Hamlet Flashcards
(28 cards)
Hamlet context
Social fatalism: everyone will die, no point in fighting it.
Oedipus complex: boys killing father & sleeping with mother.
Body politic: power of the king lies ultimately in the people, they will support him.
Revenge tragedy: (big deal) part of noble code of honour.
Themes in Hamlet
Tragedy, deception, appearance v. Reality, trust v. Betrayal, misogyny, identity, madness, religion, “family”, sexuality and surveillance
Kenneth Branagh (critic)
Ophelia appears as the victim in the way Hamlet speaks to her in a rushed tone, struggled voice acting controlling, she acts weaker, quieter and unable to act back. Hamlet uses her & Ophelia doesn’t get much time to speak preventing her rights. He uses physical abuse to act more controlling, and submissive if her trying to comfort her in the beginning.
2024 Lord chamberlains men performance
Men dressed as women, scene where Gertrude is submissive of Claudius. Lots of themes around trust & betrayal, secrecy and deception and appearance v. Reality.
Maynard Mack (1952)
Observes “Polonius is always either behind an arras or prying into one” - metaphor for how the cardinal spends life cultivating secrets, spying or recieving people he wishes to manipulate.
Helen Gardner (1959)
Argues “the dark & devious world in which Hamlet finds himself involves all who enter it in guilt” - Claudius has infected the state of Denmark so “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
Critic Elaine Showalter (1985)
Concludes “Ophelia is deprived of thought, sexuality & language”. - Argues Ophelia is more of a plot device than a character. She has no agency & control over the events that do badly affect her.
Critic Harold Bloom
It is the resurrected Hamlet who says “let it be” rather than “to be or not to be”.
Key hamlet facts
Set in Denmark which helps to make it a very political play. Hamlets attitude towards women seems to be poisoned & he treats Ophelia in a particularly cruel manner. This ultimately contributes to her death.
Social & historical context
Regicide. Tension between catholic England of a past & present day Protestant state.
Marxist/ political readings
Writings of Karl Marxist who criticised the political & economic systems of 19th century capitalist societies. Looks at how far we are controlled by government, money, and social class.
Structure
Supernatural (dread/revenge) play-within-a-play (dramatic effects). Mousetrap (pivotal climax). Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet which sub-plots mirroring the main plot. OKH murder at beginning (tension) madness & loss of control throughout (downfall). Play-acting emphasises dramatic effects
Form
Comedy (use of puns/the clowns/gravediggers/ Polonius mocking Ophelia)
Soliloquy “to be or not to be” reveals thoughts + truth to the audience. Also reveals the honesty of characters.
Language
‘Hendiadys’ used the most times in hamlet creating a tense atmosphere (questioning throughout). Eg: “angels & ministers of grace defend us” (1.4)
Literary context
Spanish tragedy links to a typical revenge tragedy. The revenge hero, usually a member of nobility. In 1620s, revenge tragedies were very popular in theatre. Hamlet accepts his fate “If it be not now, yet it will come” (tragedy in reality).
Textual history
First Quarto: published in 1603. 1/2 length of play. A ‘touring’ version of the play.
Second Quarto: longest version (4000 lines long) 4 hours or more on stage- suggested it was to be read not performed.
First folio: In comedies, tragedies & histories published 7 years after Shakespeare’s death. Most modern edition.
Edward P.Vining (1881)
States “the charms of Hamlet’s mind are essentially feminine in nature” (vining asserts that Hamlet’s thoughts & emotions are those more commonly associated with females & therefore Hamlet is not a masculine character, links to inaction in the play.
Machiavelli
‘The prince’ - rulers should use cunning, deception & manipulation to maintain power, Claudius’ Machiavellian nature.
Revenge tragedy
Ghosts are a typical feature of this, they call the hero to revenge. Hamlet is a typical revenge tragedy with the character of Hamlet as the avenger or revenge hero, and Claudius the suspected villain.
- mousetrap scene to test Claudius guilt
- Reynaldo’s cunning nature
- Tragic hero has fatal flaw, harm art is & hubris
- Claudius’ soliloquy in an attempt to repent but he cannot as he won’t give up his crown, and benefits (shows his Machiavelli nature)
‘Rosencrantz & golden stern are dead’ - Tom Stoppard
They are both male in the scene. They speak too freely to him & their arrival is unexpected. Hamlet plans for them to be sent away instead of him to England where they are killed. He speaks of them as “sponges” a metaphor for their corruption & how they are only doing this having been promised a reward.
David tenant take on Hamlet
In the closet scene between Hamlet + his mother, they share evil looks and he uses physical violence to make her see the truth. He shoots Polonius & forces his mother to watch him die. He pushes her down & uses her like a puppet to show how she has disobeyed OkH. Lots of physical abuse.
The setting of hamlet at the beginning
Shakespeare started off with old king fortinbras of Norway alluding to how fortinbras was about to March in Denmark (OKH land). It reflects the contrast between the two places.
Romantic commentary on hamlet
William Hazlitt (commentator): wrote in 1817, Hamlets speeches & solliloquies “are as real as our own thoughts”. For Hazlitt, Hamlet is compelled to “indulge his imagination” rather than act.
Freudian criticism
He disagrees with the romantic view of hamlet as a man that can’t act. He believes Hamlet’s inability to act is rooted in his Oedipus feelings (Oedipus complex). Hamlet is restrained by the realisation that he is “no better than the sinner whom he is to punish.
