Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Hamlet by William Shakespeare Opening Notes
BEGINNING NOTES ON HAMLET
THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF THE PLAY
1. How does an individual (Hamlet) react when he develops an obsession with destroying a powerful force ruling his country, yet risks experiencing psychological estrangement (losing his mother’s affections), occurring at multiple levels within himself, if he attempts to destroy that force?
2. Hamlet is a character study of our individual harboring an obsession.
3. Hamlet is obsessed with destroying Claudius. Because of his psychological estrangement from his mother (due to her marriage to her deceased husband’s brother), Hamlet shapes his behavior that the audience sees, which seems to be bizarre and incomprehensible.
4. REASONS FOR HAMLET’S REVENGE
a. Ghost of Hamlet Sr. tells Hamlet Jr. that Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle) has murdered Hamlet Sr.—Usurping Hamlet Jr. from the throne.
b. This robs Hamlet Jr. of his central role model of masculinity—his father
c. Claudius commits the sin of regicide (killing the king), a political familial sin of killing his brother and then sleeping with his wife.
d. Claudius, by marrying Hamlet’s mother, also deprives Hamlet Jr. of his rightful kingship—since Hamlet was next to be king.
e. Hamlet Jr.’s love of his mother is corrupted because she is affectionate towards his enemy, Claudius.
FIVE LEVELS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ESTRANGEMENT (alienation)
1. Religious estrangement—Hamlet cannot commit suicide and he cannot out right kill Claudius because this would be murder and Hamlet would have violated his religious code.
2. Moral estrangement—from a normative (normal) sense—Hamlet knows to kill a king would mean violating his internal conviction against crimes that might harm the hierarchical order of the state’s government. He does not gather a mob as Laertes does later in the play. Hamlet understands how politics works.
3. Estrangement from Countrymen and Friends—Hamlet must kill Claudius himself. Claudius has spies and soldiers to protect him that also work against Hamlet. Hamlet has no one to turn to or trust because Claudius has enlisted Hamlet’s friends to kill him. This represents Hamlet’s risk of estrangement from his friends. Also, no one knows why Hamlet wants to kill Claudius and Hamlet lacks the proof or nerve to inform them.
4. Estrangement from his mother—The most important estrangement—Hamlet must realize his mother fell in love with Claudius whom he is trying to kill. If he kills Claudius, who is an immoral person, his mother will forever view Hamlet as her son who killed her lover and a just king. This is another reason Hamlet feels inhibited from outright killing Claudius, from destroying the man his mother loves.
5. Alienation from women in general—His lover, Ophelia, could also turn against him and become a spy because she does not understand his actions. HAMLET’S THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN…
a. Women might, because of their emotional characteristics, unwittingly commit serious, immoral mistakes.
b. Women put on men, psychological pressures that can interfere with men’s ability to do what is morally right.
c. Hamlet is estranged from women’s emotional weaknesses, which make him feel weary of women in general. This makes it difficult for him to carry on a normal sex life because he feels estranged from women.
IN A NUT SHELL…THESE ARE THE FIVE ESTRANGEMENTS
1. Hamlet’s bond of motherly love
2. Hamlet’s bond of womanly love
3. Hamlet’s bond of friendship
4. Hamlet’s bondage to religious and moral principles
5. Hamlet’s bond to his professional and political conscience.
These estrangements occur simultaneously and completely destroy Hamlet’s psychological sense of identity.
Hamlet thus struggles against the awesome weight of his obligation to destroy Claudius.
Hamlet has a basic fear of being executed if his attempts at killing Claudius go awry.
Hamlet is in a “Catch—22”.
a. If he doesn’t kill Claudius—Hamlet is in a painful mental state.
b. If he kills Claudius, Hamlet could be estranged so intensely that it could destroy him.
WHY DOES HAMLET PRETEND TO BE INSANE?
1. This allows him to do several things he would not be able to do.
2. He does not have to justify any of his actions because people think he is not in a rational mental state.
3. No one suspects that he could rationally plan hostile action, such as killing Claudius.
4. He expresses great anger without arousing suspicion.
A. Hamlet stages a play within a play to catch the conscience of Claudius.
1) to see if Claudius really committed the crime—to prove or disprove Claudius’ guilt
2) if Claudius is not guilty, Hamlet is relieved of his obsession to kill him
3) if Claudius is guilty then Hamlet will be justified I his attempts to kill him
HAMLET’S THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN (especially Ophelia and Gertrude)
1. Gertrude puts enormous stress upon Hamlet and he develops a great resentment towards her.
2. Gertrude embodies the weaknesses of women in general so his resentment of Gertrude is also projected against women in general.
3. This resentment turns into hatred of women, which he takes out on Ophelia.
4. He berates Ophelia to the point of driving her insane and then to her untimely death.
5. Ophelia is Hamlet’s psychological punching bag, which is an outlet for his resentment of women.
6. She is a convenient target because she loves Hamlet and will not fight back.
7. Eliminating Ophelia from his love will help to harden his personality to the point when he can kill Claudius.
8. Hamlet wants to somehow convince Gertrude to stop loving Claudius, so that he may kill Claudius and not be estranged from his mother’s love.
9. Gertrude would not condemn Hamlet for attempting to kill Claudius if she didn’t love Claudius.
QUESTION: HOW DOES HAMLET GET GERTRUDE TO STOP LOVING CLAUDIUS
1. Hamlet could kill Gertrude. He is insane. He cannot do this because of the psychological guilt of destroying his own mother.
2. Drive her insane as he did Ophelia. He cannot to this for the same reason above…he needs his mother’s love.
3. Confront Gertrude with the premise of Claudius’ crime, hoping she will realize that Claudius is guilty. This fails also because Gertrude does not respond to Hamlet’s accusations against Claudius.
A. Hamlet once again cannot decide if he should kill Claudius or let him be, because of his (Hamlet’s) psychological situation.
B. One decision Hamlet makes is not to kill Claudius but to let him be and let fate and divine forces take over this responsibility.
HAMLET DOES KILL CLAUDIUS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
1. His mother poisons herself with Claudius drink meant for Hamlet.
2. Gertrude now becomes aware of Claudius’ treachery.
3. She tells Hamlet she has been poisoned by the drink from Claudius and she now does not support Claudius.
4. Hamlet can kill Claudius for his mother’s death.
5. Laertes tells Hamlet of Claudius’ treachery. Hamlet can now kill Claudius for his friends.
6. Claudius’ treachery is immoral so Hamlet is justified to kill him on principle.
7. Hamlet is mortally wounded and has nothing to lose in killing Claudius.
THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
CENTRAL THEMES OF THE PLAY
1. Intense psychological pain that Hamlet’s obsession causes him.
2. The ignorance of the general populace to Claudius’ guilt.
3. Hamlet’s tendency to pretend insanity and therefore he is able to express intense inner feelings.
4. Hamlet’s obsession with gathering information to prove or disprove Claudius’ guilt.
5. Loneliness that Hamlet feels in his responsibility to avenge his father’s death…and he knows that he is alone.
6. Hamlet’s fear of spies…especially of his friends.
7. His overt violence against Ophelia and Gertrude. (his girlfriend and his mother)
THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF THE PLAY
1. How does an individual (Hamlet) react when he develops an obsession with destroying a powerful force ruling his country, yet risks experiencing psychological estrangement (losing his mother’s affections), occurring at multiple levels within himself, if he attempts to destroy that force?
2. Hamlet is a character study of our individual harboring an obsession.
3. Hamlet is obsessed with destroying Claudius. Because of his psychological estrangement from his mother (due to her marriage to her deceased husband’s brother), Hamlet shapes his behavior that the audience sees, which seems to be bizarre and incomprehensible.
4. REASONS FOR HAMLET’S REVENGE
a. Ghost of Hamlet Sr. tells Hamlet Jr. that Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle) has murdered Hamlet Sr.—Usurping Hamlet Jr. from the throne.
b. This robs Hamlet Jr. of his central role model of masculinity—his father
c. Claudius commits the sin of regicide (killing the king), a political familial sin of killing his brother and then sleeping with his wife.
d. Claudius, by marrying Hamlet’s mother, also deprives Hamlet Jr. of his rightful kingship—since Hamlet was next to be king.
e. Hamlet Jr.’s love of his mother is corrupted because she is affectionate towards his enemy, Claudius.
FIVE LEVELS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ESTRANGEMENT (alienation)
1. Religious estrangement—Hamlet cannot commit suicide and he cannot out right kill Claudius because this would be murder and Hamlet would have violated his religious code.
2. Moral estrangement—from a normative (normal) sense—Hamlet knows to kill a king would mean violating his internal conviction against crimes that might harm the hierarchical order of the state’s government. He does not gather a mob as Laertes does later in the play. Hamlet understands how politics works.
3. Estrangement from Countrymen and Friends—Hamlet must kill Claudius himself. Claudius has spies and soldiers to protect him that also work against Hamlet. Hamlet has no one to turn to or trust because Claudius has enlisted Hamlet’s friends to kill him. This represents Hamlet’s risk of estrangement from his friends. Also, no one knows why Hamlet wants to kill Claudius and Hamlet lacks the proof or nerve to inform them.
4. Estrangement from his mother—The most important estrangement—Hamlet must realize his mother fell in love with Claudius whom he is trying to kill. If he kills Claudius, who is an immoral person, his mother will forever view Hamlet as her son who killed her lover and a just king. This is another reason Hamlet feels inhibited from outright killing Claudius, from destroying the man his mother loves.
5. Alienation from women in general—His lover, Ophelia, could also turn against him and become a spy because she does not understand his actions. HAMLET’S THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN…
a. Women might, because of their emotional characteristics, unwittingly commit serious, immoral mistakes.
b. Women put on men, psychological pressures that can interfere with men’s ability to do what is morally right.
c. Hamlet is estranged from women’s emotional weaknesses, which make him feel weary of women in general. This makes it difficult for him to carry on a normal sex life because he feels estranged from women.
IN A NUT SHELL…THESE ARE THE FIVE ESTRANGEMENTS
1. Hamlet’s bond of motherly love
2. Hamlet’s bond of womanly love
3. Hamlet’s bond of friendship
4. Hamlet’s bondage to religious and moral principles
5. Hamlet’s bond to his professional and political conscience.
These estrangements occur simultaneously and completely destroy Hamlet’s psychological sense of identity.
Hamlet thus struggles against the awesome weight of his obligation to destroy Claudius.
Hamlet has a basic fear of being executed if his attempts at killing Claudius go awry.
Hamlet is in a “Catch—22”.
a. If he doesn’t kill Claudius—Hamlet is in a painful mental state.
b. If he kills Claudius, Hamlet could be estranged so intensely that it could destroy him.
WHY DOES HAMLET PRETEND TO BE INSANE?
1. This allows him to do several things he would not be able to do.
2. He does not have to justify any of his actions because people think he is not in a rational mental state.
3. No one suspects that he could rationally plan hostile action, such as killing Claudius.
4. He expresses great anger without arousing suspicion.
A. Hamlet stages a play within a play to catch the conscience of Claudius.
1) to see if Claudius really committed the crime—to prove or disprove Claudius’ guilt
2) if Claudius is not guilty, Hamlet is relieved of his obsession to kill him
3) if Claudius is guilty then Hamlet will be justified I his attempts to kill him
HAMLET’S THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN (especially Ophelia and Gertrude)
1. Gertrude puts enormous stress upon Hamlet and he develops a great resentment towards her.
2. Gertrude embodies the weaknesses of women in general so his resentment of Gertrude is also projected against women in general.
3. This resentment turns into hatred of women, which he takes out on Ophelia.
4. He berates Ophelia to the point of driving her insane and then to her untimely death.
5. Ophelia is Hamlet’s psychological punching bag, which is an outlet for his resentment of women.
6. She is a convenient target because she loves Hamlet and will not fight back.
7. Eliminating Ophelia from his love will help to harden his personality to the point when he can kill Claudius.
8. Hamlet wants to somehow convince Gertrude to stop loving Claudius, so that he may kill Claudius and not be estranged from his mother’s love.
9. Gertrude would not condemn Hamlet for attempting to kill Claudius if she didn’t love Claudius.
QUESTION: HOW DOES HAMLET GET GERTRUDE TO STOP LOVING CLAUDIUS
1. Hamlet could kill Gertrude. He is insane. He cannot do this because of the psychological guilt of destroying his own mother.
2. Drive her insane as he did Ophelia. He cannot to this for the same reason above…he needs his mother’s love.
3. Confront Gertrude with the premise of Claudius’ crime, hoping she will realize that Claudius is guilty. This fails also because Gertrude does not respond to Hamlet’s accusations against Claudius.
A. Hamlet once again cannot decide if he should kill Claudius or let him be, because of his (Hamlet’s) psychological situation.
B. One decision Hamlet makes is not to kill Claudius but to let him be and let fate and divine forces take over this responsibility.
HAMLET DOES KILL CLAUDIUS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
1. His mother poisons herself with Claudius drink meant for Hamlet.
2. Gertrude now becomes aware of Claudius’ treachery.
3. She tells Hamlet she has been poisoned by the drink from Claudius and she now does not support Claudius.
4. Hamlet can kill Claudius for his mother’s death.
5. Laertes tells Hamlet of Claudius’ treachery. Hamlet can now kill Claudius for his friends.
6. Claudius’ treachery is immoral so Hamlet is justified to kill him on principle.
7. Hamlet is mortally wounded and has nothing to lose in killing Claudius.
THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
CENTRAL THEMES OF THE PLAY
1. Intense psychological pain that Hamlet’s obsession causes him.
2. The ignorance of the general populace to Claudius’ guilt.
3. Hamlet’s tendency to pretend insanity and therefore he is able to express intense inner feelings.
4. Hamlet’s obsession with gathering information to prove or disprove Claudius’ guilt.
5. Loneliness that Hamlet feels in his responsibility to avenge his father’s death…and he knows that he is alone.
6. Hamlet’s fear of spies…especially of his friends.
7. His overt violence against Ophelia and Gertrude. (his girlfriend and his mother)
# posted by Sister Pat / English @ 2:58 PM 
