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Psychological Approach in “Hamlet”
Name: RINKAL JANI
Roll No: 30
Paper: 01
Paper Name: The Renaissance Literature
Topic: Psychological Approach in “Hamlet”
M.A. English Semester - 1
Batch: 2016 - 2018
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Submitted to: -
Dr. Dilip Barad,
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Psychological approach in Hamlet
Introduction:
Psychological criticism deals with a work of literature primarily as an expression, in an indirect and fictional form of the state of mind and the structure of personality of the individual author. This approach emerged in the early decades of the nineteenth century, as part of the romantic replacement of earlier mimetic and pragmatic views by an expressive view of the nature of literature.
One of the best known books in this mode is Hamlet and Oedipus by the psychoanalyst Ernest Jones. Jones proposes that Hamlet’s conflict is “an echo of a similar one in Shakespeare himself,” and goes on to account for the audience’s powerful and continued response to the play, over many centuries, as a result of the repressed oedipal conflict that is shared by all men. By 1827 Thomas Carlyle could say that the usual question “with the best of our own critics at present” is one “mainly of a psychological sort, to be answered by discovering and delineating the peculiar nature of the poet from the poetry”.
About the play Hamlet:
‘Hamlet’ is an Elizabethan revenge tragedy which is written by well-known English dramatist William Shakespeare. A ply is concern with son’s revenge for the murder of his father. It is a story of which concern with murder, sudden violence and a slower but more deadly reaction to the violence. A story is interwoven with one major character the prince of Denmark Hamlet, who wants get revenge for his father’s murder from his uncle Claudius. He is also suffering from Oedipus complex, and also have to do lots of internal struggle, is it so because of his philosophical nature and we can find abulia in his nature. Hamlet is read by many other critical view points, as a result some critic like Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan—have offered interpretations of Hamlet.
There are some critical approaches in the ‘Hamlet’, like… Formalist approach, Feminist approach, Moral and philosophical approach, Cultural study, Psychological approach
PSYCHOLOGICAL Approach in Hamlet
Although Freud himself made some applications of his theories to art and literature, it remained for an English disciple, Dr. Ernest Jones, to provide us with the first full-scale psycho analytic treatment of a major literary work. Analytic treatment of a major literary work.
Dr. Jones bases his argument on the thesis that Hamlet’s much-debated delay in killing his uncle, Claudius, is to be explained in terms of internal rather than external circumstances and that “the play is mainly concerned with a hero’s unavailing fight against what can only be called a disordered mind.” In his carefully documented essay Dr. Jones builds a highly persuasive case history of Hamlet as a psychoneurotic suffering from manic- depressive hysteria combined with an abulia (an inability to exercise will power and come to decisions) —all of which may be traced to the hero’s severely repressed Oedipal feelings. Jones points out that no really satisfying argument has ever been substantiated for the idea that Hamlet avenges his father’s murder as quickly as practicable. Shakespeare makes Claudius’ guilt as well as Hamlet’s duty perfectly clear from the outset—if we are to trust the words of the Ghost and the gloomy insights of the hero himself. The fact is, however, that Hamlet does not fulfil this duty until absolutely forced to do so by physical circum stances—and, even then, only after Gertrude, his mother, is dead. Jones also elucidates the strong misogyny that Hamlet displays throughout the play, especially as it is directed against Ophelia, and his almost physical revulsion from sex. All of this adds up to a classic example of the neurotically repressed Oedipus complex.
The ambivalence that typifies the child’s attitude toward his father is dramatized in the characters of the Ghost (the good, lovable father with whom the boy identifies) and Claudius (the hated father as tyrant and rival), both of whom are dramatic projections of the hero’s own conscious-unconscious ambivalence toward the father-figure. The Ghost represents the conscious ideal of fatherhood, the image that is socially acceptable:
His view of Claudius, on the other hand, represents Hamlet’s repressed hostility toward his father as a rival for his mother’s affection. This new King-Father is the symbolic perpetrator of the very deeds toward which the son is impelled by his own unconscious motives: murder of his father and incest with his mother. Hamlet cannot bring himself to kill Claudius because, to do so, he must, in a psychological sense, kill himself. His delay and self-frustration in trying to fulfil the Ghost’s demand for vengeance may therefore be explained by the fact that, as Dr. Jones puts it, “the thought of incest and parricide combined is too intolerable to be borne. One part of him tries to carry out the task, the other flinches inexorably from the thought of it” (pp. 78—79).
A corollary to the Oedipal problem in Hamlet is the pronounced misogyny and latent homosexuality in Hamlet’s character. Because of his mother’s abnormally sensual affection for her son, an affection that would have deeply marked Hamlet as a child with an Oedipal neurosis, he has in the course of his psychic development repressed his incestuous impulses so severely that this repression colours his attitude toward all women: “The total reaction culminates in the bitter misogyny of his outburst against Ophelia, who is devastated at having to bear a reaction so wholly out of proportion to her own offense and has no idea that in reviling her Hamlet is really expressing his bitter resentment against his mother” (p. 96). The famous “Get thee to a nunnery” speech has even more sinister overtones than are generally recognized, explains Jones, when we understand the pathological degree of Hamlet’s condition and read “nunnery” as Elizabethan slang for “brothel.”
The underlying theme relates ultimately to the splitting of the mother image which the infantile unconscious effects into two opposite pictures: one of a virginal Madonna, an inaccessible saint towards whom all sensual approaches are unthinkable, and the other of a sensual creature accessible to everyone. When sexual repression is highly pronounced, as with Hamlet, then both types of women are felt to be hostile: the pure one out of resentment at her repulses, the sensual one out of the temptation she offers to plunge into guiltiness. Misogyny as in the play, is the in evitable result. (pp. 97—98)
(Excerpted from A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Harper and Row, 1966.
Hamlet’s Oedipus complex:
Hamlet and Oedipus from Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, have striking similarities which augment Hamlet’s Oedipus complex. ‘The Oedipus complex’ is a psychoanalytic theory which encompasses the idea of unconsciously desiring the parent of the opposite sex, while desiring to eliminate the parent of the same sex. Hamlet does hold these feeling for his mother, Gertrude, but Hamlet’s situation contrasts greatly to that of Oedipus; Hamlet never fulfills his oedipal desires. Despite this fact, Hamlet is said to h0ave one of the greatest Oedipus complexes.
The opposed theory maintains that Hamlet is a man of action, thwarted by such practical obstacles as how to kill a king surrounded by a bodyguard. Many modern critics emphasize what they term Hamlet’s Psychoneurotic state, a condition that obviously derives from the moral complexities with which he is faced. He is therefore shattered when he discovers that some humans are so ambitious for a crown that they are willing to murder for it and that others are so highly sexed that they will violet not only the laws of decorum but also the civil and ecclesiastical laws against incest.
In analyzing Hamlet, ‘the Oedipus Complex’ is clearly apparent to the reader. As a child, Hamlet always expressed the warmest fondness and affection for his mother. This adoration contained elements of disguised erotic quality, especially seen in the bed chamber scene with his mother. The Queen's sensual nature and her passionate fondness of her son are two traits that show her relationship with Hamlet goes beyond the normal mother-son relationship. Nonetheless though, Hamlet finds a love interest in Ophelia. His feelings for Ophelia are never discussed fully in the play, but it is evident to the reader that at one time he loved her because of the hurt he feels when she lies to him. At this part in the play, Hamlet insults Ophelia by telling her,
"Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too" (3.1.136-139).
Another thing is that, when Hamlet's father dies and his mother re-marries, the independency of the idea of sexuality with his mother, concealed since infancy, can no longer be hid from his consciousness. Emotions which were favorable and pleasing at infancy are now emotions of abhorrence and disgust because of his repressions. In the beginning of the play he becomes extremely derisive and contemptuous to his mother. "Seems, madam? Nay, it is, I know not "seems." (1.2.76). When Hamlet says this, he is mocking his mother's question about why he is still mourning his father's death. Ironically, out of the love he still has for his mother, he yields her request to remain at the court. The long "repressed" need to take his father's place, by gaining his mother's devotion is first stimulated to unconscious activity by the marriage of his mother to Claudius. Claudius has usurped the position of husband to Gertrude, a position that Hamlet had once longed for. Their incestuous marriage thus resembles Hamlet's imaginary idea of having a sexual relationship with his mother. These unconscious desires are struggling to find conscious expression, without Hamlet being the least aware of them.
As the play goes on, Hamlet comes to know that Claudius is the murderer of his father. Knowing the truth makes Hamlet's subconscious realize that killing Claudius would be similar to killing himself. This is so because Hamlet recognizes that Claudius' actions of murdering his brother and marrying Hamlet's mother, mimicked Hamlet's inner unconscious desires. Hamlet's unconscious fantasies have always been closely related to Claudius' conduct. All of Hamlet's once hidden feelings seem to surface in spite of all of the "repressing forces," when he cries out, "Oh my prophetic soul!/ My uncle!" (1.5.40-41). From here, Hamlet's consciousness must deal with the frightful truth. Therefore, when The more Hamlet criticizes Claudius, the more his unconscious feelings start to unravel. Hence, Hamlet is faced with a dilemma by acknowledging the same feelings his uncle has towards his mother,dealing with Claudius, Hamlet's attitude is extremely complex and intricate. The concepts of death and sexuality are interchangeable in this play.
Psychoanalytic criticism at Hamlet's actions:
If we want to understand the psychological implications of Hamlet, the primary focus should be on the character Hamlet and how he develops and modifies throughout the play. He is considered as an inaction man or on the contrary action man, he is thinking too much before doing things and too much thinking is harmful and its lead mental illness. Hamlet’s Delay to take revenge is shows that he is victim of exssesive melancholy he could not do anything.
Hamlet’s Madness:
Hamlet’s madness is also seeming as psychological mind of Hamlet, the principle arguments of the play is whether Hamlet is truly mad or not. When people are in depressed the have negative thinking like suicide and cause of depression Hamlet become mad. Throughout the play, we come across Hamlet’s often strange and erratic behaviors such as—his fondness for ridiculing, his cruelty toward Ophelia, his broken sleeps and bad dreams, his melancholy, his desire for secrecy, in the scene of Ophelia’s funeral. Hamlet’s these attitudes are mainly outcome of his frustration and mental disturbance.
In Act-I Scene-V of the play, when the ghost unearths the conspiracy of his murder allegedly involving Gertrude, Hamlet pours out his frustration about both his mother and Claudius in such a manner,
“O most pernicious woman!
Oh villain, villain, smiling damned villain!
That one may smile, and smile and be a villain;”
Such psychological disorders result from Hamlet’s mental disturbance. Compulsive obsessive disorder is an abnormal state of mind in which the subject is unconsciously forced to involve in an activity repeatedly. This, usually, is an outcome of some emotional turbulence and needs a clinical treatment.
Soliloquies:
Soliloquies in Shakespearean tragedies display the innermost layers of human psyche. Like a tip of the iceberg, outward behavior demonstrates only tenth part of what a person is. Hamlet’s following soliloquy, shows that human mind is highly erratic and volatile.
“What piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, … and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”
However, the most soul-searching soliloquy appears in Act-III Scene 1 which shows the conflict of human mind that tortures almost all the human beings at one or the other stage of life, and that is,
“To be, or not to be, that is the question;
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them; To die – to sleep,
…To sleep, perchance to dream – ay , there’s the rub: …”
Soliloquies are the most authentic means to analyze the inner psyche of any character. His or her inner struggle is revealed in such a situation. In Shakespearean tragedy, there is always an element of psychomachy (a conflict between the soul and the body or conflict between Good and Evil) or the struggle within the soul; which may be externalized in many ways.
In a nutshell, we can say that Shakespeare’s Hamlet has surpassed the confines of the Psychologists’ capabilities and it has been a usual practice of the psychologists to treat Hamlet as a psychological patient rather than as a character.
Conclusion:
To conclude this discussion, we can say that Hamlet is not only a revenge tragedy of a prince of Denmark but a tragedy of every human being whose psyche of mind is quite similar to Hamlet. It is a tragedy in which a person of heroic proportion going down to defeat under circumstances too powerful for him to cope with. But this will not keep them from recognizing the play as one of the most searching artistic treatments of the problems and conflict that from so large a part of the human condition.
Citation:
A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature - Paperback - Wilfred Guerin; Earle Labor; Lee Morgan; Jeanne Reesman; John Willingham - Oxford University Press
A Glossary of literary terms (11th addition)
Vibhutibhatt.blogspot.in
Wikipedia
A Psychoanalytic Reading of Hamlet | Literary Articles
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