Action v inaction Flashcards
(13 cards)
19th-Century Critics
Critics like T.S. Eliot argue that Hamlet’s inaction represents a modern existential crisis: a reflection of the impossibility of true action in an uncertain, morally complex world.
Feminist Criticism
Some feminist readings focus on how Hamlet’s inaction affects the lives of women around him, especially Ophelia, who is caught in the wake of his indecision and inability to act in the social and patriarchal systems.
Critics like A.C. Bradley note Hamlet’s inaction as symbolic of philosophical paralysis, often reading it in terms of Hamlet’s inability to reconcile inner moral conflict with the reality of the world.
Existential/Philosophical Readings
1806 - Painting Hamlet and his father, Hamlet on his knees, father towering over him - completely dominating him.
William Blake
Eugene delacroix- 1835
painting of hamlet and corpse of Polonius - Hamlet lifting the curtain revealing Polonius, Hamlet is smiling.
‘ Hamlet conduct is cruel… so unworthy of a hero’
Thomas Hanmer - 1736
‘ The play is built up on Hamlet’s hesitations’
Sigmund Freud - 1900
John Dover Wilson - 1935
‘Hamlet may even seem a monster of inconsistency’
Juliet Dusinberre - 1975
Ophelia has no chance to develop an independent conscience of her own, so stifle is she by the authority of the male world’
‘ We can imagine Hamlet’s story without Ophelia, but Ophelia literally has no story without Hamlet’
Lee Edwards - 1979
Sean Mcevoy - 2006
‘ Ophelia and Gertrude can superficially be seen as representatives of the two archetypes of women in early modern drama’
‘ Polonius is nothing more than a stock character… providing a source of comic relief’
Richard Vardy - 2017.
Set on a ship enhanced theme of spying
Gould 2025
