hamlet psychological lens essay

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What Can Psychoanalysis Tell Us About Hamlet?

What does a psychoanalytic interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet involve, and how does literature help us to understand psychoanalysis?

Hamlet is often regarded as Shakespeare’s greatest and most difficult play. Set in a fictional version of Denmark, it follows the tragedy which unfolds between Prince Hamlet, his family, and the court. This play has historically been scrutinized in a psychoanalytic mode and so functions well as an introduction to psychoanalytic interpretations of literature. We begin by summarizing the plot of Hamlet. We then move on to discuss elements of psychoanalysis and expand on the theory of Jacques Lacan in particular. We then conclude by analyzing Lacanian interpretations of the play and relating aspects of Hamlet to core Lacanian concepts.

What Happens in Hamlet?

After the death of his father, the King of Denmark, Prince Hamlet learns from his father’s ghost that he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, who has now married Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. Filled with grief and a desire for revenge, Hamlet feigns madness as he plots to avenge his father’s death.

As Hamlet grapples with his plan, his relationships become strained. He rejects Ophelia, his love interest, and becomes suspicious of everyone around him. Hamlet stages a play called “The Mousetrap” to gauge Claudius’s reaction and confirm his guilt. During a confrontation with his mother, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, Ophelia’s father, thinking he is Claudius. This exacerbates the tensions in the kingdom, and Ophelia, driven mad by her father’s death and Hamlet’s rejection, drowns herself.

Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, returns to Denmark seeking revenge for his family’s demise. Claudius manipulates him into challenging Hamlet to a fencing duel, in which Laertes will use a poisoned sword. Meanwhile, Claudius conspires to poison Hamlet with a poisoned cup of wine. In the climactic duel, both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned sword. Queen Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine intended for Hamlet and dies. As Hamlet realizes his impending death, he kills Claudius with the poisoned sword and reveals the truth about his father’s murder. As the play reaches its tragic conclusion, Hamlet appoints his friend Horatio to tell his story, and Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, assumes the throne of Denmark.

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Please check your inbox to activate your subscription, freud, lacan, and psychoanalysis .

What is psychoanalysis ? Psychoanalysis is a way of theorizing the mind and a method for treating mental disorders. At its core, psychoanalysis seeks to explore and understand the unconscious mind, which Sigmund Freud —the founder of psychoanalysis—believed contains thoughts, memories, desires, and impulses that are outside of conscious awareness but still influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

It is important to stress at this stage that psychoanalysis is a discipline with various schools and approaches and that it is important not to fixate on one of these as the psychoanalytic approach. This article is going to examine a psychoanalytic interpretation of Hamlet based on the theories of Jacques Lacan .

Let us first introduce Lacan and his work before moving on to his analysis of the play. Jacques Lacan was and remains the most influential post-Freudian psychoanalyst, with the possible competition of Carl Jung , and it is the diversity of his intellectual interests which sets his work apart from many other psychoanalysts. In particular, his engagement with various philosophers (and their engagement with his work in turn) has led Lacan to be seen as expanding on some of the philosophical implications of Freud’s work while at the same time taking psychoanalysis in a direction of his own.

It is difficult to underestimate Lacan’s influence on French philosophy and intellectual life more generally. During the 1960s, many important philosophers—including Jean Hyppolite, Michel Foucault , Gilles Deleuze , Luce Irigara, and Julia Kristeva —attended his seminars. Although much of Lacan’s earlier work can be seen as working out some of the implications of Freud’s work—and involved strident criticisms of other psychoanalysts for deviating too far from the Freudian framework—Lacan’s later work is particularly original and figured as an alternative conception of psychoanalysis to that which Freud supported.

Lacan’s style can be characterized by its formalization, which increased throughout his career. We might follow Adrian Johnston (to whom much of this article is indebted) in suggesting that this move is, in part, a response to the many and various critical flights of fancy which Freud has faced as a result of his deceptively user-friendly use of natural language. It is for this reason that Lacan’s works are often full of complicated-looking diagrams, and his favored analogical subject is mathematics.

Lacan’s Three Registers: The Imaginary, The Symbolic, The Real

Lacan’s analysis of human beings in terms of three different registers or aspects constitutes one of, if not the , characteristic conceptual mechanisms within his philosophy. These registers are the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real . Lacan’s oeuvre is often periodized in terms of the emphasis he placed on each of these registers: the 1930s and 40s focusing on the Imaginary, the 50s on the Symbolic, and the 60s and 70s on the Real.

The Imaginary is the arena of consciousness, of self-awareness. It is the area associated with everyday reality, with fiction, with simulation. The Imaginary is where we mistake the Real for the Symbolic and vice versa —when, for instance, we load incidental occurrences with significance, a pattern that is constitutive of paranoia and delusion.

The Symbolic was originally theorized such that it had a manifestly intimate relationship with language. This initial theorization related the Symbolic closely to ideas of symbolic order: to customs, institutions, mores, and norms which govern society. Linguistic customs, mores, and norms are some of the most powerful and the most diffuse ones. Lacan’s interaction with developments in linguistics led him to model his conception of the unconscious closely on emergent conceptions of syntax, such that we could reasonably say that the structure of the unconscious is, if not the structure of language, then the structure of the structure of language.

The Real is arguably Lacan’s most difficult concept. The difficulty of the concept is intrinsic to it. At certain points in Lacan’s work, it seems to be closely related to—if not the direct equivalent of—the Kantian notion of ‘things in themselves.’ This developed into an emphasis on fullness and plenitude and the suggestion that the Real is a space of concreteness, absent of antagonism. These antagonisms are insertions of the Symbolic: “only through the power of language can material being in itself be said to be “missing” things.”

This idea developed further into an idea of the Real that reintroduces, if not antagonism, then certainly tension in the form of a conception of the Real as the convergence of opposites. Lacan’s Real developed an ever-proliferating range of features as his career went on.

Hamlet presents a number of opportunities to explore these Lacanian ideas. Certainly, his famous (and controversial) theory of ‘sexuation’ appears relevant to an analysis of the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. This was an account of sexual difference which was represented by a non-biological set of subject positions, which held that sexed subjects were necessarily out of sync with one another. Thus the famous Lacanian edict: “there is no sexual relationship.”

Lacan on Hamlet and Fantasy

Lacan deals with Hamlet explicitly too, and his lecture on the play raises a number of interesting questions. One question revolves around the nature of the fantasy. Firstly, there is the relationship between desire and the signifier, which is the subject the essay begins with. The signifier is a kind of opposing concept to the symbol, in that a symbol is something that “represents something for someone,” whereas the signifier “represents a subject for another signifier.”

It is the relationship between desire and a signifier that Hamlet reveals. Hamlet is the image of the level of subjectivity of a signifier—“there is a level on which it can be said that his fate is expressed in terms of a pure signifier.” Hamlet embodies the idea of signifiers as expressions of fate, which is to say, expressions of the location of human beings in relation to vehicles of meaning rather than vice versa .

Lacan’s essay explores Hamlet as the ‘drama of an individual subjectivity,’ a phrase intimately bound up in the idea of fantasy. Fantasy is, for Lacan, an ambiguous concept because it appears to draw together both the deepest unconscious and surface-level awareness of oneself. The fantasy has meaning—which is to say, it is rescued from being absurd precisely by the unconscious interpretation of it. The unconscious level is how we understand Hamlet’s distraction from his task, and the significance of Ophelia in the play is making this aspect of the fantasy explicit, in forcing Hamlet’s negativity to the fore. This is why Lacan is able to say that Ophelia is, if not the most important character in the play, the character that is most emblematic of the play’s intentions.

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By Luke Dunne BA Philosophy & Theology Luke is a graduate of the University of Oxford's departments of Philosophy and Theology, his main interests include the history of philosophy, the metaphysics of mind, and social theory.

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Friday, August 9, 2013

A psychoanalytic reading of hamlet.

, tr. James Strachey, Avon, N.Y. 1965. p.296.

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DOI: 10.1177/00030651070550021601
Corpus ID: 31230105

Hamlet and Psychoanalytic Experience

P. Schwaber
Published in Journal of the American… 1 June 2007
Art, Psychology

7 Citations

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Hamlet’s Psychoanalytic Analysis

This essay will delve into a psychoanalytic analysis of the character Hamlet from William Shakespeare’s play. It will explore the psychological complexities of Hamlet, including his motivations, inner conflicts, and emotional states. The piece will discuss how concepts from psychoanalytic theory, such as the Oedipus complex and existential angst, can be applied to understand Hamlet’s actions and the thematic depth of the play. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Analysis.

How it works

Hamlet stands out as the most popular William Shakespeare’s tragedies. The play is categorized as drama, literature, and philosophy and the world admits its artistic stature. Besides the poetic language used in the play, the appeal of the play lies in Hamlet’s character. He is obliged to avenge the death of his father and in the process; Hamlet has to face duty, ethics and morality problems. Hamlet has to deal with issues that have been daunting human beings for centuries.

Hamlet depicts a complex character through his reluctance to act and his indecision.

According to Freudian critics, Hamlet’s character is catalyzed by his father mother son unstable relationship. Based on this argument, Hamlet is bothered, and he is eventually jealous of his uncle. Going by other psychoanalytic critics, Hamlet’s character is catalyzed by his lack of moral resolution and courage. Hamlet’s indecision signifies moral inadequacy that he overcomes when it is too late. The theme of morality is evident when Hamlet is weighed down by virtue, and he is confused trying to find out what life and death means. After his father dies, Hamlet thinks genuinely about what life means and how it ends mean. He wonders what happened after people die, whether people go to heaven when they are murdered and whether kings have a free ticket to heaven.

Hamlet thinks that the idea of dying is not very bad, but he is afraid of the uncertainty of afterlife. The fear drives him away from suicide even though he considered the aspect. Hamlet deeply contemplates the moral actions of those alive, but he decides when he sees Yorick’s skull. Hamlet loved and respected Yorick, and on seeing his skull, he realizes that death wipes out the disparities that people have. The play has many bodies at the end, but although eight of the characters die, the play does not fully answer the question about morality. The play does not solve the questions about afterlife, death, and suicide.

Both psychoanalytic arguments look into Hamlet’s motivation. Nonetheless, the Renaissance drama was not based on motivation, by moral standing or by psychological character. The Renaissance drama focused on presenting characters with ethical and moral standings and who have to deal with dilemmas. In the play, Shakespeare presents the battle between an intelligent man and the will of God. Hamlet is torn between his role as an avenger and his fate. His father’s death distresses him, and he is angry at his mother for moving on too fast. Hamlet does not consider his love for his mother. He only considers her lack of regard to his father’s memory. By directly accomplishing his role as an avenger, the play would lack theological and moral complexity. Hamlet studies theology, and this confuses him. His theological knowledge confuses him and exaggerates his feelings. An ordinary avenger would consider the ghost’s commission enough.

Nonetheless, since Hamlet knows that otherworldly apparitions are unreliable, he does not immediately act on the ghost’s advice. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder (Shakespeare). Furthermore, Hamlet is not sure whether his father was pure of sin when he was murdered. He is not sure whether his father was condemned to hell and this boosts Hamlet’s notion of injustice and creates doubt on the ghost’s advice.

At first, Hamlet acts mad and crazy to drive people into believing that he is harmless as he probed Claudia’s involvement and his father’s death. Polonius, the plumber says, Though this be madness, yet there is method in it (Shakespeare). Polonius makes a right and also the wrong argument because according to psychology, there is no clear line dividing sane and insane. Polonius falls into Hamlet’s plan by believing that he mad because he is genuinely in love with Ophelia. However, as the play continues, Hamlet behaves more erratically, and through his actions, he loses a grip from reality. It becomes difficult for him to manage emotional issues. Hamlet ends up enduring physical violence despite the deep stress. It shows that he has more significant problems and he may not just be acting crazy.

Hamlet’s agitation is high when he talks to the women. Even though he cares for both female characters, Hamlet is suspicious of them. He thinks that Gertrude, his mother, remarried too fast. He argues that her fast action to remarry means that she did not love her first husband. The play reveals that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but after he starts acting mad, he thinks that Ophelia, his mother, Polonius, and Claudius are collaborating. This is, however, an illusion since Ophelia obeys her monarch and her father. The misjudgment illustrates that Hamlet has lost touch with reality due to madness. The play only has two female characters, and they both die. The scarcity of the women in the play highlights the minimal role of women in Hamlet and society. Hamlet feels that the women have let him down and he quickly points out their flaws. According to him, Ophelia is a victim. His attitude towards women reveals his sexist nature and does not tell much about the women.

Hamlet’s indecisive nature does not indicate weakness, but it is because he extensively understands due to his extensive understanding of the moral dilemma that he has to deal with. He does not want to act unjustly, but he is afraid that he is failing to avenge. He deeply contemplates on the issue until he is sure that his indecisiveness is due to cowardice or moral standing. He ends up misjudging Ophelia and his mother, and he even forgets his mother’s love. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s intelligence to create internal conflict, making it easy for people to relate to Hamlet’s s feelings. He is timeless since regardless of the century, country or person, everyone has experienced what Hamlet goes through. It could be the loss of a father, a divorce or any drastic change in life. Some people may not think of suicide, but they question life and the afterlife. Hamlet questions everything that he has gone through including betrayal, love, anger, and depression. Hamlet’s situation represents the Biblical notion of turning the other cheek. He hesitates to take revenge, not because he is a coward but because he thinks it is unjust.

Everyone experiences struggle and, in some instances, they have to decide whether turning the other cheek is the best thing to do. The play includes themes of revenge, love, betrayal, death and right and wrong. The topics relate to everyone because Hamlet’s experiences happen in real life and resonate with everyone. Nonetheless, the primary battle is in his head as he contemplates whether to be or not to be Hamlet’s indecisiveness makes him mad.

Works-Cited

Hamlet, Shakespeare W. “Prince of Denmark.” The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene ii. London and Glasgow: Collins (1960): 1141.

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A PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET

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William Shakespeare's Hamlet has long transcended the boundaries of topical Danish politics or even the sixteenth-seventeenth century exigencies of British Elizabethan-Jacobean theatre and political history, to be merely the study/evolution of the man called Hamlet. Thoughtful, argumentative, philosophical, passionate and filial, Hamlet's predicament in the quest for his father's death-revenge, may be likened to one who is entrapped and crippled in various ways, not least of which, is his own mental universe. Hamlet epitomises man in his quintessentially thoughtful frame who must weigh and consider his actions, before giving in to the excesses of passions. His excessive rationality must find itself camouflaged in madness, in extreme irrationality, as it were, to restore his basic sanity in a locale constantly plagued by state politics. Hamlet champions the state of the 'modern' and contemporary individual, whose identity is constantly challenged by multiple crises of postmodernistic existentialism, state politics, globalized competition, technological advancement and her supreme rationality. Hamlet's predicament has transcended his individual limits to attain a measure of plurisignificance that may only be interpreted as mythical, enjoying relevances beyond time and culture-identities, both within and beyond the classroom. This paper is a brief analysis of the identity-metaphors unleashed by Hamlet himself, and which are now an integral part of our thought-universe, true to the conditions of a veritable myth. 217 words

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This paper focused on hesitancy as a character's flaw from the Freudian psychoanalysis focal point. Hamlet's uncertainly is in particular recognized with his herbal complicated which frames his oblivious love for his father. Freud's thoughts of man's hid favor for annihilation and eradication might also structure the motive for appreciation Hamlet's craving for dying and suicide as proven by using his famous monologs. Ridiculousness and agnosticism in Hamlet's things to do reflect the intrinsic human habits and flaw. The paper suggests that Hamlet's play ought to be remembered for slicing facet writing guides for its lavishness in examples of widespread human conduct, for example, the recurrence that is herbal to human things to do an exceptional events. Educators need to enlarge beneath study's interest to the nearness of hesitancy and uncertainly as a flaw that can instantaneous pulverization as Hamlet does.

Paul Kottman

Žan Koprivnik

Hamlet: Critical Insights

Robert C . Evans

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Exploring Hamlet: Using the Lens of Literary Criticism

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General Hamlet/Shakespeare Criticism
Critical Lens Specific Criticism

Exploring Hamlet: Using the Lens of Literary Criticism to Examine a Pivotal Text

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most examined pieces of literature in the canon. As the Arden introduction points out, by the 1990s, 400 pieces of literary criticism of Hamlet were appearing PER YEAR. In light of this fact, what can we possibly add to the discussion? Perhaps the best way to access this text is to use some of this literary criticism to help inform our reaction to the play. Surely, as unique 21st century readers, we have our own way of accessing this 16th century text. With a little guidance and reading, with research and planning, we can find our own way to speak not only to the text itself but to the literary critics who have paved the way before us.

Our goal: To write a literary essay that puts forth a thesis on some aspect of Hamlet, as seen through the lens of one tradition of criticism.

Literary Critical Traditions, Defined:

Freudian : Freudian literary criticism uses the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud to look at a work through the psychological status of the author or a character. This construction inevitably includes a discussion of the id, ego, and superego, in addition to consideration of Oedipal and Electra complexes. Think about an essay about the workings of the subconscious or about the mother/son and father/daughter relationships.

Feminist : Feminist criticism focuses on how literature displays the workings of the patriarchy and in some ways actually reinforces male-dominated concepts of the world. Think about an essay that would look at the power and rebellion of female characters in the play.

Formalism : Formalism treats each piece of literature as its own entity, divorced from a connection to history or the social forces that may have influenced its creation. Formalists include New Critics who never stray from the text itself in examination. Think about an essay that would focus on words and the way words are used in the play.

Marxist : Marxist criticism looks at literature as a reflection of class and economics, regarding particularly how capitalism exerts its influence on characters and events in the world of the text. Think about an essay that would look at the role of class or the economy in the play.

New Historicism : New Historicism can, crudely, be regarded as the opposite of Formalism. New Historicists think we can ONLY understand texts by looking at history and society that formed their creation. Think about an essay considering the role of history or historical views of mental illness or marriage.

Reader-Response Criticism : Reader-Response critics contend that we can only understand any text in relation to ourselves or in relation to what the writing DOES to the reader. Think about an essay where the role of the reader (or viewer in this case) is the focus.

Mythological/Jungian : Mythological Criticism views literature through the lens of myth, with archetypes (hero, villain, scapegoat), classic plot structures (journey, quest, loss of innocence) and symbolism (typically of nature) permeating the text. Think about an essay that would look at Hamlet as an archetypal hero or examine symbolism in the play.

Steps in the Process Addressed in this LibGuide :

RESEARCH . Find valuable texts that inform your thinking. Consider the above schools of criticism. Your search may include recent texts from journals or older material.

READ. Spend time diving into critical writing. Choose one text that draws a particular response from you. You may agree with it or disagree with it; either response can be meaningful and lead you to draw interesting conclusions.

Some Important Points :

You’ll be using MLA format and will produce a Works Cited page.

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Nov 10, 2021

Freud’s Psychoanalytical Approach and Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Shakespeare once said: “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players”. Having in mind that people never truly show their true colors, this is quite true when one comes to think of it. They are players that act on a vast stage daily. What face one can show to one another isn’t necessarily one’s true face. People can be seen from various and numerous perspectives, depending on the situation.

Freud’s psychoanalytical approach is a form of literary criticism used to interpret literary works through psychoanalytical lenses. It deals with characters and their psyches, complexes, and mental illnesses. When it comes to Freudian psychoanalysis, it is essential to note that all of Freud’s work depends on the notion of the unconscious. This is the part of the mind that lies beyond consciousness and has a strong influence on our actions. Freud considers that the unconscious determines our behavior rather than the conscious part of our mind. He divided the human mind into what we are aware of and what we are not aware of. Freud introduced numerous notions of psychoanalysis and literary criticism, such as the notion of repression, sublimation, and oedipal complexes.

The notion of repression is related to anything we “forget” or ignore in terms of unresolved conflicts, unadmitted desires, or traumatic past events. Therefore, we tend to push these events back to the unconscious part of our mind and we do not want to deal with them. This act of pushing them aside into the darkness is called repression. Freud divides the human mind into two main parts, the conscious and the unconscious. Repression occurs in the unconscious and comes to manifest itself through three methods: dreams, slips of the tongue, and humor. Therefore, the main difference between suppression and repression is that while dealing with suppression, we tend to suppress our feelings and thoughts voluntarily, leaving them in the subconscious part. It is there but we do not always bring it to the fore; we are not always aware of it. We’ll have to unlock it for it to be present. Whereas repression is not voluntary, and we do not have access to it. This kind of psyche is also divided into three different parts, each carrying a certain function: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. The ego (Conscious) is one’s sense of identity. The Id (Unconscious) represents our instinctive repressed desires that are mainly present in the unconscious. The Superego (Conscience) is seen as equivalent to our conscience, representing our moral center that enables us to differentiate between right and wrong, what is allowed and not allowed.

Oedipus complex is when a male infant develops the desire to eliminate the father and become the sexual partner of his mother. To attain the mother, they must get rid of the father. According to Freud, the infant boy is born and goes through three main stages: the oral, the anal, and the phallic. In the oral phase, the child is completely dependent on his mother, whether in the womb or outside. When the child starts breastfeeding, the boy derives sustenance, pleasure, and he connects with his mother. There is no clear separation between the body of the mother and the body of the child. When the child starts eating solid food, he grows into the anal phase. This causes him a certain difficulty because he must exert some physical effort to defecate. In this phase, the child starts separating from the mother. Following the anal phase is the phallic phase when the child becomes aware of sexual urges manifested in phallic erections. This is when the child develops the awareness of their sexual desires and instincts. According to Freud, when the child moves from one stage to another to eventually reach the phallic stage, the father comes in and realizes that the child is attached to the mother and tries to break this attachment. He intimidates his child with the “fear of castration.” The child learns through the father’s order implementation that he cannot attain his mother. Now, he tries to identify with the father and copy his behavior and looks for a replacement for the mother. If the boy does not overcome this attachment to his mother, Freud claims that this leads to homosexuality, since the boy cannot find a mother replacement and cannot get attracted to another woman.

“Castration complex” is something that boys and men are afraid of. They are afraid of losing the penis not only because it’s a male organ, but because it has something to do with patriarchal power. If the man were to lose his phallus, he loses the privileges that come along with it. Therefore, this complex is a huge "motif" for the boy, for not carrying on with the obsession with his mother. As such, works of literature can be analysed according to these Freudian notions. Hamlet being one of the most known plays by William Shakespeare makes it prone to many analyses. It is one of the most famous Revenge Tragedies and one of the greatest plays ever written in the history of Drama. Although it was first performed during the early 17h century, the play is still highly influential in our modern-day society. When looking at the play from a Freudian psychoanalytical lens, hidden complexes and internalized misogyny start to slowly uncover themselves.

Oedipus complex refers to the psychosexual desires that occur during the phallic stage, which "drives" the boy to initiate possessiveness with the mother. This creates a sense of rivalry and competitiveness against the father. This notion comes from the Greek play by Sophocles Oedipus who unintentionally killed his father and unknowingly married his mother. Freud’s analysis of Hamlet explains that the protagonist’s behavior is due to the repressed sexual desire towards Gertrude, his mother. He is subconsciously controlled by the Oedipal complex. The depiction of Hamlet's relationship with his mother, according to Freud, has also revealed suppressed sexual impulses and connotations that reflect the oedipal complex theory. Furthermore, the idea connects Hamlet's procrastination in avenging his father's death to the concept of rivalry or resistance towards his father. Hamlet suffers from the Oedipus complex because of his reluctance to vengeance and his repressed psychosexual fixation on his mother. The reason that Hamlet doesn’t rush to avenge his father is due to the gratitude he felt towards his uncle. This leads him to think that his mother is now only his. He has deep wishes of replacing his father. On the other hand, Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius due to the fact that he perceives his uncle as a reflection of his repressed oedipal self. Hamlet lives his oedipal fantasy through his uncle, given that he was then able to kill his brother (Hamlet’s father) and sleep with Gertrude, his wife. He only succeeds in killing his uncle after he declares that he is his father’s murderer and after his mother’s death. In his first monologue, he declares, "O, most wicked speed, to post/With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!' (Shakespeare 1.2.157-158). He finds his mother’s marriage to his uncle revolting and disgusting. Hamlet gets enraged when Gertrude expresses affection for anyone other than him because of his suppressed feelings for his mother. His mother's remarriage appears to be more important to him than his father's death. When Hamlet scolds his mother in his chambers about her sexual desires with Claudius and expresses his actual thoughts towards their marriage, his jealousy is clearly displayed. Rather than his uncle, Hamlet aspires to be the object of his mother's affection and longing.

Moreover, the nature of Ophelia and Hamlet's relationship stems from unresolved oedipal feelings toward Gertrude. Ophelia and Hamlet's love is caused by Hamlet's unhealthy psychological bond with his mother. Hamlet never thinks of Ophelia as a lover, and he never expresses a significant sexual or emotional desire to her because he saves it for his mother. Hamlet's conflicted sentiments for his mother are mirrored in Ophelia; he despises Ophelia for being submissive to his father Polonius because it subconsciously reminds him of Gertrude's devotion to Claudius, which he resents. Hamlet's oedipal tendencies prevent him from expressing attachment for another woman, hence he solely uses Ophelia as a target for his mother's outbursts and frustrations.

Finally, the Madonna/Whore Dichotomy is the belief that women can either be morally virtuous or promiscuous characters, but never both. Pure virgins, “Madonnas,” are honorable women who intend to remain chaste. Whores, on the other hand, are women who act upon their sexual needs. This dichotomy creates a contradiction in the minds of men: their love and pure feelings will only be directed towards Madonna figures, and their sexual needs would only be projected on “whores”. Thus, sex and love are always separated and cannot intertwine. After Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius, Hamlet’s perception of women is altered. He only sees them as “whores”, explaining his objectifying behavior with Ophelia. Hamlet can never be sexually satisfied by Gertrude, a woman he truly loves. He can also never develop true feelings towards Ophelia, a woman he sees as a sexual object.

To sum up, the Freudian psychoanalytical approach exposes some truly disturbing traits in Hamlet’s characters. Using this approach divulges a misogynistic nature wrapped under the sheets of a patriarchal society. It mirrors the reality of society during Shakespeare’s era. One shouldn’t forget that at the time, women weren’t even allowed to be on stage for moral reasons. This explains why male actors were taking over their roles. It created an ultimately misogynistic representation like society actually was during that period. References Holt, R. R. (1989). Freud reappraised: A fresh look at psychoanalytic theory. Guilford Press. Barry, P. (2020). Psychoanalytic criticism. In Beginning theory (fourth edition) (pp. 97-122). Manchester University Press. Jones, E. (1910). The Oedipus-complex as an explanation of Hamlet's mystery: a study in motive. The American Journal of Psychology, 72-113. Friedman, N., & Jones, R. M. (1963). On the Mutuality of the Oedipus Complex Notes on the Hamlet Case. American Imago, 20(2), 107-131. Kemp, L. (1951). Understanding" Hamlet". College English, 13(1), 9-13. Adams, A. (1994). " Mother, Madonna, Whore: The Idealization and Denigration of Motherhood" by Estela Welldon (Book Review). Signs, 20(1), 230. Adams, A. (1994). Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare's Plays," Hamlet" to" The Tempest". Chiu, C. J. (2012). Freud on Shakespeare: An approach to psychopathetic Characters. Chang Gung Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(1), 33-56. Rose, J. (1986). Hamlet–the Mona Lisa of Literature 1. Critical Quarterly, 28(1‐2), 35-49.

English Literature

Gaelle Abou Nasr

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37 What Is Psychological Criticism?

One of the key principles of psychological criticism is the idea that literature can be used to explore and understand the human psyche, including unconscious and repressed desires and fears. For example, psychoanalytic criticism might explore how the characters in a work of literature are shaped by their early childhood experiences or their relationships with their parents.

Psychological criticism can be applied to any genre of literature, from poetry to novels to plays, and can be used to analyze a wide range of literary works, from classic literature to contemporary bestsellers. It is often used in conjunction with other critical approaches, such as feminist or postcolonial criticism, to explore the ways in which psychological factors intersect with social and cultural factors in the creation and interpretation of literary works.

Learning Objectives

Deliberate on what approach best suits particular texts and purposes (CLO 1.4)
Using a literary theory, choose appropriate elements of literature (formal, content, or context) to focus on in support of an interpretation (CLO 2.3)
Be exposed to a variety of critical strategies through literary theory lenses, such as formalism/New Criticism, reader-response, structuralism, deconstruction, historical and cultural approaches (New Historicism, postcolonial, Marxism), psychological approaches, feminism, and queer theory. (CLO 4.2)
Learn to make effective choices about applying critical strategies to texts that demonstrate awareness of the strategy’s assumptions and expectations, the text’s literary maneuvers, and the stance one takes in literary interpretation (CLO 4.4)
Be exposed to the diversity of human experience, thought, politics, and conditions through the application of critical theory (CLO 6.4)

Excerpts from Psychological Criticism Scholarship

I have a confession to make that is likely rooted in my unconscious (or perhaps I am repressing something): I don’t much care for Sigmund Freud. But his psychoanalytic approach underpins psychological criticism in literary studies, so it’s important to be aware of psychoanalytic concepts and how they can be used in literary analysis. We will read a few examples of psychological criticism below, starting with a primary text, a theoretical explanation of psychoanalytic theory, Freud’s “First Lecture” (1920). In this reading, Freud gives a broad outline of the two main tenets of his theories: 1) that our behaviors are often indicators of psychic processes that are unconscious; and 2) that sexual impulses are at the root of mental disorders as well as cultural achievements. In the second and third readings, I share two example of literary criticism, one written by a medical doctor in 1910 that use Freud’s Oedipus complex theories to explicate William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, and the second, a modern example of psychological theory applied to the same play. To appreciate how influential Freud’s theories have been on the study of Hamlet , try a simple JSTOR search with “Freud” and “Hamlet” as your key terms. When I tried this in October 2023, the search yielded 7,420 results.

From “First Lecture” in A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud (1920)

With two of its assertions, psychoanalysis offends the whole world and draws aversion upon itself. One of these assertions offends an intellectual prejudice, the other an aesthetic-moral one. Let us not think too lightly of these prejudices; they are powerful things, remnants of useful, even necessary, developments of mankind. They are retained through powerful affects, and the battle against them is a hard one. The first of these displeasing assertions of psychoanalysis is this, that the psychic processes are in themselves unconscious, and that those which are conscious are merely isolated acts and parts of the total psychic life. Recollect that we are, on the contrary, accustomed to identify the psychic with the conscious. Consciousness actually means for us the distinguishing characteristic of the psychic life, and psychology is the science of the content of consciousness. Indeed, so obvious does this identification seem to us that we consider its slightest contradiction obvious nonsense, and yet psychoanalysis cannot avoid raising this contradiction; it cannot accept the identity of the conscious with the psychic. Its definition of the psychic affirms that they are processes of the nature of feeling, thinking, willing; and it must assert that there is such a thing as unconscious thinking and unconscious willing. But with this assertion psychoanalysis has alienated, to start with, the sympathy of all friends of sober science, and has laid itself open to the suspicion of being a fantastic mystery study which would build in darkness and fish in murky waters. You, however, ladies and gentlemen, naturally cannot as yet understand what justification I have for stigmatizing as a prejudice so abstract a phrase as this one, that “the psychic is consciousness.” You cannot know what evaluation can have led to the denial of the unconscious, if such a thing really exists, and what advantage may have resulted from this denial. It sounds like a mere argument over words whether one shall say that the psychic coincides with the conscious or whether one shall extend it beyond that, and yet I can assure you that by the acceptance of unconscious processes you have paved the way for a decisively new orientation in the world and in science. Just as little can you guess how intimate a connection this initial boldness of psychoanalysis has with the one which follows. The next assertion which psychoanalysis proclaims as one of its discoveries, affirms that those instinctive impulses which one can only call sexual in the narrower as well as in the wider sense, play an uncommonly large role in the causation of nervous and mental diseases, and that those impulses are a causation which has never been adequately appreciated. Nay, indeed, psychoanalysis claims that these same sexual impulses have made contributions whose value cannot be overestimated to the highest cultural, artistic and social achievements of the human mind. According to my experience, the aversion to this conclusion of psychoanalysis is the most significant source of the opposition which it encounters. Would you like to know how we explain this fact? We believe that civilization was forged by the driving force of vital necessity, at the cost of instinct-satisfaction, and that the process is to a large extent constantly repeated anew, since each individual who newly enters the human community repeats the sacrifices of his instinct-satisfaction for the sake of the common good. Among the instinctive forces thus utilized, the sexual impulses play a significant role. They are thereby sublimated, i.e., they are diverted from their sexual goals and directed to ends socially higher and no longer sexual. But this result is unstable. The sexual instincts are poorly tamed. Each individual who wishes to ally himself with the achievements of civilization is exposed to the danger of having his sexual instincts rebel against this sublimation. Society can conceive of no more serious menace to its civilization than would arise through the satisfying of the sexual instincts by their redirection toward their original goals. Society, therefore, does not relish being reminded of this ticklish spot in its origin; it has no interest in having the strength of the sexual instincts recognized and the meaning of the sexual life to the individual clearly delineated. On the contrary, society has taken the course of diverting attention from this whole field. This is the reason why society will not tolerate the above-mentioned results of psychoanalytic research, and would prefer to brand it as aesthetically offensive and morally objectionable or dangerous. Since, however, one cannot attack an ostensibly objective result of scientific inquiry with such objections, the criticism must be translated to an intellectual level if it is to be voiced. But it is a predisposition of human nature to consider an unpleasant idea untrue, and then it is easy to find arguments against it. Society thus brands what is unpleasant as untrue, denying the conclusions of psychoanalysis with logical and pertinent arguments. These arguments originate from affective sources, however, and society holds to these prejudices against all attempts at refutation.

Excerpts from “The Œdipus-Complex as an Explanation of Hamlet’s Mystery: A Study in Motive” by Ernest Jones (1910)

The particular problem of Hamlet, with which this paper is concerned, is intimately related to some of the most frequently recurring problems that are presented in the course of psycho-analysis [sic], and it has thus seemed possible to secure a new point of view from which an answer might be offered to questions that have baffled attempts made along less technical routes. Some of the most competent literary authorities have freely acknowledged the inadequacy of all the solutions of the problem that have up to the present been offered, and from a psychological point of view this inadequacy is still more evident. The aim of the present paper is to expound an hypothesis which Freud some nine years ago suggested in one of the footnotes to his Traumdeutung ,·so far as I am aware it has not been critically discussed since its publication. Before attempting this it will be necessary to make a few general remarks about the nature of the problem and the previous solutions that have been offered. The problem presented by the tragedy of Hamlet is one of peculiar interest in at least two respects. In the first place the play is almost universally considered to be the chief masterpiece of one of the greatest minds the world has known. It probably expresses the core of Shakspere’s [sic] philosophy and outlook on life as no other work of his does, and so far excels all his other writings that many competent critics would place it on an entirely separate level from them. It may be expected, therefore, that anything which will give us the key to the inner meaning of the play will necessarily give us the clue to much of the deeper workings of Shakspere’s mind. In the second place the intrinsic interest of the play is exceedingly great. The central mystery in it, namely the cause of Hamlet’s hesitancy in seeking to obtain revenge for the murder of his father, has well been called the Sphinx of modern Literature. It has given rise to a regiment of hypotheses, and to a large library of critical and controversial literature; this is mainly German and for the most part has grown up in the past fifty years. No review of the literature will here be attempted…. The most important hypotheses that have been put forward are sub-varieties of three main points of view. The first of these sees the difficulty in the performance of the task in Hamlet’s temperament, which is not suited to effective action of any kind; the second sees it in the nature of the task, which is such as to be almost impossible of performance by any one; and the third in some special feature in the nature of the task which renders it peculiarly difficult or repugnant to Hamlet…. No disconnected and meaningless drama could have produced the effects on its audiences that Hamlet has continuously done for the past three centuries. The underlying meaning of the drama may be totally obscure, but that there is one, and one which touches on problems of vital interest to the human heart, is empirically demonstrated by the uniform success with which the drama appeals to the most diverse audiences. To hold the contrary is to deny all the canons of dramatic art accepted since the time of Aristotle. Hamlet as a masterpiece stands or falls by these canons. We are compelled then to take the position that there is some cause for Hamlet’s vacillation which has not yet been fathomed. If this lies neither in his incapacity for action in general, nor in the inordinate difficulty of the task in question, then it must of necessity lie in the third possibility, namely in some special feature of the task that renders it repugnant to him. This conclusion, that Hamlet at heart does not want to carry out the task, seems so obvious that it is hard to see how any critical reader of the play could avoid making it…. It may be asked: why has the poet not put in a clearer light the mental trend we are trying to discover? Strange as it may appear, the answer is the same as in the case of Hamlet himself, namely, he could not, because he was unaware of its nature. We shall later deal with this matter in connection with the relation of the poet to the play. But, if the motive of the play is so obscure, to what can we attribute its powerful effect on the audience? This can only be because the hero’s conflict finds its echo in a similar inner conflict in the mind of the hearer, and the more intense is this already present conflict the greater is the effect of the drama. Again, the hearer himself does not know the inner cause of the conflict in his mind, but experiences only the outer manifestations of it. We thus reach the apparent paradox that the hero, the poet, and the audience are all profoundly moved by feelings due to a conflict of the source of which they are unaware [emphasis added]. The extensive experience of the psycho-analytic researches carried out by Freud and his school during the past twenty years has amply demonstrated that certain kinds of mental processes shew a greater tendency to be “repressed” ( verdrangt ) than others. In other words, it is harder for a person to own to himself the existence in his mind of some mental trends than it is of others. In order to gain a correct perspective it is therefore desirable briefly to enquire into the relative frequency with which various sets of mental processes are “repressed.” One might in this connection venture the generalisation that those processes are most likely to be “repressed” by the individual which are most disapproved of by the particular circle of society to whose influence he bas chiefly been subjected. Biologically stated, this law would run: ”That which is inacceptable to the herd becomes inacceptable to the individual unit,” it being understood that the term herd is intended in the sense of the particular circle above defined, which is by no means necessarily the community at large. It is for this reason that moral, social, ethical or religious influences are hardly ever ”repressed,” for as the individual originally received them from his herd, they can never come into conflict with the dicta of the latter. This merely says that a man cannot be ashamed of that which he respects; the apparent exceptions to this need not here be explained. The contrary is equally true, namely that mental trends “repressed” by the individual are those least acceptable to his herd; they are, therefore, those which are, curiously enough, distinguished as “natural” instincts, as contrasted with secondarily acquired mental trends. It only remains to add the obvious corollary that, as the herd unquestionably selects from the “natural” instincts the sexual ones on which to lay its heaviest ban, so is it the various psycho-sexual trends that most often are “repressed” by the individual. We have here an explanation of the clinical experience that the more intense and the more obscure is a given case of deep mental conflict the more certainly will it be found, on adequate analysis, to centre about a sexual problem. On the surface, of course, this does not appear so, for, by means of various psychological defensive mechanisms, the depression, doubt, and other manifestations of the conflict are transferred on to more acceptable subjects, such as the problems of immortality, future of the world, salvation of the soul, and so on. Bearing these considerations in mind, let us return to Hamlet. It should now be evident that the conflict hypotheses above mentioned, which see Hamlet’s “natural” instinct for revenge inhibited by an unconscious misgiving of a highly ethical kind, are based on ignorance of what actually happens in real life, for misgivings of this kind are in fact readily accessible to introspection. Hamlet’s self-study would speedily have made him conscious of any such ethical misgivings, and although he might subsequently have ignored them, it would almost certainly have been by the aid of a process of rationalization which would have enabled him to deceive himself into believing that such misgivings were really ill founded; he would in any case have remained conscious of the nature of them. We must therefore invert these hypotheses, and realise that the positive striving for revenge was to him the moral and social one, and that the suppressed negative striving against revenge arose in some hidden source connected with his more personal, “natural” instincts. The former striving has already been considered, and indeed is manifest in every speech in which Hamlet debates the matter; the second is, from its nature, more obscure and has next to be investigated. This is perhaps most easily done by inquiring more intently into Hamlet’s precise attitude towards the object of his vengeance, Claudius, and towards the crimes that have to be avenged. These are two, Claudius’ incest with the Queen, and his murder of his brother. It is of great importance to note the fundamental difference in Hamlet’s attitude towards these two crimes. Intellectually of course he abhors both, but there can be no question as to which arouses in him the deeper loathing. Whereas the murder of his father evokes in him indignation, and a plain recognition of his obvious duty to avenge it, his mother’s guilty conduct awakes in him the intensest horror. Now, in trying to define Hamlet’s attitude towards his uncle we have to guard against assuming offhand that this is a simple one of mere execration, for there is a possibility of complexity arising in the following way: The uncle has not merely committed each crime, he has committed both crimes, a distinction of considerable importance, for the combination of crimes allows the admittance of a new factor, produced by the possible inter-relation of the two, which prevents the result from being simply one of summation. In addition it has to be borne in mind that the perpetrator of the crimes is a relative, and an exceedingly near relative. The possible inter-relation of the crimes, and the fact that the author of them is an actual member of the family on which they were perpetrated, gives scope for a confusion in their influence on Hamlet’s mind that may be the cause of the very obscurity we are seeking to clarify.

Introduction to “Ophelia’s Desire” by James Marino (2017)

Every great theory is founded on a problem it cannot solve. For psychoanalytic criticism, that problem is Ophelia. Sigmund Freud’s Oedipal reading of Hamlet , mutually constitutive with his reading of Oedipus Rex , initiates the project of Freudian literary interpretation. But that reading must, by its most basic logic, displace Ophelia and render her an anomaly. If the Queen is Hamlet’s primary erotic object, why does he have another love interest? Why such a specific and unusual love interest? The answer that Freud and his disciples offer is that Hamlet’s expressions of love or rage toward Ophelia are displace-ments of his cathexis on the queen. That argument is tautological—one might as easily say that Hamlet displaces his cathected frustration with Ophelia onto the Queen—and requires that some evidence from the text be ignored—“No, good mother,” Hamlet tells the Queen, “here’s metal more attractive”—but the idea of the Queen as Hamlet’s primary affective object remains a standard orthodoxy, common even in feminist Freudians’ readings of Hamlet . Janet Adelman’s Suffocating Mothers , for example, takes the mother-son dyad as central, while Julia Reinhard Lupton and Kenneth Reinhard highlight the symbolic condensation of Ophelia with the Queen. The argument for Ophelia as substitute object may reach its apotheosis in Jacques Lacan’s famous essay on Hamlet, which begins with “that piece of bait named Ophelia” only to use her as an example of Hamlet’s estrangement from his own desire. Margreta de Grazia’s “Hamlet” without Hamlet has illuminated how the romantic tradition of Hamlet criticism, from which Freud’s own Hamlet criticism derives, focuses on Hamlet’s psychology at the expense of the play’s other characters, who are reduced to figures in the Prince’s individual psychomachia. While psychoanalytic reading objectifies all of Hamlet ’s supporting characters, Ophelia is not even allowed to be an object in her own right. Insistently demoted to a secondary or surrogate object, Ophelia becomes mysteriously super-fluous, like a symptom unconnected from its cause. Ophelia is the foundational problem, the nagging flaw in psychoanalytic criticism’s cornerstone. The play becomes very different if Ophelia is decoupled from the Queen and read as an independent and structurally central character, as a primary object of desire, and even as a desiring subject in her own right. I do not mean to describe the character as a real person, with a fully human psychology; Ophelia is a fiction, constructed from intersecting and contradicting generic expectations. But in those generic terms Ophelia is startlingly unusual, indeed unique, in ways that psychoanalytic criticism has been reluctant to recognize. If stage characters become individuated to the extent that they deviate from established convention, acting against type, then Ophelia is one of William Shakespeare’s most richly individual heroines. And if Shakespeare creates the illusion of interiority, or invites his audience to collaborate in that illusion, by withholding easy explanations of motive, Ophelia’s inner life is rich with mystery. Attention to the elements of Ophelia’s character that psychoanalytic readings resist or repress illuminates the deeper fantasies shaping psychoanalytic discourse. The literary dreams underpinning psychoanalysis are neither simply to be debunked nor to be reconstituted, but to be analyzed. If, as the debates over psychoanalysis over the last three decades have shown, much of Freudian thinking is not science, then it is fantasy; and fantasy, as Freud himself teaches, rewards strict attention. Ophelia, rightly attended, may tell us something about Hamlet, and about Hamlet, that critics have not always wished to know. To see Ophelia clearly would also make it clear how closely Hamlet resembles her and how faithfully his tragic arc follows hers.

Beyond Freud: Applying Psychological Theories to Literary Texts

Fortunately, we are not limited to Freud when we engage in psychological criticism. We can choose any psychological theory. Here are just a few you might consider:

Carl Jung’s archetypes: humans have a collective unconscious that includes universal archetypes such as the shadow, the persona, and the anima/us.
B.F. Skinner’s behaviorism: all behaviors are learned through conditioning.
Jacques Lacan’s conception of the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic.
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development: describes the effects of social development across a person’s lifespan.
Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development: explains how people develop moral reasoning.
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: people’s basic needs need to be met before they can pursue more advanced emotional and intellectual needs.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ s five stages of grief: a framework for understanding loss.
Mamie Phipps Clark and Kenneth Bancroft Clark’s work on internalized racism.
Derald Wing Sue and David Sue’s work with Indigenous spiritual frameworks and mental health.

It’s important to differentiate this type of criticism from looking at “mental health” or considering how the poem affects our emotions. When we are exploring how a poem makes us feel, this is subjective reader response, not psychological criticism. Psychological criticism involves analyzing a literary work through the lens of a psychological theory, exploring characters’ motivations, behaviors, and the author’s psychological influences. Here are a few approaches you might take to apply psychological criticism to a text:

Psychological Theories: Familiarize yourself with the basics of key psychological theories, such as Freudian psychoanalysis, Jungian archetypes, or cognitive psychology. This knowledge provides a foundation for interpreting characters and their actions. It’s best to choose one particular theory to use in your analysis.
Author’s Background: Research the author’s life and background. Explore how their personal experiences, relationships, and psychological state might have influenced the creation of characters or the overall themes of the text. Also consider what unconscious desires or fears might be present in the text. How can the text serve as a window to the author’s mind? The fictional novel Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell uses the text of Hamlet along with the few facts that are known about Shakespeare’s life to consider how the play could be read as an expression of the author’s grief at losing his 11-year-old son.
Character Analysis: Examine characters’ personalities, motivations, and conflicts. Consider how their experiences, desires, and fears influence their actions within the narrative. Look for signs of psychological trauma, defense mechanisms, or unconscious desires. You can see an example of this in the two literary articles above, where the authors consider Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s motivations and conflicts.
Symbolism and Imagery: Analyze symbols and imagery in the text. Understand how these elements may represent psychological concepts or emotions. For example, a recurring symbol might represent a character’s repressed desires or fears.
Themes and Motifs: Identify recurring themes and motifs. Explore how these elements reflect psychological concepts or theories. For instance, a theme of isolation might be analyzed in terms of its impact on characters’ mental states. An example of a motif in Hamlet would be the recurring ghost.
Archetypal Analysis: Jungian analysis is one of my personal favorite approaches to take to texts. You can apply archetypal psychology to identify universal symbols or patterns in characters. Carl Jung’s archetypes , such as the persona, shadow, or anima/animus, can provide insights into the deeper layers of character development.
Psychological Trajectories: Trace the psychological development of characters throughout the narrative. Identify key moments or events that shape their personalities and behaviors. Consider how these trajectories contribute to the overall psychological impact of the text.
Psychoanalytic Concepts: If relevant, apply psychoanalytic concepts such as id, ego, and superego . Explore how characters navigate internal conflicts or succumb to unconscious desires. Freudian analysis can uncover hidden motivations and tensions.

Because psychological criticism involves interpretation, there may be multiple valid perspectives on a single text. When using this critical method, I recommend focusing on a single psychological approach (e.g. choose Freud or Jung; don’t try to do both).

Let’s practice with Emily Dickinson’s poem “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass,” using Freud’s psychoanalytic theories as our psychological approach. Read the poem first, then use the questions below to guide your interpretation of the poem.

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass* (1865)

BY EMILY DICKINSON

Manuscript of "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass" from the Morgan Library

A narrow fellow in the grass Occasionally rides: You may have met him, —did you not, His notice sudden is.

The grass divides as with a comb, A spotted shaft is seen; And then it closes at your feet And opens further on.

He likes a boggy acre. A floor too cool for corn. Yet when a child, and barefoot, I more than once, at morn,

Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash Unbraiding in the Sun.— When, stooping to secure it, It wrinkled, and was gone.

Several of nature’s people I know, and they know me; I feel for them a transport Of cordiality;

But never met this fellow, Attended or alone, Without a tighter breathing, And zero at the bone.

*I’ve used the “corrected” version published in 1865. Here is a link to the transcribed version from the original manuscript.

Here are a few questions to consider as you apply Freudian psychoanalysis to the poem.

Imagery and Motifs: This poem is one of just 10 Emily Dickinson poems published during her lifetime. The editor chose a different title for the poem: “The Snake” . How does adding this title change the reader’s experience with the poem? Which words in the poem seem odd in the context of this title? In a Freudian reading of the poem, what would the snake (if it is a snake) represent?
Repression and Symbolism: How might the “narrow Fellow in the Grass” symbolize repressed desires or memories in the speaker’s subconscious? What elements in the poem suggest a hidden, perhaps uncomfortable, aspect of the speaker’s psyche?
Penis Envy: In Freudian theory, penis envy refers to a girl’s desire for male genitalia. How does this concept apply to the poem? Dickinson’s handwritten version of the poem says “boy” instead of “child” in line 11. How does this change impact how we read the poem?
Unconscious Fears and Anxiety (Zero at the Bone): The closing lines mention a “tighter Breathing” and feeling “Zero at the Bone.” How can Freud’s ideas about the unconscious and anxiety be applied here? What might the encounter with the Fellow reveal about the speaker’s hidden fears or anxieties, and how does it impact the speaker on a deep, unconscious level?
Punctuation: The manuscript versions of this poem do not use normal punctuation conventions. Instead, the author uses a dash. How does this change our reading of the poem? What does her use of dashes imply about her psychological state?

As with New Historicism, you’ll need to do some research and cite a source for the psychological theory you apply. Introduce the psychological theory, then use it to analyze the poem. Make sure to support your analysis with specific textual evidence from the poem. Use line numbers to refer to specific parts of the text.

You’ll want to come up with a thesis statement that you can support with the evidence you’ve found.

Freudian Analysis Thesis Statement: In Emily Dickinson’s poem “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass,” the encounter with a snake serves as a symbolic manifestation of repressed desires, unconscious fears, and penis envy, offering a Freudian exploration of the complex interplay between the conscious and unconscious mind.

How would this thesis statement be different if you had chosen a different approach–for example, Erik Erikson’s theory of child development? How does this analysis differ from a New Criticism approach? Do you think that a Freudian approach is useful in helping readers to appreciate this poem?

The Limitations of Psychological Criticism

While psychological criticism provides valuable insights into the human psyche and enriches our understanding of literary works, it also has its limitations. Here are a few:

Subjectivity: Psychological interpretations often rely on subjective analysis, as different readers may perceive and interpret psychological elements in a text differently. The lack of objective criteria can make it challenging to establish a universally accepted interpretation. However, using an established psychological theory can help to address this concern.
Authorial Intent: Inferring an author’s psychological state or intentions based on their work can be speculative. Without direct evidence from the author about their psychological motivations, interpretations may be subjective and open to debate.
Overemphasis on Individual Psychology: Psychological criticism may focus heavily on individual psychology and neglect broader social, cultural, or historical contexts that also influence literature. This narrow focus may oversimplify the complexity of human experience.
Stereotyping Characters: Applying psychological theories to characters may lead to oversimplified or stereotypical portrayals. Characters might be reduced to representing specific psychological concepts, overlooking their multifaceted nature. Consider the scholarly readings above and how Ophelia has traditionally been read as an accessory to Hamlet rather than as a fully developed character in her own right.
Neglect of Formal Elements: Psychological criticism may sometimes neglect formal elements of a text, such as structure, style, and language, in favor of exploring psychological aspects. This oversight can limit a comprehensive understanding of the literary work.
Inconsistency in Psychoanalytic Theories: Different psychoanalytic theories exist, and scholars may apply competing frameworks, leading to inconsistent interpretations. For example, a Freudian interpretation may differ significantly from a Jungian analysis.
Exclusion of Reader Response: While psychological criticism often explores the author’s psyche, it may not give sufficient attention to the diverse psychological responses of readers. The reader’s own psychology and experiences contribute to the meaning derived from a text. In formal literary criticism, as we noted above, this type of approach is considered to be subjective reader response, but it might be an interesting area of inquiry that is traditionally excluded from psychological criticism approaches.
Neglect of Positive Aspects: Psychological criticism may sometimes focus too much on negative or pathological aspects of characters, overlooking positive psychological dimensions and the potential for growth and redemption within the narrative (we care a lot more about what’s wrong with Hamlet than what’s right with him).

Acknowledging these limitations helps balance the use of psychological criticism with other literary approaches, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of a literary work.

Psychological Criticism Scholars

There is considerable overlap in psychological criticism scholarship. With this type of approach, some psychologists/psychiatrists use literary texts to demonstrate or explicate psychological theories, while some literary scholars use psychological theories to interpret works. Here are a few better-known literary scholars who practice this type of criticism:

Sigmund Freud, who used Greek literature to develop his theories about the psyche
Carl Jung, whose ideas of the archetypes are fascinating
Alfred Adler, a student of Freud’s who particularly focused on literature and psychoanalysis
Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst whose ideas of the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic provide interesting insights into literary texts.

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Psychoanalysis Of Hamlet

Censored materials often involve infantile sexual desires” (Murfin ). These unconscious desires are seen in dreams, in language, in creative activity, and in neurotic behavior (Murfin ). This theory of repression also is directly correlated to Freud’s Oedipus complex. The Oedipus complex deals with Infantile sexuality as well, by explaining that sexuality starts at infancy with the relationship of the infant with the mother, not at puberty. The Oedipus complex assesses that the infant has the desire to discard the father and become the sexual companion of the mother (Barry 97).

His feelings for Ophelia are never discussed fully in the play, but it is evident to the reader that at one time he loved her because of the hurt he feels when she lies to him. At this part in the play, Hamlet insults Ophelia by telling her, “Or if/ thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know/ well enough what monsters you make o f them. To a /nunn’ry, go, and quickly too” (3. 1. 136-139). At this part in the play, it is extremely difficult for Hamlet to differentiate between his mother and Ophelia. Therefore, making his true feelings for his mother become more obscure.

When Hamlet’s father dies and his mother re-marries, the independency of the idea of sexuality with his mother, concealed since infancy, can no longer be hid from his consciousness. Emotions which were favorable and pleasing at infancy are now emotions of abhorrence and disgust because of his repressions (Jones). In the beginning of the play he becomes extremely derisive and contemptuous to his mother. “Seems, madam? Nay, it is, I know not “seems. ” (1. 2. 76). When Hamlet says this, he is mocking his mother’s question about why he is still mourning his father’s death.

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Hamlet and the Psychological Approach Analysis

Hamlet and the Psychological approach After enveloping myself in the world of Shakespeare’s tragic play/story of Hamlet, I without a doubt believe that the best way for me to critically analyze the literature is to approach it in a psychological critic mindset. In relations to Hamlet a question keeps intriguing my mind, in which, why does one man choose to carryout revenge, how a lust for power can bend one’s own flesh and blood? Another question that I have is whether or not Hamlet is indeed crazy?

If so, how would friendship function? Does he have a true friend? If so, who? Does he exhibit the behavior of a real friend? The first quote that centers itself on the discussion between Polonius and Ophelia in regards to Hamlet’s disposition (pg. 79 104-108. ) The two characters find Hamlet’s behavior strange “…And thrice his head thus waving to Polonius up and down, he raises a sigh so piteous and profound as it did seem to shatter all his bulk and end his being. The reason why this quote would be useful in my psychological analysis of the text is because the scene ties in the plot of the story, but it also allows one to question the emotions one might go through in a situation like the one Hamlet finds himself in. Hamlet undergoes a behavior change once he discovers the treachery of his dear uncle Claudius. To me it seems as though he is unsure about what steps to take to avenge the death of his father it brings up the question of how humans react to certain situations.

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The discussion between the two characters leads them to speculate as to why Hamlet is behaving in such a melancholy demeanor. They’re misdirected beliefs unfortunately provides me with the opportunity to analyze their perspective, and how this changed the dynamics of the story and whether or not I believe it relates to human behavior in real life. The second quote that I can use to support my thesis relates to the superposition of men, how ones belief in religion and superposition can determine the outcomes of decisions. I think it be no other but e’en so. Ell may it sort that this portentous figure comes armed through our watch so like the king that was and is the question of these wars. ” (pg. 15 lines 120-123. ) To me it seems as though at the time Shakespeare wrote the play, there was so much emphasis on superposition’s and peoples religious convictions, that throughout the book, one can clearly tell that religion was at the back of many of the characters minds in the terms of what they chose to do in certain situations.

This brings me back to my critique; it allows me to try to understand how religious beliefs in today’s current society, that people are not so likely to center their decisions on religious beliefs as was done in Shakespeare’s time. As Hamlets decisions are made by certain events that occur in the play, Hamlet seems to impact many of his friend’s beliefs in which its right for him to revenge from his father’s death since his religious beliefs requires to do so and also since others believe that he should.

Trying to analyze religion in the book allows me to ponder whether or not it was a strong motivator in the decisions the characters carried out. The last quote that I will bring up in my proposal relates to Hamlet’s supposed “friends”; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The quotes I chose to go into detail in my proposal deals with certain situations in life that I find meaningful, and that cause men’s behavior to dramatically twist and turn into a uncontrollable reaction to the many paths one can take in life. The final quote is the following piece from pg. 97 lines 245 from Hamlet: “As the indifferent children of the earth. The quote is about a conversation Hamlet is having with his friends. The reason why I chose this quote is because I believe the two friends of Hamlet both have a certain relationship with Hamlet that compels them to act in a certain way being in the role of a “friend. : I want to take the time to address “friendship” and how the interactions between friends in the play: Hamlet, relate to life as a whole. While trying to gather some information on this subject I have found a good example of the psychological approach that Shakespeare is trying to give in this play. Hamlet does not fulfill this duty until absolutely forced to do so by physical circumstances” this quote I got from the article proves that the way in which Hamlet went into seeking revenge for his father’s murder became enlarged by the social interference that was occurring. The ghost for example, it kept creeping up on Hamlet giving him clues, turning him into someone he wasn’t by making him do things that were inappropriate for Hamlets lifestyle. The killing of his uncle Claudius was an example of what happened by the ghost.

Hamlets view of Claudius represents Hamlet’s repressed hostility towards his father as a rival for his mother’s affection. This new king- father is the symbolic perpetrator of the very deeds towards which the son is impelled by his own unconscious motives: murder of his father and incest with his mother. Hamlet cannot bring himself to kill Claudius because to do so he must, in a psychological sense, commit suicide. The main idea in the Hamlet: The Oedipus Complex article was that Oedipus complex approach that Hamlet gave in this play.

Oedipus is a group of largely dynamically repressed ideas and feelings which concentrate on the desire to possess the parent of the opposite sex and eliminate the parent of the same sex. In this case that would be Ophelia. Hamlet and Ophelia were madly in love. Although after watching his mother, Hamlet thinks that every woman is weak and only wants sex. Which then gives him the thought Ophelia might be one of the weak woman. As the story went on Hamlet gets even angrier at her when he finds out that all he wants Is power and if she marries Hamlet she will have more power than him.

This is the reason in which he tells Ophelia that she can no longer see Hamlet. As Polonius hides behind a curtain in the Queens room, Hamlet begins to speak to his mother. As the conversation grows more emotional Hamlet looks into empty airspace and speaks. This is where I think Hamlet begins to lose control of his own sanity. Hamlet believes to be seeing the ghost of his father. The Queen sees nothing and at this point has no doubts that her sons mind is not right. Hamlet then hears a faint noise in the room. As he approaches the curtain he lunges at it with his dagger and believes he has stabbed Claudius.

It turns out to be Polonius and what leads me to believe that Hamlet has possibly lost his mind is that he feels no remorse for his action. He didn’t intend to kill Polonius yet as he lies dead on the floor he simply drags him to the next room, and goes on with his plot for revenge. Hamlets madness eventually catches up to him as Claudius uses it as an excuse to send Hamlet away to England. The psychological approach in Hamlet consists of the three main factors of psychological approaches, Behaviorism, Psychodynamic, and Humanistic.

All three theories, psychodynamic, humanistic, and behavioral, add to the understanding of the entirety of human experience. Many psychologists use some impression from more than one of these theories. Each theory defines the causes and outcomes of behavior in its own way. The psychodynamic theory looks at behavior as driven by instinctive forces, inner conflicts, and conscious and unconscious motivations. In which in Hamlet, the peers around him push him into being the hero and to avenge pay back from his father’s death. The Psychodynamic theory also says that the way we balance the forces of the mind, it gives us our personality.

This differs from the behavioral theory in that it says that our behavior is shaped by our environment. The setting in which the play took place also impacted Hamlet psychologically since the play is taken in a old English form in which religion as well as beliefs differ in which one reacts to things. Was Hamlets madness merely a means to an end or is it genuine? Personally I think Hamlets madness started out as a cover-up identity that he controlled, but as the story went on he lost control and fell in and out of genuine madness.

From the start of the story Hamlet decides his revenge plot will be a lot easier if people think he is going mad and therefore pay less attention to some of the thing he says or does. Which then also brings me back to the tragic flaw Hamlet had, which was Hamlet indecisiveness and procrastination. Because of this, he finds it difficult to move forward on anything. For instance, he wants to believe the ghost, his father, but who’s to say the ghost isn’t lying? So, he writes a scene in the play for the visiting players which are supposed to solidify everything for him and help him make his decision.

He watches Claudius, and gets the reaction Hamlet is hoping for, yet he still can’t decide what to do. Indecision, procrastination and stagnation, Hamlet is a hopeless case until it is way too late to do anything about it. By that time, Claudius is on to him, Claudius is a man of action. Hamlet is a thinker. Hamlet spends too much time thinking of what to do or not to do, while Claudius makes a plan and works the plan. As a result, nearly everyone Hamlet loves is dead by the end of Act V, due to his tragic flaw he had. Overall, the psychological approach is focused in friendship.

Friendship in Hamlet is a key word, which is the reason why many of his events and action took place. Hamlets actions were driven ever since he heard of his father’s death. I believe that his procrastination on what he should do and his genuine madness developed along the way cause him to disregard a better plan for a quick and easily revealed plan, which in the end causes him his life as well as others such as Polonius. I think it shows that he wanted to avenge his father’s death so badly that he caused himself to become mentally unstable or mentally ill.

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The Psychoanalytic Approach to Shakespeare'S Hamlet
PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH TO HEALTH. the deepest problem and the most in tense conflict that has occupied the mind of man since the beginning of time-the revolt of youth and of the impulse to love against the restraint imposed by the jealous eld. (22) This then can be considered as adequate dynamics for Hamlet's emotional status and his actions ...
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It is the relationship between desire and a signifier that Hamlet reveals. Hamlet is the image of the level of subjectivity of a signifier—"there is a level on which it can be said that his fate is expressed in terms of a pure signifier.". Hamlet embodies the idea of signifiers as expressions of fate, which is to say, expressions of the ...
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The way Shakespeare portrays the psychological complexities of Hamlet, the play has become a lucrative text to the critics to see through the psychoanalytic lens. Analysis of Hamlet using psychoanalytic criticism reveals the inward states of Hamlet's mind. Among the various aspects of Hamlet's character, the thing that instantly draws our ...
PDF Shakespearean Criticism: Hamlet (Vol. 44)
[In the following essay, originally presented in 1982, Coursen argues that a Jungian analysis of Hamlet ... All Hamlet criticism must be "psychological criticism," even when it claims to be anything but. The play is uniquely framed to elicit from its auditors a subjective response. No matter how "objective" a critic may try to
PDF What is't to be nothing else but mad : Understanding Madness Through
archetypal lens to analyze the transformation of insanity that took place in the eighteenth century. While literary critics and psychologists were both wielding and reinventing Hamlet and psychology, they were not working without influence on purely scientific or academic principals, but actively—if unintentionally—creating systems of ...
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By way of Shakespeare's play and a detailed case study, aesthetic and psychoanalytic experience are compared, to suggest that, for the authors' own analytic discourse, Freud's unease that his case studies read like short stories is revalued. Hamlet draws us into its rendered world, enabling us to experience it with depth, awareness, and resonance, in a mode we recognize as aesthetic. By way of ...
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Hamlet is a complex character full of deep emotions and developmental problems it is revealed through his actions, thoughts, and words portrayed during the play. Traumatic experiences in a person's life can have serious mental repercussions, such as disconnection from others, self-blame, or permanent mental instability.
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Hamlet's Psychoanalytic Analysis. Hamlet stands out as the most popular William Shakespeare's tragedies. The play is categorized as drama, literature, and philosophy and the world admits its artistic stature. Besides the poetic language used in the play, the appeal of the play lies in Hamlet's character. He is obliged to avenge the death ...
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The Mind of Hamlet Through a Psychoanalytic Lens To understand Freud's perspective of Hamlet, it is important to note his theories and beliefs regarding the human mind. His psychoanalytic approach to psychology delves deep into a part of the mind called the "unconscious.". The unconscious mind reveals a person's deepest unknown thoughts ...
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III. Hamlet's Mental Illness. The basis of the Hamlet Syndrome is the idea that malingering - feigning madness - can be both a cause and an effect of an actual mental disorder. Consider that Shakespeare's Hamlet is, in modern psychological terms, mentally ill when we first meet him.
Exploring Hamlet: Using the Lens of Literary Criticism
Our goal: To write a literary essay that puts forth a thesis on some aspect of Hamlet, as seen through the lens of one tradition of criticism. Literary Critical Traditions, Defined: Freudian: Freudian literary criticism uses the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud to look at a work through the psychological status of the author or a character.
Freud's Psychoanalytical Approach and Shakespeares' Hamlet.
Freud's psychoanalytical approach is a form of literary criticism used to interpret literary works through psychoanalytical lenses. It deals with characters and their psyches, complexes, and mental illnesses. When it comes to Freudian psychoanalysis, it is essential to note that all of Freud's work depends on the notion of the unconscious.
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Psychoanalysis Of Hamlet Essay on Hamlet, William Shakespeare
As the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines psychoanalysis, as a form of therapy that is concluced by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind' (Barry 96). One of the most popularized psychoanalysts of all time was Sigmund Freud. His theories on repression most directly parallel to Hamlet's actions in the ...
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Analyzing Resilience in Hamlet: A Psychological and
Jolan Farren ENG4U March 23, 2023 Critical Analysis Essay on Hamlet Analyzing Resilience Through Psychological Lens and Socioeconomic Lens Resilience is an individual's strength and durability; it is the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from difficulties and toughness (1).To be resilient one must also be willing to stand up for what they believe in, even if that means standing against ...

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