Neil Bowen on (Edited )
7th century - John Evelyn
‘The old play begins to disgust this refined age’
Criticised the violent scenes in the play
Questioned whether Hamlet had a clear sense of justice
Jeremy Collier
Challenged the plays immorality and foul language
Condemned Shakespeare for making Ophelia “immodest” when she goes insane
Early 18th century - Voltaire
Called Hamlet “the fruit of the imagination of a drunken savage”
Dr Johnson
Criticised violent parts of the play
Called Hamlets soliloquy in Act 3 “too horrible to be read” as it was so merciless
Questioned whether Hamlet had to treat Ophelia so cruelly
Though play’s ending was unrealistic and unsatisfactory
Later 18th - Aaron Hill
Praised the contradictions in Hamlet’s character, saying it made him more lifelike
Horace Walpole
Defended the mixture of comic and tragic elements in Hamlet as being more believable than a straight tragedy.
Romantic critics - 1798-1837
Coleridge
Saw a “smack of Hamlet” in himself
Argued that Hamlet was a psychological study of an over-imaginative person with an unwillingness to act
Argued the play’s message was that we should act rather than delay
Praised Hamlet for raising serious philosophical questions which encouraged audience to grow intellectually.
William Hazlitt
“There is no play that suffers so much in being transferred to the stage”
Should be studied as a text not dramatic production
Goethe
Hamlet can’t balance his thoughts and actions because he’s so highly intelligent
Hamlet can’t reconcile his morality with the horrible act that he’s been asked to commit
Hazlitt and Coleridge
Both argued that Hamlet was an “everyman” character
Explaining why play so popular cos everyone can see themselves in Hamlet
Hazlitt - “it is we who are Hamlet”
20th cent critics
Freud
Oedipal Analysis
Believed the unconscious mind was full of thoughts, feelings etc. that people were unaware of but influenced their behaviour
Rejected Goethe’s odea that ham’s high intelligence prevented him from acting, instead argues ham can take action as shown when he murders Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Ham’s hesitation comes from his unconscious mind
Has a repressed desire for his mother - Closet scene, Act 3 Scene 4 (such as Zeffirelli’s 1990 film)
Suggests Claudius achieved what Ham subconsciously wanted (killing his father and sleeping with his mother). Ham sees himself mirrored in his uncle, so doesn’t wait to kill a part of himself.
Erlich
Father figure analysis
Disagrees w Freud.
Thought Freud just imposing his own beliefs about oedipus complex on the play
Argues every boy needs a strong father figure ands so Ham’s problems are caused by lack of this figure.
Ham wants to believe his father was a strong man but suspects he was weak
Explains that delay occurs cos Hamlet wants his weak father to be strong and take his own revenge, rather than getting his son to do it for him.
A.C. Bradley
Focused on Character of hamlet and his actions
Like neoclassicists, Bradley thought plot should be unified, but, believed tragedy comes from character and the character’s actions, rather than plot.
Argued conflict in Ham isd a result of Ham’s “inward struggle” - coming from his reluctance to fulfil the role of traditional revenger in a revenge tragedy.
Brad saw this reluctance as Ham’s reaction to his circumstances
Disagrees with idea that ham’s reluctance is due to his high intellect
Instead argues that Ham is a “man who at any other time and in any other circumstances… would have been perfectly to his task”
His struggle partly caused by his inability to cope with the position he finds himself in
Argues ham’s lack of action is caused by his disgust for his mother’s lustfulness
Gertrude’s actions and ham’s sensitive nature meant that he also became disgusted with the world, and this stopped him from acting.
T.S Elliot
In his essay ‘Hamlet and His Problems’
Disagreed with the Romantics idealisation of Shakespeare
Instead suggest it was the play that was the problem
Ham’s delay was the result of an “artistic failure”
Questioned Ham’s believability as a character amd argued it was difficult to understand his behaviour
Thought play didn’t accurately reflect real life
Thought Ham’s reaction to gertrude was excessive for her crimes
Though Gertrude's character was too “insignificant” to have impact on play’s events
So disagreed with Bradley’s claim that Gert was to blame for causing ham’s delay
C.S. Lewis
Refused to analyse Ham as an individual
Argued that, although Shakespeare doesn’t make reasons for ham’s delay clear, it doesn’t matter
Thought character analysis missed the point of the play, which is to examine the mystery of human existence.
In the character of Ham, Shakespeare successfully created a realistic everyman character who is haunted by original sin and fear of death.
Performance critics
Harvey Granville-Barker
Consider plays as they are performed, not as literary works
Because Ham so popular, it’s been performed and interpreted in many diff ways.
LOCATION
HGB focusses on dramatic elements of the play
Focused on how Shakespeare builds dramatic tension in the play
Looks at how location and time are used effectively for this purpose
Argues Shake focuses on Elsinore as centre of the play’s action and so scenes outside of the castle (such as pirate’s rescue, Laertes in Paris) are rarely performed on stage
Argues this is a dramatic decision, as Shake could’ve allowed these scenes to be played on stage as takes just as long to talk about the events as to perform them.
TIME
Plays usually ignore time or use act divisions to indicate the passing of time
In Ham, Shake uses time only when dramatically necessary
By Act 3, no mention of time at all, helps audience identify with Ham, as he also loses track of time
Also helps sustain play’s illusion that events of the play are happening in real time, so more realistic
As play’s action reaches a climax, events happen quicker, time frame becomes smaller especially in Act 4, builds tension for audience