Hamlet Psychoanalytic Lens Essay

Looking at Hamlet through a modern psychoanalytic lens provides an insight on each of the characters, specifically in terms of their actions. As a protagonist, Hamlet is quite unique due to his philosophical nature and verbosity. The play is a “study in Hamlet's hesitation, his inability to act,” (Pearce 1). Throughout the play, Shakespeare has created a constant internal battle for Hamlet between impulse and the need to carefully craft a plan. But is Hamlet crafting a plan, or is he simply too timid to act on his impulses?

To start off, we must consider Hamlet’s immediate reaction in Act 5 when he encounters the ghost of his dead father. Anxious to follow the ghost, Hamlet is hesitant about the message it brings. The ghost urges Hamlet to

Hamlet first appeared in print in 1603, so it is beneficial to consider the historical context and religious undertones when analyzing Hamlet. (Krstovic 1). The bible says to love your enemies, which would have resonated more during the time due to the stronger Christian culture in European society. But while Hamlet defies Christian ideals about revenge, it still incorporates some of the religious beliefs. For example, in Act 3 scene 3, Claudius attempts to pray for forgiveness, while stuck in a conflict because he is still benefiting from his sins and does not want to give up both his wife and his power. Hamlet observes Claudius praying and has the perfect opportunity to take his revenge, but this is an example of him straying from impulses. He decides to wait to kill him, declaring that he would go to heaven if killed immediately after praying. However, the greatest irony is that Hamlet will not have another chance to kill Claudius. This just proves that at the end of the day, some decisions need to be made split second and cannot be endlessly deliberated

Hamlet represents the indecisiveness in all of us, and his philosophical thinking allows him to be more rounded as he considers varying sides. Brian Pearce writes, “It is as if the character itself is a contradiction” (Pearce 4). While in one sense, Hamlet is adamant to avenge his father’s death and plans to murder his uncle Claudius, he also thinks that murder is wrong because he is horrified at what Claudius did. And then there is the fact that he also expresses a shockingly little amount of remorse when he kills Polonius. He is contradicting his values because now Laertes wants to get revenge on him. Should he have taken more time when he was in the arras and the consequences ensued. But was it