PsychoAnalytic
Shakespeare
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THE MIND OF HAMLET
Presence
of Thanatos
Thanatos is described as the death drive by Sigmund Freud. The idea of Thanatos suggests that certain actions by an individual can be self-destructive. At the beginning of the play Hamlet sets his mind to revenge. Throughout the course of the play we see his superego change his opinion of right and wrong to cater to the justice of revenge. This transition triggers the self-destructive actions described by Thanatos. In the end, his actions directly lead to the death of Polonius, Laertes, Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. His actions also indirectly lead to the death of Ophelia, Gertrude and himself. Overall, his death drive is what caused Hamlet to be labeled a tragedy.
ABSENCE OF EROS
Eros is described as the drive to live by Sigmund Freud. Sadly in this play, Hamlet lacked one of the critical elements to the drive to live, love. Hamlet's absence of love stemmed from the fact that he lost his family. His father died and his mother was lost to Claudius. At the same time he lost his friends. He only had one true friend - Horatio. To cap it all off, Denmark was in a rotten state. Overall, Hamlet was placed in a situation absence to love which caused the rejection of Eros and the tendency towards Thanatos.
The Fatal Flaw of NOTATIO
Notatio is "the description of a. persons inward nature or state by means of outward signs that somehow unequivocally denote it" (Skulsky 477). Basically notatio is figuring out someones true intentions and feelings from their outward actions. In Hamlet, notatio is dangerous because all the characters purposely manipulate their external actions to deceive others of their true intentions. At the same time, those deceptive characters think they can rely on other characters physical actions to understand their true intentions. This acting trick present in the novel is hypocritical and dangerous, to act and not think other people are acting too. Hamlet centers his role in the plot as an actor pretending to be mad. Claudius and Polonius also tried to deceive their true intentions. Im sure each of those characters thought they could outsmart the others through deception but because all of them did this, they all fell victim to their own acts. Its no coincident that every deceptive person in this play ended up dead. Confidence in deception and blindness to others deceptive capabilities drove characters towards death.