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Psychoanalysis of the text Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Psychoanalysis in shakespeare's hamlet
Psychoanalysis in shakespeare's hamlet
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Psychology attempts to create understanding and meaning out of abstract ideas and thoughts while simultaneously using abstract ideas and thoughts. It is much more difficult to explain human behaviour through technical interpretations such as the original Freudian theory of the id, ego, and superego. Shakespeare’s The Tempest uses these three elements in a storyline to exemplify these three psyches in a single self through a story arc. The id is the pleasure seeking subconscious that focuses more on biological needs rather than morality. The ego is the reality which is shaped by both society and personal experiences. The superego is the higher being which seeks moral reasoning and the greater good. Prospero is the controller of both Caliban …show more content…
Caliban is the id, the one who seeks instant gratification and has no concern for morality. Everyone has a love-hate relationship with the id because it is the part of the psyche that seeks biological necessities, however, it is also the part which can create socially unacceptable impulses. Prospero and Caliban initially had a loving relationship with each other; the relationship with the id is fostered because of biological needs. Prospero is forming a strong connection with the id but it takes over when Caliban “didst seek to violate / the honour of [Prospero's] child” (1.2. 347-348). Caliban acts based on the biological necessity of reproduction and this parallels the socially unacceptable circumstances that occur when one lets the id take control in one’s life. The ego must counteract this impulsive behaviour; Prospero decides to cage Caliban to prevent him from acting impulsively again. However, completely abolishing the id is never an option. The id is the embodiment of biological necessity thus it is impossible to live without it. This idea is paralleled in The Tempest because Prospero cannot simply rid himself of Caliban, the one who provides the food and wood which sustains life. This is a visual representation of the necessity of the id in the human psyche. This love-hate relationship between Prospero and Caliban exemplifies the dangers …show more content…
Too little influence from the id and too much influence creates unfavourable circumstances for Prospero. The over and under involvement of the superego creates a harsh attitude in Prospero. The freedom that Prospero creates in the end results from internalizing all three components of the human psyche. Psychology tries to explain the human psyche in technical terms, however, these elements take a physical form in the characters of The
The thought of Freud has a total focus on an individual’s mind and how this internal struggle effects how humans interact within society. Freud argues that every human has three functional parts of their personality that exist within the mind itself: the id, super-ego and the ego. Thurschwell describes these three layers as how they relate to each other. The id is the deepest level of the unconscious, which is dominated by the pleasure principle and has no concept of time except for the present, demanding instant gratification of sexual and aggressive (Eros and Thanatos) urges. The superego originates through identification with the individuals parents, functioning as an internal censor witch represses the dangerous urges of the id. The ego starts as part of the id but is more sensible as it has knowledge of the outside world. Unlike the id, the ego is dominated by the instinct to protect oneself. Although these three layers cannot be physically mapped out in the mind they do show how Freud constantly focused on the internal mind...
Shakespeare's play, The Tempest tells the story of a father, Prospero, who must let go of his daughter; who brings his enemies under his power only to release them; and who in turn finally relinquishes his sway over his world - including his power over nature itself. The Tempest contains elements ripe for tragedy: Prospero is a controlling figure bent on taking revenge for the wrongs done to him, and in his fury he has the potential to destroy not only his enemies, but his own humanity and his daughter's future.
In all the psychology of the personality is difficult to understand, because trying to read what someone is thinking about you and your personality is a tough process. This was roughly and explanation into the view of Freud’s view of the id, ego, and superego and some of the psychoanalysis stages that come in the crazy world and studies of Sigmund Freud. Even though his views are not popular today some people still research them and think to themselves he might not be as weird as people told me he was.
The Tempest, is a timeless play about Prospero getting justice by having his throne back. William Shakespeare uses various dramatic elements to help readers deepen their understanding of the text in the play. The archetype critical theory can be used when reading Act 1, Scene 2 of The Tempest, for enhancing the reader’s understanding of the play. The archetype critical theory is patterns that are universal and have been applied to literature. These archetypes are present in the symbols, imagery, allusions, and dramatic irony of the scene.
Freud’s theory is based on the idea that ones personality is derived from conflicts that stem from both our conscious and unconscious mind. To better understand how these conflicts arise he divided the mind into theoretical categories which include the id, ego, and superego.
One of the main assumptions of the Freudian psychoanalytic view is that behaviour depends on 3 components in the brain that are all at different levels of consciousness, The id, the ego and superego. According to the theory of the personality structure, the id is part of the selfish unconscious mind which is present from birth and functions according to the pleasure-pain principle. Moreover, the ego is part of the preconscious, which holds thoughts an individual has the ability to bring to conscious mind. However, the ego is more rational and realistic in comparison to the id. In addition, the super ego regards morals and family values that individual holds (Hiriyappa,
The Tempest by William Shakespeare is one of the most relevant and studied plays of the Elizabethan period among scholars, from both, ancient and actual times. One of the many readings that have prevailed suggests that the play’s protagonist, Prospero, and his two su-pernatural servants, Ariel and Caliban, can work as a single psychological unit is constantly discussed by the academics. This reading is not new; it has been considered for longer than the idea of The Tempest as an autobiographical allegory, being first proposed by Thomas Campbell in 1838 (Yachnin).
The Tempest reflects Shakespeare's society through the relationship between characters, especially between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban, who was the previous king of the island, is taught how to be "civilized" by Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Then he is forced to be their servant. Caliban explains "Thou strok'st me and make much of me; wo...
In this whimsical play, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being supplanted of his dukedom by his brother, arrives on an island. He frees a spirit named Ariel from a spell and in turn makes the spirit his slave. He also enslaves a native monster named Caliban. These two slaves, Caliban and Ariel, symbolize the theme of nature versus nurture. Caliban is regarded as the representation of the wild; the side that is usually looked down upon. Although from his repulsive behavior, Caliban can be viewed as a detestable beast of nature, it can be reasonably inferred that Shakespeare’s intent was to make Caliban a sympathetic character.
Freud categorized the aspects of the mind into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is “the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche” which is described as direct and immediate instincts centered on pleasures, desires, and wish fulfillment (McLeod). In 1923, Freud describes the ego to be “that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world” (Freud). Although the id and ego are similar in the sense where they both seek pleasure and avoid pain, the ego focuses more on bringing forth a “realistic strategy to obtain pleasure” and is focused more on the conscious, rational, moral and the self-aware aspects of the mind (McLeod). The superego is influenced by the values and morals of society, which can be learned by parents, teachers, peers, etc. The super...
of the Id, the Ego and the Superego is prevalent. The Id represents the human instinct superego
Caliban is evil is the fact that he tried to rape Miranda, Prospero’s daughter as states by Barbara Fuchs in her article Conquering Islands: Contextualizing the Tempest where it says, “Caliban’s attack on Prospero’s daughter once more genders the colonizing impulses” (61). This suggests rape and it is not inhuman and it shows that Miranda is not the first woman who this has happen to. It not right, it’s evil. Caliban’s character in this book is horrible in the things that he does, he starting off has an evil monster that was born from an evil parents and he goes around causing trouble wherever he goes. As a servant, he does evil deed and by himself he is evil.
In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, there are two characters who appear to be polar opposites. The characters of Caliban and Ariel both play very important roles in the play. The term caliban is defined as “a brutish or brutalized man,” and the term ariel is defined as “a spirit of the air” (Dictionary). The definitions of these two characters names even show the huge difference in the two characters before readers or viewers even get to know the characters. There are also differences in how the two characters feel about the self-proclaimed king of the island, Prospero. However, regardless of their many differences the one thing that they do have in common is the fact that they are both oppressed by Prospero who has deemed himself king of the island and seek freedom.
The Id “knows no judgments of value: no good and evil, no morality (Freud, The Dissection of the Psychical Personality, 2004, p. 84).” This means that the Id is the part of the personality that is unorganized in the processes and only contains the instincts for biological needs for the person to live. Since the Id has no sense of morals, does not know good or evil, its main goal is to get the person whatever it needs by any means possible to thrive. The way to remember that the Id has no judgments of value is to think of it as a child. A child wines and cries until they receives food, drink or human touch. The child is so unruly that it needs somebody to control it and this would be the Ego. The Ego’s functions on the reality principle that means it keeps the Id under control by organization of the processes in the personality. The Ego is the mediator between the Id and superego which will be discussed later. Since the ego is considered a mediator it could be remembered as the brains of the operation. It keeps the Id under control by educating it and showing that if a need must be met there is a specific way to obtain it. Next is the Superego, Freud considered “the origin on conscience,” meaning that the Superego specific function is to act as the person’s conscience between good and evil (Freud, The Dissection of the Psychical Personality, 2004, p. 74). The Super ego balances out the Id
The id, ego, and superego play a vital role in a person's development of their personality. If thy work together in harmony a person will grow up to be a be a healthy mentally person.