Using Freud's Psychology to Analyze Shakespeare's Hamlet Psychology is not a new concept to human civilization. People have been interacting between each other creating cause and effect reactions between themselves since the creation of man. These reactions can have tremendous impacts on both parties involved in these relationships. How they deal with these reactions can be analyzed in a psychological manner. Scientists have been analyzing these relationships since the 1800s, and one of the most influential psychologists was a man named Dr. Sigmund Freud. This paper shall use one of Dr. Freud’s theories to analyze one of the most famous characters in English literature. That character is William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. One of Freud’s most interesting theories was that of the Oedipus complex (this theory also has many other similar names, such Oedipal, etc.). The term was named after a character in a Greek play written by Sophocles about an ancient Greek king, Oedipus, who mistakenly killed his father and married his mother, with whom he was deeply in love with. The Oedipal stage was one of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development in a child, which came after the oral and anal stages and before the puberty stage. However, if an individual did not completely overcome a certain stage in his or her development, that individual would attempt, be it in a conscious or unconscious manner, to complete this stage at another point in his or her life. Associat... ... middle of paper ... ...ultimate infantile goal of capturing his father’s power and providing for his mother. Because of his dysfunction, he did not succeed and ultimately it was the instrument of his own death. Bibliography 1. Desmarais, Serge & Wood, Eileen & Wood, Ellen R. Green & Wood, Samuel E. (2005). Personality Theory and Assessment. In Young, M.J. (Ed.), The World of Psychology (pp.354-385). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Allyn and Bacon. 2. Diyanni, Robert. (2002). Literature – Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. (pp. 1498-1500). 3. The Oedipal crisis. Retrieved 09-DEC-04. http://faculty.uwb.edu/mgoldberg/courses/definitions/oedipal.htm 4. The Oedipal Trajectory. Retrieved 09-DEC-04. http://faculty.uwb.edu/mgoldberg/courses/definitions/oedipal.htm Comments
There is a great controversy amongst those who have read and studied Hamlet by Shakespeare. People argue whether or not Hamlet had gone mad or not. Many people believe that Hamlet had actually lost his mind, while others believe that it was all just an act. Since Hamlet is the most widely published book in the world, besides the Bible, this question has been asked and analyzed many times to little avail. The answer is open to whatever one wants to believe, which may intrigue some and bother others. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s personality changed after certain events. The play starts with him very upset over his father’s death. Then, after he saw his father’s ghost, he became full of vengeance. He seemed to have completely
Freud’s theory was developed from speculation based on
death when his mother and the king enter the room and question him on his
The issue of madness is one of major importance in this play. Is Hamlet truly mad, meaning insane? Or is he merely angry? Does he feign madness and use it as a guise? Or does he place himself so dangerously close to the line between sanity and insanity that he crosses it without even realizing it? Or is he so intelligent, cunning and in control that this is merely the playing out of his completely conceived and well-executed plan of attack? The patient is a thirty year-old male. He is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, an introspective, grieving young member of the royalty, plagued by the recent death of his father, and the hasty marriage of his mother to his uncle, Claudius. He is capable of depressing anyone around him; the King and Queen attempt to pry Hamlet from his mourning. As relations become more strained between Hamlet and Claudius, his attitude becomes destitute. He begins to withdraw himself from everyone in the castle, and spends most of his time in solitude; he is often seen walking alone, talking to himself. Upon deeper investigation, it is discovered that Hamlet is seeing the ghost of the ex-King of Denmark, Hamlet's father. The ghost becomes Hamlet's counselor, guiding him through his everyday maze of depression and confusion. It is through the ghost of his father that he learns that Claudius, the new King of Denmark, is solely responsible for his father's "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.v.26). He claims that he is told to seek revenge on his father's murder by murdering Claudius. Hamlet sees the ghost at various times over the course of the play, appearing when he is in need of help. Hamlet's condition persists, gradually getting worse, as...
Today there is more awareness about mentally ill people, and for a good reason: not because new disorders are being supposedly invented to excuse behavior, but because new disorders are being discovered. Modern psychology started in 1897 (Myers 3), and from there on, the human race slowly progressed to understanding the workings of the mind. Not everything is known, and some aspects will surely remain mysteries, but with knowledge comes the ability to be able to help people correctly, not send them off to England to their death “The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England” (IV-III-67). Therefore, through Hamlet’s actions, we can find out if Hamlet truly is insane, or whether he is really just an amazing actor.
(Act 1, Scene 2 – Act 1, Scene 5) William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, with a reputation as the greatest of all writers in the English language, as well as one of the world's pre-eminent dramatists. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most analysed plays. The play is about Hamlet, Prince of Denmark who hopes to avenge the murder of his father.
In discussion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one controversial issue had been whether Hamlet was completely sane or not when he went about his objective. Some critics argue that Hamlet is considered as “someone who is naive and irrational”. My own view is that Hamlet’s demise was due to a serious psychological disorder. Even from the beginning of Hamlet’s “ordinary world” he’s been thrown into depression. His depression helps Hamlet accept the “call to adventure” without much delay, it gives him whim of his “tests, allies and enemies”, and his depression even has influence on the “approach” to the matter at hand. Unfortunately, his depression creates an “ordeal” and even manipulates the conclusion of the “resurrection
Hamlet is considered a classic play that tells the story of revenge, written by, William Shakespeare. Before My Eyes is a novel, by Caroline Bock, that shows the truth behind believing what we want, not what we see. These two works have psychological illness in common. Hamlet and Barkley are both mentally ill; the Prince of Denmark is depressed and bipolar while the lonely and obsessive 21 year-old is schizophrenic.
Hamlet is depressed from the exposition of the play. Why? It is a month after his father’s death. Why can't he just continue on with his life? Hamlet’s overwhelming depression first manifests itself after the visit from his father as a ghost. His father warns him of the deceptive and wretched qualities of his uncle Claudius. Hamlet suffers a great deal of sadness, feeling helpless in his father's request to exact revenge against Claudius and becoming distrusting of the incestuous nature of his mother. Hamlet, however rational, normal, and capable he may have been before the play begins, is unable to think rationally, instead over-analyzing every detail. This meticulous analysis cripples him, rendering him unable to make any sort of rational decision. This inability to make decisions is rooted in the intense internal struggle Hamlet must overcome: he cannot imagine himself killing someone and he cannot imagine himself not avenging his father’s murder. This duality of conscience causes Hamlet to spiral into depression and he must examine the depths of his soul before he makes a decision. To make a decision Hamlet must answer the quintessential Hamlet-ian question, “To be or not to be?” (Shakespeare 3.1.56). Hamlet is depressed and unable to act until he has an epiphany in Act V, wherein he must just “Let be”.
The way we see ourselves is often reflected in the way we act. Hamlet views himself as different to those young nobles around him such as Fortinbras and Laertes. This reality leads us to believe that over time he has become even more motivated to revenge his father's death, and find out who his true friends are. How can you be honest in a world full of deceit and hate? His seven soliloquies tell us that while the days go by he grows more cunning as he falls deeper into his madness. This fact might have lead Hamlet to believe that suicide is what he really wants for his life's course.
The word manipulation is most commonly defined as exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one’s own advantage. The most common manipulation used to influence human behaviour is known as psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behaviour of others through underhanded deception. In the tragic play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the author demonstrates the use of manipulation through the two main characters Prince Hamlet and King Claudius. The character fulfill their needs through dishonesty and learn that the effects of manipulating other has serious consequences that is able to manifest into a powerful force that consumes all aspects of one’s self. Just like how Hamlet uses his actions to manipulate the people around him to avenge his father’s death and how Claudius uses his words, actions, as well as his power as king of Denmark to manipulate people into fulfilling his needs. Through these characters the readers learn that by putting up a false mask of deception one loses their self as the lies take over.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the influence of Hamlet’s psychological and social states display his dread of death as well as his need to avenge his father’s death. In turn, these influences illuminate the meaning of the play by revealing Hamlet’s innermost thoughts on life, death and the effect of religion. Despite the fact that Hamlet’s first instincts were reluctance and hesitation, he knows that he must avenge his father’s death. While Hamlet is conscious of avenging his father’s death, he is contemplating all the aspects of death itself. Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father is affected by social, psychological and religious influences.
The Complex Character of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.
Throughout Shakespeare’s career he superficially wrote about love, ironic tragedy, drama, and so much more. In his play, Hamlet, he wrote about a character, that I think, could be diagnosed with a psychological disorder, known as Bipolar disorder. In this play there are many signs of his bipolar-ness including: being happy, then all of a sudden being furious, “Behaving impulsively and engaging in pleasurable, high-risk behaviors.”(Bipolar Disorder) Hamlet’s behavior in the play relates to a story that took place in Texas, in 2004. A 35 year old named Dena Schlosser killed her 11 month year old daughter for no apparent reason but later still wanted to take it to court to say plead that she was innocent. Both of these stories are interesting in the sense that neither of them realized that they had such a disorder
In writing Hamlet, William Shakespeare plumbed the depths of the mind of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to such an extent that this play can rightfully be considered a psychological drama.