Hamlet by Shakespeare is a play about prince Hamlet who returns home to Denmark after receiving news about his father’s death, the king. In an exciting twist, Hamlet’s father appears to him and instructs him to avenge his death which was murder. The late king’s ghost claims that he had been murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has now taken the throne. The play explores a psychological lens, depicting Hamlet’s resilience as he seeks to find the truth about his father’s death.
On arriving in Denmark, Hamlet faces two more bitter truths that set the pace for his courses of action throughout the play. His uncle, Claudius, had married his mother, Gertrude, less than two months after his father’s death and taken over the kingdom (“Hamlet”). As Hamlet is grieving his father’s death and lamenting about his mother’s disloyalty, he discovers the existence of a ghost resembling his father, the late king, through Horatio, Hamlet’s friend from school. He informs Hamlet that the ghost had appeared to him and some guards on the battlements of Denmark’s Elsinore castle (“Hamlet”). Hamlet decides to carry out his investigations to discover the truth about the ‘ghost.’ Coincidentally, Hamlet’s father, the late king, appears to him that night and instructs him to kill Claudius to avenge his death. Hamlet takes it upon himself to uncover the truth.
Hamlet comes up with a plan to discover if his uncle caused the king’s death. He begins acting psychotic and manages to convince the king that he is mad. This causes him to grow distant towards his mother and Ophelia, the woman he loved, as he could not reveal to them his true intentions. Hamlet also considers his mother weak and often accuses her of conspiring with Claudius to kill his father. His disappointment and disgust with her make her ashamed of her actions. She says, “ O Hamlet! Speak no more; Thou turn’ st mine eyes into my very soul; And there l see such black and grained spots as will not leave their tinct” (“Hamlet And Gertrude Relationship Analysis – Research Paper”). Through Hamlet’s resilience, he can convince Gertrude to join forces with him and avenge his late father.
During this time, Hamlet joins a group of actors visiting the kingdom and writes a play for them to perform before the king and the queen (“Hamlet”). The king watches in surprise and horror as events in the play mimic the murder of Hamlet’s father (“Hamlet”). As a result, he storms off, realizing the threat that Hamlet presents, and begins plotting his death.
In the play, Hamlet faces two chances to kill Claudius, but he harbors hesitations and fails to act on this as Claudius represents the embodiment of Hamlet’s Oedipal urges. According to the psychoanalytic lens, Hamlet’s affection and love for his mother when he was a child mask erotic feelings for her. As a result, he feels deeply betrayed and disgusted by her decision to marry his uncle, Claudius. This is evidenced when he eavesdrops on a conversation between her and Polonius behind a curtain in her bedroom. In a fit of rage, he draws his sword and kills Polonius, Ophelia’s father, thinking it is Claudius.
As the play ends, Hamlet discovers the plot by Claudius to have him murdered on his way to England to accept his title as the new ambassador. He escapes and returns to Denmark. The play ends in tragedy as most of the characters are killed in the fierce battle between Claudius and Hamlet; Ophelia, overwhelmed by the death of her father and Hamlet’s rejection, drowns in a river while Gertrude dies of poisoning. Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, dies avenging her death and his father’s death, but not before fatally wounding Hamlet, who also kills Claudius in his death throes (“Hamlet”).
Ironically, Hamlet’s grief and desire for revenge cause him to spiral into madness. His resilience to uncover the truth about his father’s death causes him to alienate himself from the people closest to him, his mother and Ophelia, as he becomes fixated on avenging his father, to the point he feigns madness. He finally discovers the truth through a play he wrote but cannot kill his uncle as he sees himself in him; he envies the romantic relationship between Claudius and his mother, Gertrude. Under the psychoanalytic lens, Hamlet has repressed oedipal desires for his mother, which manifest in his adulthood after his father’s death. Gertrude’s betrayal deeply hurts him, and consequently, he transfers the feelings of anger and disgust he has towards his mother to Ophelia and is unable to differentiate the two women. In Act 3, scene 1, Hamlet says to Ophelia, ” I have heard of your paintings well enough. God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness ignorance…” (“A Short Analysis Of Hamlet’S ‘Get Thee To A Nunnery’ Speech”). He also breaks his promise of marrying Ophelia and instructs her to go to a nunnery and become a nun. Hamlet’s rejection ultimately leads to Ophelia’s death.
Works Cited
“Hamlet”. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 2022, https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/hamlet/.
“Hamlet And Gertrude Relationship Analysis – Research Paper”. Studycorgi.Com, 2022, https://studycorgi.com/hamlet-and-gertrude-relationship-analysis-research-paper/.
Nuri, Mohammad. “A Psychoanalytic Reading Of Hamlet”. Literary-Articles.Com, 2013, http://www.literary-articles.com/2013/08/a-psychoanalyitic-reading-of-hamlet.html.
“A Short Analysis Of Hamlet’S ‘Get Thee To A Nunnery’ Speech”. Interesting Literature, 2021, https://interestingliterature.com/2021/01/hamlet-get-thee-nunnery-speech-analysis-meaning/.
write