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