¶ … Prince Hamlet in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and Oedipus in "Oedipus King" by Sophocles In Aristotle's literary discourse, "Poetics," he discusses his theory of tragedy, wherein he introduces the concepts of tragic flaw or "hamartia," which serves as the catalyst for the protagonist's downfall or the tragedy of the story to happen. He determines a tragedy as a "drama" that brings about a "sorrowful conclusion, arousing fear and pity in the audience" (Roberts and Jacobs, 1998:1189)
Although both Hamlet and Oedipus suffer at the end of their respective stories, Hamlet can at least be viewed as having succeeded in his goal, whereas Oedipus, although successful in discovering Laius' killer, can only be viewed as successful in that he enacted his own punishment upon himself. This distinction reveals the key difference between either play, because it demonstrates the true "enemy" in either case and goes some way towards explaining the "longer-range Oedipus-Hamlet complex," wherein parricidal tendencies may be viewed as a desire to confront authority and whatever social and cultural hegemony exists (Gillespie 85)
Thus, understanding Hamlet's hubris requires an appreciation of the way in which his character functions as a kind of evolved Oedipus who has shed the character traits responsible for his downfall the first time while retaining the tragic flaw that helps to define the character. Where Oedipus represents the destruction of familial bonds through ignorant hubris, Hamlet represents the destruction of all interpersonal relationships through an all-consuming hubris in his own knowledge and intelligence; understanding this helps to answer "the so-called 'Hamlet problem' -- in brief, why he does not just go out […] and dispatch his uncle straight away, without all this shilly-shallying?" (Searle 324-325)
Hamlet decides much the same thing when he learns of his father's murder at the hands of his uncle, when he remarks "The time is out of joint: O. cursed spite, / that ever I was born to set it right!" (Shakespeare 1
To drop the Fortinbras scenes from the play, as is frequently done in modern productions, is to destroy Shakespeare's dramatic plan. (Holzknecht 253) Holzknecht hints at the dramatic plan of the work and also gives us the missing final peace in the puzzle of Shakespeare's message
His speeches are full of "powerful words" in which the themes of the anatomical body, of disease and rotting and death are "actualized." (Ewbank) for example, in the very beginning before he has even witnessed the ghost he wishes "O that this too solid flesh would melt
." (Triggs) it was common in this era for young, even foppish, romantics to be painted with skulls over which they brooded or considered their time on earth, while mystics tended to be consumed more with their spirituality, as Jerome who "pursues his characteristic work, which involves primarily the contemplation of divinity
Shortly after taking up his dead father's command for vengeance in the first act, Hamlet begins this critical process of dissolving the previous ties to his identity by disavowing his ties to his mother and uncle. He cries, Frailty, thy name is woman! -- A little month; or ere those shoes were old/With which she followed my poor father's body/…all tears…O God! A beast that wants discourse of reason / Would have mourned longer, -- married with mine uncle,/My father's brother; but no more like my father / Than I to Hercules (Shakespeare) Hamlet's disgust -- and emotional distancing of himself -- from his forbears is readily apparent in this quotation
As Maurice Charney states, "There is a Hamlet of words that we all know almost by heart, and there is a Hamlet without words that may be more unfamiliar to us, but these two Hamlets cannot be separated in the play we see acted on the stage" (457). This point underscores the observation by Anderson, that there are almost two hundred references to the eye and/or the ear in the first two Acts of Hamlet alone (Anderson 301)
The players' dumb-show serves as a prologue to the main drama, which drives home the final thrust to Claudius' conscience. The English tradition associated the dumb-show with imitations of life and later with comic pantomime acts (Lust 2)
35-41) Here Hamlet recognizes God's divine part in creation but he cannot place the soul in a place where he feels at ease. Hamlet's society reflects the "Neoplatonic wonderment at mankind" (xxviii), writes Mowat, a time of "intellectual rebirth and religious reformation in Denmark" (Blits)
The failure breaks the man. Harold Bloom agrees with this notion, adding that on his way to England an "abscess or cyst" (Bloom 68) breaks "inwardly" (68) in Hamlet's consciousness
Sure he that made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and godlike reason To fust in us unus'd. (Shakespeare IV
But I am going to do something worthwhile, and do it right." (Friedlander, 2005) In this scene there is the introduction of a different type of weapon, the rapier which by tradition of the time was used in games instead of in war or battle
In this attempt he encourages his mother to relinquish the marriage that she has with Claudius. But she cannot do so because according to her honor refers to saving face (Burch 46)
Because Hamlet failed to act in the times when he had ample opportunity, his indecisive flaw eventually destroyed him. And this makes his indecisiveness to be a tragic flaw (Halliday 74)
Hamlet refers to himself as a "rogue and a peasant slave" and a muddy-mettled and dull rascal who cannot take action just like a John-a-dreams. He continues degrading himself in his fiery speech and decides to do something to revenge the death of his father (Phillip 281)
The overcoming of the flaw by Hamlet is seen here when he resigns to the fact that what is to happen will happen. The death of his mother causes him much rage that he kills Claudius and Laertes (Thomas 49)
When his mother is killed, then the reason for not killing Claudius disappears and he makes the decision to kill his him and avenge his father. His indecisiveness does cost him his life and that of his mother who was the one reason for his living (Utter 137)
Attachment to the father comes later through interaction with the male parent. It is not innate like the mother/child relationship (Childers 214)