Hamlet and the Critics
Introduction
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Hamlet has been characterized by John Masefield (1964, p. 94) as ôone of the most baffling of the great plays, because it is about baffling: that is the theme: Hamlet is baffled because, being wise, he finds the wise course difficult to decide upon.ö The play and its drama requires Hamlet to come to terms with the fact that his much-loved father has been murdered by his uncle, who has simultaneously assumed the kingship and married HamletÆs widowed mother. Something ôfrom outside life urges Hamlet to take vengeance, but his wisdom does not admit vengeance, it seeks justice, and cannot see its way to justice; however necessary justice might be" (Masefield, 1964, p. 95). The purpose of this study is not to provide an analysis of the play or of the central character. It is rather to analyze the approaches taken by three prominent critics in their analyses of the drama, its plot, and the characterization used by Shakespeare to develop his theme. That theme, as it is understood herein, centers upon achieving justice through the use of wisdom in a world that confounds HamletÆs ability to come to terms with the multiple tragedies his family has faced. The three critics whose ideas will be explored are John Dover Wilson, Ernest Jones, and Harold Bloom. Their analyses of the play offer three unique approaches to understanding its theme and meaning. In a book titled The Essential Shakespeare, John Dover Wilson (1964, p. 15) positions h
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nes (1954, p. 67) asserts that Hamlet has ôa conscious impulse towards revenge inhibited by an unconscious misgiving of a highly ethical kind.ö
More significantly, Hamlet has two crimes that must be avenged: ClaudiusÆ incest with HamletÆs mother, Queen Gertrude, and the murder of HamletÆs father by this same incestuous man. Jones (1954, p. 68) says that ôit is of great importance to note the profound difference in HamletÆs attitude toward these two crimes. Intellectually of course he abhors both, but there can be no question as to which arouses in him the deepest loathing.ö That loathing is further described by Jones (1954, p. 68) as follows: ôwhereas the murder of his father evokes in him indignation and a plain recognition of his obvious duty to avenge it, his motherÆs guilty conduct awakes in him the intensest horror.ö
Unlike Dover Wilson (1964), Jones (1954) believes that in Hamlet, Shakespeare created both a drama and a character that explored the deepest psychological issues that must be resolved by a person as they move from childhood and adolescence into adulthood. It is the belief of Jones (1954) that HamletÆs own Oedipal attraction to his mother and his rejection of this feeling is a more significant so
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Approximate Word count = 2736
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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