) T.S Eliot- ‘For Shakespeare, it is less than madness and more than feigned. Levity of Hamlet, his repetition of phrase, his puns, are not part of a deliberate plan of dissimulation, but a form of emotional relief.’ Alexander W. Crawford- ‘Hamlet deliberately feigned fits of madness (to)...disconcert the King.’ Cruttwell- ‘Those who like the prince and admire him tend to see a part of his madness as genuine, those who do not will see it as feigned.’ Elaine Showalter in “Representing Ophelia” notes that ‘the mad Ophelia’s bawdy songs and verbal licence ...seem to be her one sanctioned form of selfassertion as a woman.’

Key Quotations:  “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet…to put an antic disposition on.” (Act 1, Scene 5 Hamlet to Horatio)  “Mad for thy love? My lord I do not know/ but truly I do fear it.” (Act 2, Scene 1 Polonius and Ophelia)  “Something have you heard/of Hamlet’s transformation; so call it” (Act 2, Scene 2 Claudius to R + G)  “Your noble son is mad/ Mad I call it, for to define true madness, what is ‘t but to be nothing else but mad?” (Act 2, Scene 2 Polonius)  “I am but mad north-north west; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.” (Act 2, Scene 2 Hamlet to R + G)  “I essentially am not in madness/but mad in craft.” (Act 3, Scene 4 Hamlet to Gertrude)  “One incapable of her own distress.” (Act 4, Scene 7 Gertrude on Ophelia)  “Poor Ophelia/ Divided from herself and her fair judgement.” (Act 4, Scene 5 Claudius)

Revenge A01:  

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Revenge as the driving force in the play Key components of Revenge tragedy: ghost appears to hero, demanding vengeance; fake or real madness; scenes of violence and death; plays within the play; death of hero Hamlet’s inability to act undermines the role of the revenger

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Revenge is presented as a mechanism that is desire by male characters + Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet When Hamlet acts, it is impulsive and with a lack of remorse/morals (he kills Polonius and appears unmoved when he realised his error, send R+G to their deaths, stabs and poisons Claudius in final scene) Hamlet eventually conforms to the conventions of a revenge tragedy

A05: o A.C Bradley- ‘Hamlet is unable to carry out the sacred duty, imposed by divine authority, of punishing an evil by death.’ + argues that this conflict in Hamlet is a result of his ‘inward struggle’ and his reluctance to fulfil the role of the revenger o Jeannette Vasquez- ‘Laertes obsession with revenge against Hamlet makes one realise that he does not grieve over his father’s death.’ + argues that Shakespeare places Hamlet in a good light, whilst presenting Laertes as an ‘impulsive and unreasonable’. o Belsey- ‘Revenge is not justice. It is rather an act of injustice on behalf of justice.’ o Belsey- ‘Revenge is always in excess of justice.’ o Helen Gardiner- ‘Hamlet’s agony of mind…differentiate him from that smooth, swift plotter Claudius.’ o Goethe- ‘A heavy deed on a soul not adequate to cope with it.’

Key Quotations:     

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (Act 1, Scene 5 The Ghost ) “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I! (Act 2, Scene 2 Hamlet on his inaction ) “I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious.” (Act 3, Scene 1 Hamlet) “I dare damnation…only I’ll be revenged.” (Act 4, Scene 5 Laertes) “How all occasions do inform against me…and spur my dull revenge.” (Act 4, Scene 4 Hamlet)  “My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!” (Act 4, Scene 4 Hamlet )  “Revenge should have no bound.” (Act 4, Scene 7 Hamlet)  “O, I die, Horatio!” (Act 5, Scene 2 Hamlet)

Politics and Corruption A01:     

Plot of Hamlet set in motion by Claudius’ murderous ambition to supplant his brother, the king Claudius commits regicide + fratricide to achieve and maintain power (unnatural coronation of Claudius example of corruption) The Court of Elsinore is a corrupt place e.g. manipulation, eavesdropping Disease imagery permeates + Denmark is rotten Constance surveillance and spying of characters in the play highlights the corruption

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Polonius as a politician trying to achieve social mobility

A05: o Richard D Altick- ‘The cunning and lecherousness of Claudius’ evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of Denmark.’ o Pennington- ‘Between knave and fool most performances fall to one side or the other’ ( On Polonius) o Rebecca Smith- ‘Seems to love his children…his means of actions, however, are totally corrupt.’ (On Polonius) o Clemen- ‘The corruption of the land and people throughout Denmark is understood as an imperceptible and irresistible process of poisoning.’ o Wilson Knight- ‘Claudius is a good and gentle king, enmeshed by chain of causality linking him with his crime.’ o Dr Sean McEvoy- ‘A strong monarch like Claudius, might well be preferable to a weak and virtuous one.’ Key Quotations:  “Tis an unweeded garden/ that grows to seed, things rank and gross in nature.” (Act 1, Scene 2 Hamlet)  “My father’s brother, but no more like my father.” (Act 1, Scene 2 Hamlet on emphasis of Claudius’ corruption)  “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Act 1, Scene 4 Marcellus )  “You’ll tender me a fool.” (Act 1, Scene 3 Polonius to Ophelia reputation)  “Thine own self be true.” (Act 1, Scene 3 Polonius)  “Denmark’s a prison.” (Act 2, Scene 2 Hamlet)  “How much I had to do to calm his rage!/Now fear I this will give it start” (Act 4, Scene 4 Claudius lack of guilt, lack of acknowledgement he began corruption)...