Critics Flashcards
Hamlet in Purgatory by Stephen Greenblatt
(Not a direct quote) Argues that the Ghost represents a common fear (among the living) of being completely forgotten after death.
Hamlet is not afraid of death… RENAISSANCE MAN… as different from the rest.
Benedict Cumberbatch on own production
“the youth seem to suffer at the hands of the generation above them”
Von Goethe: Religion
“All duties seem holy for Hamlet”
Bradley: Religion
“Hamlet is unable to carry out the sacred duty”
Samuel Johnson: Hamlet’s character
“Hamlet is…rather an instrument than an agent”
Coleridge: Hamlet’s character
“Hamlet is obliged to act on the spur of the moment”
Wilson Knight: Claudius as King
“He is..a good and gentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with his crime.”
Wilson Knight: Hamlet
“Hamlet is an element of evil in the state of Denmark”
Belsey: Revenge
“Revenge is not justice. It is rather an act of injustice on behalf of justice”
Belsey: Justice
“Revenge is always in excess of justice”
Belsey: Morals
“Revenge exists on a margin between justice and crime”
Wilson Knight: Hamlet’s Morality
“He [Hamlet] is in fact the poison in the veins of the community”
Alexander: Vengeance
“The desire for vengeance is seen as part of a continuing pattern of human conduct”
Alexander: Audience Reaction
“The audience are entertained because they are asked to see, feel and understand”
Rebecca Smith: Polonius
“Polonius seems to love his children […] His means of actions, however, are totally corrupt”
