The Challenge
of interpretation
Hamlet can be difficult to interpret for scholars and audience alike because of the complicated language and array of versions available. To start, language is clearer when set in an understandable societal context; such is the case for idioms and sayings. However, Hamlet was written over 400 years ago. A lot has changed and language isn’t as easily understood. So when it comes to reading the Shakespearean plays, many can lose the true meaning of confusing phrases, which makes interpretation challenging. At the same time, there are many versions. There are several written versions including the first quarto, second quarto, and first folio, and there are nearly infinite acted versions of the play. In addition, not only are their variations on how the play is performed, there are also complete adaptations of the Hamlet plot. With all the confusing language and variation, how can us as the reader and audience interpret Hamlet? We concluded that the best way to interpret the play is by analyzing the psychoanalytical factors at work. Emotions and reactions carry the plot forward for all variation. The minds that drive the plot remain unchanged in all variations because the characters mind and personality make up the plot. So, we took this approach of analysis when we looked at Hamlet, and we uncovered the dark thoughts and minds that drove the novel forward, and we labeled those our “bad collection”. While this might seem like an over analysis or overly deep, this level of analysis is incredibly important because critical psychoanalysis allows the audience to understand things Shakespeare didn’t intend to put in his plays. It shows us internal conflicts that perhaps Shakespeare and society faced at the time. It shows us that Hamlet isn’t merely a story but an artistic portrayal of human reality even today. I’ll even go as far to say that part of the reason Shakespeare is so famous is because of his ability to create plays that have timeless psychoanalytical conflicts that apply to people of all time periods. Overall, we understand it is incredibly difficult to interpret and understand Hamlet, but by analyzing characters at a psychological level, we gain understandings about the plot that both important and applicable to our own lives.
ANNOTATIONS
SCHOLARLY ARTICLES
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Skulsky, Harold. “‘I Know My Course’: Hamlet's Confidence.” PMLA, vol. 89, no. 3, 1974, pp. 477–486. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/461583.
In a very broad sense, this article tries to explain the relationship of notatio, outward expressions of what is within, between the main characters in the novel, especially Hamlet. The article seems to argue that there is a consequence to having the confidence to fake notatio while interpreting others physiognomy. This article uses close reading as its main mode of inquiry but it does so in a very applicable way. The author of this article ties in elements of conflicting outward actions and inward emotions from Polonius, Claudius, and Hamlet. By pulling from a variety of concrete lines in the play, the author paints a real picture of this physiognomy, notatio idea. The author did accomplish the goal of showing that notatio played a major role in the plot of the novel. This applies to the argument because overconfidence in one’s ability to interpret others while acting is dangerous and foolish and can lead to destruction. Considering the confidence in physiognomy is not an individual trait in one character but a thematic trait in multiple characters, it is safe to say that this confidence is a bad collection. (Stockton added)
Lewis, Rhodri. "Hamlet, Metaphor, and Memory." Studies in Philology, vol 109, no. 5, 2012, pp. 609-641. EBSCOhost, prx.library.gatech.edu/login url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2012583359&site=ehost-live.
The essay mainly discusses the importance memory. Focusing on the second soliloquy, Rhodri uses Hamlet’s memory of his father as evidence that his memory is what prompted the the fate of the play. The audience for this essay is merely those who have read the play Hamlet. The main mode of inquiry is close reading. The author analyzes specific passages within the play using them to support his claim. I think the author is successful in reaching his claim. He has a lot of evidence and makes good use out of the passages he chose. He then thoroughly supports his reasoning through literary analysis. This essay could fit into our website because the main idea behind the essay relates to the influence of others, or the lack of independence. Because Hamlet is consumed in his father’s words and consumed with avenging his father, Hamlet is oblivious to the consequences of his actions and the real lengths to which he affects others. (Cami added)
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PERFORMANCES
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Hamlet. Dir. Alexander Fodor. Pref. William Belchambers, Max Davis, Alexander Fodor, 2007.
Hamlet, directed by Alexander Fodor, took a dramatic turn from the plays original roots. In the 2007 adaptation, Hamlet becomes more of a supernatural film focusing on the ghost at the beginning and less on other thematic elements. Overall, the play maintains the general plot by using the original language of the play, however the feel and character list is much different. In this adaptation, some characters such as Polonius and Horatio are portrayed as women. There are several modes of inquiry used in the making of this film. Fodor used creative studies and Individual and society studies to create a modern adaptation of the original film. In addition, he also used a general idea of “Shakespeare in the Extreme.” Fodor’s interpretation is valid only as an adaptation. By creating such a modern variation, this film becomes credible in illustrating underlying thematic elements, but not accurate plot and contextual elements. This variation is useful because it uncovers the core thematic elements dealing with death and relationships that can easily relate to our bad collections. Now we can base our bad collections on the actual plot while not being as influenced by the acting. (Stockton added)
Hamlet. Theat. National Ballet of Canada. Dir. Kevin O’Day. Perf. Guillaume Cote, Piotr Stancyzk, Robert Stephen, 2012
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The Hamlet adaptation by the National Ballet of Canada provides a unique way of understanding the deeper relationship between characters. The performance is entirely danced in the ballet style, and leaves out all words and leaves music and dance as the only way to tell the story. The play is able to maintain the overall plot of the original, however, it does so by choreography that shows the relationships and interactions between characters of the tragedy. The main mode of inquiry for this adaptation is creative studies because it is such an artistic representation of the play. The choreographer had to come up with the dances that could express words without any actual speech. This source is definitely a valid play for understanding how characters interact because of the overly dramatized dance, however, the adaptation is not great for understanding the literary details of the play. This source is useful in broader terms to are argument because it highlights the psychoanalytical relationships between characters. Without the use of words, we are forced to understand the emotions of the characters. This truly sets apart our bad collections of confidence and death drive to make them stand out in the performance. (Stockton added)
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INTERNET SOURCES
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Delahoyde, Michael. “Psychoanalytic Criticism.” Washington State University Public Library.
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This website explains the practice and importance of psychoanalytic criticism. Michael explains that an author’s writing generally has deeper meanings than what is intended. The deeper meanings represent the authors subconscious slipping through the text. This is partly what makes Shakespeare such a timeless author, his writing carries psychological struggles that are common in all time periods. The author of this site used research as his main form of information because he elaborated on Freud’s concepts. This source is reliable because it is from a professor at Washington State University and because it is backed by five different credible sources. This source fits into our broader argument because all of the bad collections we identified in Hamlet have to do with psychoanalytic factors. (Stockton added)
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Byles, Joanna Montgomery. “Shakespeare and Psychoanalysis: Tragic Alternatives: Eros and Superego Revenge in Hamlet”. PsyArt 2005.
This site explores how superego carried Hamlet towards death throughout the novel. Byles argues that Hamlet’s superego slowly took over through the plot and crowded out the life aspiring regular ego. The superego that took over was aggressive and justified actions not by societal rights and wrongs but by internal justifications. This aggressive superego is, as Freud explained, what drives humans towards death (Thanatos). Basically, these psychoanalytic factors controlled the plot. The author of this site uses a combination of research, close reading, and reasoning. She pulls passages from the Text to analyze Hamlet as a character while incorporating ideas from Freud and other psychological researchers. This source is reliable because it pulls from twenty-six other credible sources, and because it was published in an online journal for the psychological study of language arts. This source is useful to our interpretation of psychoanalytical factors being a bad collection because the author goes into immense detail of how Hamlets psychology drove him towards death. (Stockton added)