English Lit Hamlet Critics

Question 1

Madness

Answer 1

Belsey “Revenge is always an excess of justice “

Question 2

Madness

Answer 2

Gothee “ Most moral natures sinks..beneath a burden which it cannot bear

Question 3

Madness

Answer 3

Carol Thomas Neely

argues that Ophelia’s madness differs from Hamlet’s because of gender
differences and the different forms of madness associated with men and women. Ophelia
is singing songs and carrying on because that’s what women do in that period of time,
while Hamlet’s more reserved madness is reflective of the melancholy that was typically
associated with men. Neely contends that Ophelia’s madness is a hysterical reflection of
Hamlet’s madness, just as her suicide is a hysterical reflection of Hamlet’s contemplation
of suicide.

Question 4

Madness

Answer 4

argues that Hamlet’s feigned madness is how he escapes true
madness. The aspect of play in his madness allows him to express the crazy feelings he
has, but still keep his mental capacities in control. Ophelia is also caught in a double
bind situation.

Question 5

Corruption

Answer 5

Sprugeon “ images of sickness and diseases as descriptive the unwholesome condition of Denmark morally “

Question 6

Corruption

Answer 6

Dollimore “ Articulate a crises in the decay of traditional social order in England “

Question 7

Religion

Answer 7

Bradley “ Hamlet is unable to carry out the scared duty “

Question 8

Religion

Answer 8

Goethe “ All duties seem holy for Hamlet “

Question 9

Religion

Answer 9

Bradley: Religion

“Hamlet is unable to carry out the sacred duty, imposed by divine authority, of punishing an evil man by death”

Question 10

Ophelia

Answer 10

Showalter “ Ophelia is deprived of thoughts sexuality and language “

Question 11

Ophelia

Answer 11

Smith” Trained his daughter to be obedient and chaste “