7.2.2

Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

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Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

Other prominent critics in the early decades of the 20th century treated Hamlet as a psychological study - as if Hamlet was a real person rather than a construct in a drama.

Coleridge on Hamlet's character

Coleridge on Hamlet's character

  • Hartley Coleridge advised that we should “consider Hamlet as a real person”.
  • The question of delay was also considered the central ‘problem’ of the play.
Bradley on Hamlet

Bradley on Hamlet

  • A.C. Bradley’s Shakespearean Tragedy (1904) was especially influential.
  • Bradley saw the prince as suffering from a psychological disorder – a depression or “melancholy” – which also had the figure of Gertrude at its root cause.
  • Hamlet’s suicidal feelings result from his mother’s behaviour or what Bradley describes as “the moral shock of the sudden ghastly disclosure of his mother’s true nature”.
Impact of Gertrude's incest

Impact of Gertrude's incest

  • Gertrude’s “incestuous wedlock" results in Hamlet's whole mind being "poisoned” against all women.
  • This leads to his treatment of Ophelia: “He can never see Ophelia in the same light again: she is a woman, and his mother is a woman”.
  • Hamlet judges Ophelia by what he takes to be his mother’s standards and is overcome with feelings of disgust.
TS Eliot on Gertrude

TS Eliot on Gertrude

  • TS Eliot also placed Gertrude at the heart of his criticism of the play.
  • In a 1919 essay, he argued that the play was an “artistic failure” because Hamlet’s “disgust is occasioned [caused] by his mother” but Gertrude is so “insignificant” a character that she cannot convincingly be represented as a plausible cause of Hamlet’s feelings.
  • In failing to develop Gertrude as a character, Shakespeare cannot convince the audience that she is the cause of the intense feelings of disgust felt by her son.
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1

Introduction

1.1

Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1Introduction to Hamlet1.1.2The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story1.1.3Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet1.1.4Introduction to Social Issues Raised
2

Plot Summary

2.1

Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1Act 1, Scene 12.1.2Act 1, Scene 22.1.3Act 1, Scene 32.1.4Act 1, Scenes 4-5
2.2

Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1Act 2, Scene 12.2.2Act 2, Scene 2
2.3

Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events2.3.2Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas2.3.3Act 3, Scene 22.3.4Act 3, Scene 32.3.5Act 3, Scene 4
2.4

Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1Act 4, Scene 12.4.2Act 4, Scenes 2-32.4.3Act 4, Scene 42.4.4Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events2.4.5Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas2.4.6Act 4, Scene 62.4.7Act 4, Scene 7
2.5

Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events2.5.2Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events2.5.3Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas
3

Character Profiles

3.1

Hamlet

3.1.1Hamlet's Speech & Mind3.1.2Hamlet's Heroic Status3.1.3Hamlet's State of Mind3.1.4Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking
3.2

Claudius

3.2.1Claudius' Crime3.2.2Changing Impressions of Claudius
3.3

Gertrude

3.3.1Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude3.3.2Gertrude's Character3.3.3Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet
3.4

Ophelia

3.4.1Ophelia
3.5

Polonius

3.5.1Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia3.5.2Polonius' Spying & Death
3.6

Laertes

3.6.1Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia3.6.2Laertes' Character Traits
4

Key Themes

4.1

Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1Regicide in Hamlet
4.2

Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1Madness in Hamlet
4.3

Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1Guilt in Hamlet4.3.2Punishment in Hamlet
4.4

Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet
5

Writing Techniques

5.1

Structure

5.1.1Structure of Hamlet5.1.2'Play Within a Play' Structure5.1.3Play-Acting Motif
5.2

Form

5.2.1Soliloquy5.2.2Comedy
5.3

Imagery

5.3.1Imagery of Corruption & Decay5.3.2Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume
5.4

Language

5.4.1Word Usage & Hendiadys5.4.2Questions & Classical Allusions
6

Context

6.1

Social & Historical Context

6.1.1Elizabeth I & Succession6.1.2Cosmic & Social Hierarchy6.1.3Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism6.1.4Regicide6.1.5The Reformation
6.2

Literary Context

6.2.1Seneca Tragedy6.2.2The Revenge Tragedy
6.3

Performance & Textual History

6.3.1Performance History of Hamlet6.3.2Textual History of Hamlet
7

Critical Debates

7.1

18-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1Introduction to Critical Debates7.1.218th Century Commentary on Hamlet7.1.3Romantic Commentary on Hamlet
7.2

20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1Freudian Response to Hamlet7.2.2Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.3

Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1Introduction to Feminist Criticism7.3.2Feminist Readings of Hamlet7.3.3Presentation of Ophelia
7.4

Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1Introduction to Marxist Criticisms7.4.2Marxist Readings of Hamlet

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    Who is a root cause of Hamlet's **"melancholy"**, according to A.C. Bradley? Multiple choice
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Freudian Response to Hamlet

Introduction to Feminist Criticism