Shakespeare’s Hamlet illustrates generational expectations and trauma within families. The Prince of Denmark loses his father (also called Hamlet) prior to the setting of the play and his mother Gertrude marries his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet’s father’s ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius who hoped to obtain the throne, pushing Hamlet to avenge his father’s death. Whether Hamlet is a victim or not is questioned; his father was murdered and, particularly at the beginning of the play, he is the only member of the court to mourn him. His ties to religion and commitment to family delay him committing any kind of revenge.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge remarks that Hamlet is obliged to act in ‘the spur of the moment’, implying that he acts impulsively out of circumstances and therefore, doesn’t allow himself to be victimised. I disagree with this statement; Hamlet victimises himself when he speaks of the ‘Everlasting’, metaphorically referring to God, and his ‘canon gainst self-slaughter’ preventing his ‘too solid flesh’ to ‘melt’. Shakespeare’s use of sibilance evokes pathos for the protagonist is contemplating suicide. The ‘canon’ Hamlet speaks of is the sixth of the Ten Commandments which outlaws killing of any kind. He voices his soliloquy whilst dressed in all ‘black’; the colour is symbolic of mourning and despite the expectation that a court dress this way for at least three months after the death of a monarch, Hamlet is the only character to do so. Hamlet is victimised by his religion, therefore. He feels a responsibility to mourn the deceased, refusing to act out despite Coleridge’s criticism.
Shakespeare continues to illustrate Hamlet as a victim through the character’s encounters with his father’s ghost. In Hamlet in Purgatory, Stephen Greenblatt calls the protagonist a ‘Protestant man haunted by a Catholic ghost’, a statement that can be supported by Hamlet contemplating whether ‘the spirit that (Hamlet) had seen may be a devil’ that ‘assumed a pleasing shape’. It is believed amongst Catholics that those who have sinned can redeem themselves within purgatory, a state between death and the afterlife. Whilst the ghost blames his presence on him not receiving his last rites, which would have sent him to Heaven, it can be interpreted that he himself is a devil, hence why he orders Hamlet to kill on his behalf. Greenblatt’s criticism is supported; in order for Hamlet to believe his father is a devil, he would have to accept that his father’s requests differ from those of an individual who is seeking Heaven. Hamlet is thus victimised and isolated by a ghost that other characters don’t interact with. He deals with his father’s death without the sympathy of other members of the court, Claudius remarks his Hamlet's ‘unmanly grief’, implying Hamlet displays effeminate sadness. Hamlet’s grief would be regarded by Elizabethans as a bout of severe melancholia down to an imbalance of the four humours, an excess of black vile in his bladder responsible for his depression.
However, there is evidence to counter-argue whether Hamlet is truly a victim. In Wilson Knight’s 1930 essay titled The Embassy of Death, he calls Hamlet ‘an element of evil in the state of Denmark’. Hamlet speaks dismissively of Gertrude and Ophelia, at one point stating ‘frailty, thy name is woman’, implying all women are delicate and sickly. He metaphorically refers to Ophelia as a ‘breeder of sinners’, the noun ‘breeder’ suggesting Hamlet is insulting Ophelia’s future children by likening them to animals. Alternatively, the quotation can be interpreted as a reference to Eve’s sin within Genesis for it is mentioned that her disobedience is the root cause of our tendency to sin. This interpretation is supported when Hamlet tells Ophelia to ‘get thee to a nunnery’, a noun depicting a covenant where nuns, who practice celibacy, reside. Additionally, ‘nunneries’ were what Elizabethans would call brothels where prostitutes would reside - Hamlet is so dismissive of Ophelia that it’s difficult for any audience to interpret the prince as a victim. Knight’s comments calling Hamlet ‘evil’ are supported, his derogatory remarks towards Ophelia whilst he is feigning madness are not thought through. Ophelia is so hurt by his behaviour she is driven to insanity.
Hamlet claims that Claudius ‘killed (Hamlet’s) king’, Shakespeare’s use of the pronoun ‘my’ implies Hamlet has a sense of both protectiveness and possessiveness over his father. Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius would have been regarded as unlawful and an echo of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had been his brother’s widow, which Henry VIII discovered was outlawed in Leviticus XVII. This is likely why Hamlet claims Claudius had ‘whored’ his mother, blaming him for the untrustworthy woman she has become, and describes his uncle’s introduction into the family as ‘a little more than kin, and less than kind’. He claims Claudius has denied him a ‘proper life’, preventing a meaningful relationship with his parents and taking away what should have been his position on the throne. Whilst Knight calls Hamlet ‘evil’, the lack of trust he has within his family arguably explains his decisions more so than any inherent desire to cause trouble. He continues to be melancholy throughout the play, debating whether ‘to die, to sleep’ or ‘whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer’. When he dismisses Ophelia, his mother’s actions arguably influence him doing so for he tells her ‘we will have no more marriages’, his tone blunt and unyielding.
Overall, I interpret Hamlet as a romantic who is forced into a tragedy by surrounding characters. He plans from the beginning to live in a perpetual depression after his father’s death and has no desire for any revenge lunacy until he encounters the ghost, who he later questions was even his father. He is a victim whose grief spurs him to plan a murder, an action that he questions and procrastinates until the end of the play.
Hamlet is far and away my favourite of Shakespeare's plays. It's arguably the most acclaimed as well, and rightly so. I figured it was time to introduce a bit of Shakespeare to the blog, his impact on the English language still holds up today.
Have an amazing week and let me know of what you get up to! Best,
Karisma xxxx