Hamlet AO5 Flashcards
What are the 4 types of critical approaches
PSYCHOANALYTICAL- sigmund frued, Oedipus complex, consider roles of unconscious motivations and repression, how can environmental factors impact this
NEW HISTORICISM-ideology of then vs now, how interpretations change over time
FEMINIST- how gender influences dynamics with other characters, how expectations would reinforce or undermine
MARXIST- concept or class struggle, capitalism is designed to benefit wealthy while oppressing poor
What are the two paintings that portray hamlet and Gertrude and how can these be compared
HAMLET AND HIS MOTHER; THE CLOSET SCENE,
RICHARD DADD- aggressive one
Gertrude frightened, hands together pleading for mercy perhaps, hamlet direct and confrontational, hamlet looks manic as he is pale and has wide opened eyes
HAMLET AND HIS MOTHER,
EUGENE DELAEROIX- passive one
Hamlet is passive n disregarding Gertrude, Gertrude clearly wants acknowledgement
COMPARISON
Gertrude only labelled as hamlets mother in both titles, her whole characterisation, feminist approach
Gertrude dressed very different, in aggressive one she is dressed very demure whereas passive she is reinforcing her power dynamic via the monarchy, wearing typical clothing a monarch would wear and a big crown
Ophelia’s death paintings and compare
OPHELIA
JOHN MILLAIS- iconic one
Surrounded by flowers, meaning before was to expose the flaws of the court alluding to how perhaps they’re responsible for her death
Makes her death an obvious suicide, only calmth she experiences in the whole play
OPHELIA
EUGENE DELAROIX, best one
Holding onto the branch, question suicide narrative, exposed but attempts to cover herself, his interpretation of Ophelia is defiant, in the painting she denies death and the sexualisation Shakespeare imposes on her
Paintings showing hamlet and the ghost and compare
HAMLET AND HIS FATHERS GHOST
HENRY FUSELI-
hamlet not scared and is held back by others as he stands up against it, warrior like
HAMLET AND HIS FATHERS GHOST
WILLIAM BLAKE-
ghost dominates over him, more of a dark and mysterious background, daunting, hamlet cowards infront of the ghost a more accurate interpretation of how he reacts to seeing the ghost in the play
COMPARISON
Both refer to ghost as hamlets father alluding to how they both see it as a true ghost
Who says what in The Revengers Tragedy
Thomas Middleton says
When the bad bleed then so the tragedy good
CONTEMPORY
Who says what in The essays; ‘of revenge’
Francis Bacon says
Revenge is a kind of wild justice
CONTEMPORARY
What is a contemporary piece of AO5 from an anonymous source
In a Homily Against Disobedience and wilful rebellion someone says
God doth give princes wisdom, great power and authority
What does king James VI of Scotland say in what
In Daemonologie he says
The devil is the source of all ghostly apparitions, to delude the living
CONTEMPORARY
Early criticism regarding punishment
James drake-
Everyone’s crime naturally produces his punishment
Early criticism regarding Ophelia
Jeremy collier-
Ophelia is lewd and unreasonable
Early criticism regarding hamlet being used
Samuel Johnson-
Hamlet is an instrument rather than an agent
Early criticism regarding hamlet lack of action
William Hazlitt-
Because he cannot have his revenge perfect…. He declines it all together
Early criticism regarding hamlets conduct
Thomas Hanmer-
Hamlets conduct is so cruel there is something so bloody in it, so inhuman, so unworthy of a hero
What does Sigmund Freud say (two things)
This play is built on Hamlets hesitations over fulfilling the task of revenge
[Hamlet is] no better than the sinner of whom he is to punish
MODERN
Who says what is at the root of Hamlets problems
A.C Bradley says Melancholia is at the root of Hamlets problems
MODERN
Who says “Nothing stands between Hamlet and ______ except for _______ ___”
A.C Bradley
Nothing stands between Hamlet and suicide except for religious awe
MODERN
Who says we can imagine Hamlets story without Ophelia but Ophelia literally has no story without Hamlet
Lee Edward’s
MODERN
AO5 on Gertrude’s presence
[gertrude has a] nurturing and maternal presence
REBECCA SMITH
MODERN
Girl boss Valerie Traub quotes (4)-
MODERN
HAMLET
Shakespeare is preoccupied with the uncontrollability of women’s sexuality
Male power is restored through the vilification of women
The grave is a site of male competition…. Sexual possession
Ophelia’s death is as much an outcome of Hamlets rage as it is an expression of her grief, madness or self destruction
Modern criticism about Polonius
A stock character
Source of comedic relief
RICHARD VARDY
Ophelia and Gertrude as archetypes
Representatives of two archetypes
The Virgin and the whore
SEAN McEVOY
MODERN
What does modern critic Ingram say
Ophelia is a feminine ideal
Passive, sexualised and utterly defined by her romantic relationships
