Response to John Jump's Criticisms of Hamlet by William Shakespeare in the Article "Hamlet (Selections)"

2075 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Criticism an approach to hamlet

Upon reading the sampling of "Hamlet" criticisms in John Jump's "Hamlet (Selections)" I disagreed with a few of the critics, but my analysis was the most different from Wilson Knight's interpretation. He labels Hamlet as "a sick, cynical, and inhumane prince" (Jump, 124) who vitiated a Denmark which was "one of healthy and robust life, good-nature, humor, romantic strength, and welfare." In his book, The Wheel of Fire, he continues this line of thought to conclude that Claudius is "a good and gentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with his crime. And this chain he might, perhaps, have broken except for Hamlet" (Jump, 125).

Although Knight's views of Hamlet and Claudius are almost the extreme opposite of my interpretation, I understand how he developed this interpretation. Hamlet becomes sick and cynical after the death of his father, whom he greatly admired, and the hasty remarriage of his mother to his uncle. Hamlet thinks his father was an "excellent king," who loved his mother so much "that he may might not beteem the winds of heaven/ Visit her face to roughly" (I, ii, 140-141). However, his mother mourned for "a little month" and then she married a man who was "no more like [his] father/ Than [he] to Hercules" (I, ii, 153-152). These extraordinary events cause him to launch into a state of melancholy and depression in which he desires "that this too too solid flesh would melt" (I, ii, 129). In this melancholy, Hamlet loses becomes disenchanted with life, and to him the world seems "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable" (I, ii, 133). Later in the most famous of his soliloquy's, Hamlet contemplates committing suicide because he is troubled by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" (III, i, 58). His disinterest for life, and his wishes for death are a definite indications of Hamlet's sickness.

Hamlet's sickness is also shown through his strong relationship, bordering on obsession, with his mother. Throughout the play he constantly worries about her, and becomes angry when thinking of her relationship with Claudius. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet becomes enraged when he thinks about her "incestuous sheet," and in frustration he makes the irrational generalization that, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (I, ii, 146). In the closet scene, Hamlet treats his mother cruelly, and he accuses her of being involved in the plot to kill his father. Once again, he dwells on her "enseam'd bed/ Stew'd in corruption" (III, iv, 92-93).

Show More
Related

  • Hamlet Vs. Tony Stark

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet lets you see his dark side by not letting you see what will happen next with him. “A bloody deed- almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry his brother” (Wright, 1959). This shows that Hamlet is mad at his mother for killing his father and marrying his uncle. After this, he threatens his mother while in her room which was not really expected when he went to go talk to his mother in the first place.

    Read More

  • Misogyny In Hamlet Essay

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlets ridiculed feelings for women was because of his mother’s disappointing action. Hamlets mothers’ marriage with Claudius not so long after his father’s death did not show her devotion to her husband’s memory in the way a loving wife should. ”O god a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer” (l.2.150) degrading Gertrude, as he believes an animal would find the loss of its mate more upsetting than the queen did when she lost her husband. In his mind women are frail and weak this is why he says that women is just another name for weakness. “Frailty, thy name is woman” (l.2.148) generalizing that all women are frail and incapable to withstand temptation. His bitterness has lead him to believe that all women are dishonest and untrustworthy because his mother easily moved on from the husband she so thought to have loved and worse married his brother a month after his death. Hamlet starts to torment his mother by telling her that she is sleeping with her husband’s killer. “But you live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stewed in corruption and making love over that nasty sty” (3.4.100) trying to make her realize the wrong that she has done, being easy to fall in love with another man because she required comfort. To Hamlet his mother is weak, surrendering to lust, changing Hamlets view and sparking his hate for women, seeing how they are not loyal. “When the compulsive ardour gives

    Read More

  • Hamlet Sanity Analysis

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet's sanity can be recognized when mourning for his dead father at the beginning of the play. Including the fact his mother married her dead husbands brother, Hamlets uncle, builds Hamlet sickness. Shakespeare’s purpose in this scene is to utilize Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Father and Son Relationship in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of Hamlet, the Prince behaves as any normal person would following the death of a loved one. Not only is this a loved one, but an extra special someone; it is his loving father whom he adored. Hamlet is grief stricken, depressed, and even angry that his mother remarried so soon after his father’s death. Having witnessed how his father had treated his mother with great love and respect, Hamlet cannot understand how his mother could shorten the grieving period so greatly to marry someone like Uncle Claudius.  He is incapable of rationalizing her deeds and he is obsessed by her actions.

    Read More

  • Exploring Hamlet’s State of Mind

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play, Hamlet is described as an intelligent, emotional, and grief-stricken protagonist but he is consumed by his own thoughts which make him a highly-indecisive individual; Hamlet’s inability to act on his father’s murder, his mother’s hasty remarriage, and his uncle assuming of the throne are all evidence that Hamlet does not know what is going on in his own life. Perhaps Hamlet wants to place the blame on someone else after he wreaks vengeance on King Claudius, or capture the attention of certain characters so that he may find out exactly what has gone “rotten in Denmark” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 90). Throughout the play Hamlet is deeply hurt by his mother’s decision to remarry his uncle. As Hamlet says, “Frailty thy name is woman”, her actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 146).

    Read More

  • Hamlet, the Existentialist

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.

    Read More

  • The Transformation of Hamlet

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the story, Hamlet’s character was struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, a month after his father is death.  For a young man, it’s hard to believe that he understood why his mother quickly married Claudius especially since, Claudius is his uncle. Later he learned that his father’s ghost was sighted. Intuitively, he knew there had to be some kind of “foul play.” At this point, Hamlet is a university student; his morals and way of thinking are defined by books and what was taught to him. This is seen when he speaks about the flaws of men, setting a bad reputation for all, and the man’s flaws causing their “downfall.”(a.1, sc.4, l.)

    Read More

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Hamlet's Inability to Take Action

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.

    Read More

  • Essay On Disrespect In Hamlet

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet however, continues his rude remarks by say what lies between maids laps is “nothing” (III.ii.128). In this case the word nothing does not mean what is usually does and instead has a double meaning for a vagina. With his vulgar language and his profane comments Hamlet takes out his anger on someone with less power than he has, praying in the weak in order to make himself feel better. Another character who weathers Hamlet’s coarse commentary is his mother, Gertrude, whom he disrespects the most using her as a punching bag in order to vent out his own anger. After the play has taken place and the king leaves in the middle of it, clearly troubled by Hamlet’s scene resembling his father’s death, Gertrude calls her son to come to her bedchamber. There, Hamlet says to his mother in response to her questioning him, “Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue” (III.iiii.15). Gertrude is the only character in the play to call Hamlet out on his nasty remarks because she is one of the only characters who Hamlet’s has a personal relationship with. Even his schoolboy friends whom he has known for years he

    Read More

  • What Hamlet's Soliloquies Reveal About Him

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Readers are first given insight to Hamlet’s most inward thoughts in Act I, Scene 2. At this point in the play, Hamlet’s mother and uncle, Queen Gertrude and Claudius, have just announced their marriage. For the past few months, Hamlet has been grieving incessantly at the abrupt loss of his beloved father and king. In the eyes of the Queen and new King, Hamlet has mourned sufficiently and their marriage is in attempt to end the depressing state of the kingdom. Hamlet’s uncle, now step-father, even goes as far as saying Hamlet is acting like a stubborn girl for his prolonged misery, urging him to cease his weeping. Once his mother and uncle leave the stage, Hamlet mulls over the current situation. He starts off by stating that he longs to simply cease to exist, that his flesh would disintegrate back into the earth. He knows that the Lord condemns suicide, but wishes it was allowed for his sake. These first two lines point to Hamlet’s suicidal tendencies and his lack of self-esteem and self-worth. Not only does he have a low opinion of his own life, but he compares the world in his day to an “unweeded garden” that has produced and fostered a vile and corrupt humanity. At this point, existence to him seems lifeless and insignificant, cla...

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits.  A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development.  When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King.  In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair.   Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration.  The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character.  One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.

    Read More

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Role of Women in Hamlet

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gertrude influenced Hamlet significantly throughout the course of the play. Hamlet was very angered by his mother's remarriage. A few months after his father's death, Gertrude married Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. He was driven mad when his father's ghost appeared to him and revealed that Claudius was responsible for the death of Old Hamlet. Hamlet even termed the marriage as incest. Hamlet's fury is displayed when he throws his mother on the bed and says, "Frailty, thy name is woman" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). This shows his extent of anger because he makes a generalization that all women are weak. As a result of his mother's actions, Hamlet strives to seek revenge against Claudius for the death of his father. In order to marry Gertrude, Claudius kills his brother. Therefore, Gertrude is the driving factor for the whole setup of the play.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Oedipus Complex

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet’s attachment to his mother was quickly made evident within the first act of the famous tragedy. Hamlet, who sulks around wearing black clothing to mourn the death of his father, first speaks in the play to insult his stepfather. He voices his distaste at his new relationship with his uncle by criticizing that they are, “A little more than kin and less than kind” (I.ii.65). He believes that it is unnatural for his uncle to also be his father, and eagerly jumps at an opportunity to offend Claudius. However, Hamlet acts entirely different towards his mother, despite his poor attitude....

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Hamlet In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a dramatic play, written by author William Shakespeare in the period between 1599 and 1601. The play has three acts and it is packed full of drama, betrayal, incest, revenge and demise. It is well written, and it best presented in live stage form. In the early 1600’s, elaborate theaters and stages were built for stories like Hamlet to unfold upon, and the audiences were not disappointed. Many writers wrote dramatic plays during this era, but Hamlet was different. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a complicated, twisted story of some of the worst things that can happen and how those behaviors lead to difficulty in relationships, love and life.

    Read More

  • Condemned: Hamlet’s Moral Dilemma

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.

    Read More

More about Response to John Jump's Criticisms of Hamlet by William Shakespeare in the Article "Hamlet (Selections)"

Open Document