critics Flashcards
What is Janet Adelman’s view on Hamlet’s main psychological task in the play?
“Despite his ostensible agenda of revenge, the main psychological task that Hamlet seems to set himself is not to avenge his father’s death but to re-make his mother.”
According to Stephen Kastan, what are the causes of the catastrophes in Hamlet?
“Are the catastrophes that take place in the play ‘just, an appalling retribution’, or is it the ‘malignity of the heavens’?”
What does A.C. Bradley believe is the main reason Hamlet doesn’t kill Claudius sooner?
“Hamlet’s conscience is the main reason why he doesn’t kill Claudius sooner (‘moral repulsion to the deed’).”
How does Catherine Belsey describe the nature of revenge in Hamlet?
“Revenge is not justice. It is rather an act of injustice on behalf of justice.”
According to Katy Limmer, what does the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio expose?
‘Their friendship and their virtue have been corrupted, like so much else at the Danish court, by the malign influence of Claudius.”
What does Richard Vardy say about power and family values in Denmark?
“Power and politics evidently trump family values in Claudius’ Denmark.”
What does Richard Vardy say about the prevalence of spying in Denmark?
“In Denmark’s corrupt world, spying is endemic.”
How does Avi Ehrlich characterize Gertrude in Hamlet?
“Gertrude is ‘sexually treacherous.’”
What does David Kerrigan suggest Hamlet thinks about women’s love?
“They both confirm Hamlet’s ‘suspicion’ that ‘woman’s love is brief and unworthy’ – that women are fickle and their love is of little value.”
According to Katy Limmer, why does Hamlet distrust Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
“Even after Hamlet has appealed to them in the name of their friendship to be open with him—’But in the beaten way of friendship, what makes you at Elsinore?’—they dissemble and equivocate for four exchanges before admitting they were sent for by the king. This betrayal of one of the basic tenets of friendship justifies Hamlet’s distrust and rejection of their feigned friendship.”
What does Janet Adelman say about Gertrude’s role in her husband’s death?
“The issue with this parental domination lies in the fact that Gertrude has chosen to marry Claudius, thus making her almost complicit in her first husband’s death.”
How does Alfred Mack describe the role of madness in Hamlet?
“Madness was ‘dramatically useful’ as it allowed the ‘combination in a single figure of tragic hero and buffoon, to whom could be accorded the license or the allowed fool in speech and action.’”
What does Tosh argue Shakespeare believed about excessive or unrequited love?
“Shakespeare took seriously the view that excessive or unrequited love could lead to mental distraction.”
What does Elaine Showalter say about female melancholy in Hamlet?
“Female melancholy was considered to fall into a whole different category, connected not with genius but with sexuality and sexual frustration.”
According to Marian Cox, how does Hamlet shift between different roles in the play?
“Hamlet wears alternately the twin theatrical masks of tragedy and comedy, sane prince and mad fool, from the moment he decided to put on an ‘antic disposition.’”
