7.4.2
Marxist Readings of Hamlet
Marxist Readings of Hamlet
Marxist Readings of Hamlet
Here are a few Marxist readings of the play.
Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton
- One of the leading Marxist critics, Terry Eagleton, argued that Hamlet resists playing the roles that his society expects of him (e.g. “chivalric lover, obedient revenger or future king”) but that he is “unable to find self-definition”.
- Hamlet is therefore trapped between society’s expectations of him and his own inability to redefine himself. This will eventually lead to his destruction.
James Shapiro (2005)
James Shapiro (2005)
- James Shapiro, in his book, 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare (2005), seems to offer a Marxist reading of Hamlet.
- He considers the tension in the play as resulting from the conflict between different “forces” of history in the context of an old world of “chivalry” fading away and a new society founded on Protestantism and global capitalism beginning to replace it.
Graham Holderness (1989)
Graham Holderness (1989)
- Graham Holderness (1989) sees the play as dramatizing fundamental changes in Elizabethan society.
- The “medieval world” of old Hamlet is fading into the past with Denmark no longer being ruled by the values of a “medieval warrior-king”.
- Claudius, representing a new vision of statesmanship, negotiates peace rather than engaging in battle.
Graham Holderness (1989)
Graham Holderness (1989)
- Holderness said Hamlet is “stranded between the two worlds, unable to emulate the heroic values of his father, unable to engage with the modern world of political diplomacy”.
1Introduction
2Plot Summary
2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas
2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas
2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas
2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas
2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas
3Character Profiles
3.1Hamlet
3.3Gertrude
3.4Ophelia
4Key Themes
4.1Regicide in Hamlet
4.2Madness in Hamlet
4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet
4.4Settings in Hamlet
5Writing Techniques
6Context
6.1Social & Historical Context
6.2Literary Context
6.3Performance & Textual History
7Critical Debates
7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet
7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet
Jump to other topics
1Introduction
2Plot Summary
2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas
2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas
2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas
2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas
2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas
3Character Profiles
3.1Hamlet
3.3Gertrude
3.4Ophelia
4Key Themes
4.1Regicide in Hamlet
4.2Madness in Hamlet
4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet
4.4Settings in Hamlet
5Writing Techniques
6Context
6.1Social & Historical Context
6.2Literary Context
6.3Performance & Textual History
7Critical Debates
7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet
7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet
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