Hamlet Critic quotes

Question 1

Aristotle

Answer 1

This means Aristotle believed good drama emphasizes action and resolution, while Hamlet’s complexity as a character might detract from its effectiveness as a tragedy

Question 2

Bright

Answer 2

Bright suggests that Hamlet’s introspection and melancholic tone could undermine its tragic seriousness.

Question 3

Middleton

Answer 3

Middleton references Hamlet’s famous graveyard scene to mock its dramatic solemnity in these plays.

Question 4

Jonson

Answer 4

Jonson
“Shakespeare was not of an age, but for all time” (1623).
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Jonson praises Shakespeare’s universal and timeless genius, including in works like Hamle

Question 5

Betterton

Answer 5

Thomas Betterton
Played Hamlet (1661-1709) with “breathless astonishment” before the Ghost.
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This describes Betterton’s performance as Hamlet, particularly his reaction to the Ghost, emphasizing shock and awe.

Question 6

Collier

Answer 6

Jeremy Collier
Ophelia becomes “immodest” in insanity (1698).
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Collier criticizes Ophelia’s behavior in her mad scenes, finding them improper by moral standards of the time.

Question 7

Addison

Answer 7

Joseph Addison
Praised the Ghost as a masterpiece creating “attention or horror” (1711).
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Addison admired the Ghost in Hamlet, noting its ability to evoke strong emotional reactions in the audience.

Question 8

Addison

Answer 8

Joseph Addison
Praised the Ghost as a masterpiece creating “attention or horror” (1711).
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Addison admired the Ghost in Hamlet, noting its ability to evoke strong emotional reactions in the audience.

Question 9

Hill

Answer 9

Aaron Hill
Praised contradictions in Hamlet’s temperament (1735).
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Hill celebrated Hamlet’s complexity, especially his fluctuating emotions and indecisiveness.

Question 10

Voltaire

Answer 10

Voltaire
Called Hamlet a “vulgar and barbarous drama” (1748).
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Voltaire found the play crude and unrefined by French classical standards, particularly criticizing its chaotic structure.

Question 11

Garrick

Answer 11

David Garrick
Played Hamlet guided by grief for his father (1742-1776).

Question 12

Goethe

Answer 12

Goethe
Hamlet is a poetic soul crushed by the barbarous task of murder (1795).
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Goethe saw Hamlet as sensitive and intellectual, unable to reconcile his nature with the demand for vengeance.

Question 13

Goethe

Answer 13

Goethe
Hamlet is a poetic soul crushed by the barbarous task of murder (1795).

Question 14

Schlegel

Answer 14

A.W. Von Schlegel
Hamlet’s sorrow overwhelms compassion for others; unrivaled acting of madness (1809).
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Schlegel emphasized Hamlet’s deep grief, which isolates him from others, and praised actors’ portrayal of his madness.

Question 15

Hazlitt

Answer 15

Hazlitt
“We are Hamlet”; prince of philosophical speculators (1817).
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Hazlitt argued that Hamlet’s introspection reflects universal human struggles, making him relatable to all audiences.

Question 16

Coleridge

Answer 16

Coleridge
Hamlet is abstracted from the real world, preoccupied with imagination (1818).
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Coleridge described Hamlet as lost in thought, overly intellectual, and detached from practical action.

Question 17

Swinburne

Answer 17

Swinburne
Hamlet’s struggle is not weakness but a conflux of contending forces (1880).
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Swinburne viewed Hamlet’s hesitation not as a flaw but as a reflection of the immense conflicts he faces.

Question 18

Jones

Answer 18

Ernest Jones
Hamlet represses his desire to kill Claudius due to unconscious guilt about Gertrude (1910).
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Jones provided a Freudian analysis, suggesting Hamlet’s inaction stems from unresolved feelings toward his mother.

Question 19

Eliot

Answer 19

T.S. Eliot
Hamlet explores the impact of a mother’s guilt on her son (1919).
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Eliot viewed the play as a psychological exploration of Hamlet’s response to Gertrude’s moral failings.

Question 20

Knight

Answer 20

Wilson Knight
Claudius is a “good and gentle king”; Hamlet is evil in Denmark (1930).
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Knight controversially suggested that Claudius represents order, while Hamlet disrupts the peace.

Question 21

Spurgeon

Answer 21

Caroline Spurgeon
Focus on growth, decay, and Shakespeare’s acceptance of death (1935).
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Spurgeon analyzed the play’s imagery, finding recurring themes of mortality and transformation.

Question 22

Bloom

Answer 22

Harold Bloom
Hamlet is a “hero-villain,” with endless interpretations (1998).
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Bloom highlighted Hamlet’s ambiguous morality and the richness of interpretations the character allows.

Question 23

Showalter

Answer 23

Elaine Showalter
Ophelia is deprived of thought, sexuality, and language (1985).
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Showalter argued that Ophelia is silenced and marginalized, reflecting broader feminist critiques of the play.

Question 24

Smith

Answer 24

Rebecca Smith
Gertrude is reduced to a sexual object by others (1980).
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Smith analyzed how male characters diminish Gertrude, denying her agency or depth.

Question 25

Olivier

Answer 25

Olivier, 1948, Gertrude is played by a younger woman in low-cut tops, Oedipal complex lens

Question 26

Dixion

Answer 26

“Olivier, very rightly, plays for sympathy…. Attempts to make a ruthless Renaissance prince into a chivalrous English gentleman.” Dixon, 1948, The Telgraph • loses some of Hamlet’s ruthlessness to make him more palatable to a 1948 audience

Question 27

Murphy

Answer 27

Murphy, 1772: play is a "poetic representation of a weak and melancholy person.”

Question 28

Doran

Answer 28

Doran, 2009 Denmark is “An intensely dangerous world of hyper-surveillance, in which Hamlet himself seems largely politically disinterest” Doran, 2009, RSC Website (about his movie not production)

Question 29

Billington

Answer 29

“The overwhelming impression of a man, who, in putting on an “antic-disposition”, reveals his true, nervously excitable, mercurial self.” Billington, 2008, The Guardian about Doran, 2008 (production not movie)

Question 30

Tennant

Answer 30

David Tennant’s “Agitated Parker wearing wreck in a worl,d where the players never escape observation” RSC 2009

Question 31

Edwards

Answer 31

Lee Edwards Ophelia has no story without Hamlet (1979). - Edwards pointed out how Ophelia’s identity is entirely dependent on Hamlet’s actions and choices.

Question 32

Dane

Answer 32

Gabrielle Dane Ophelia is socially constructed, fragmented, and martyred (1998). - Dane saw Ophelia as a tragic figure shaped and destroyed by societal and patriarchal pressures.

Question 33

Belsey

Answer 33

Catherine Belsey Revenge is in excess of justice (1985). - Belsey explored the ambiguous morality of revenge in Hamlet, where justice becomes indistinguishable from vengeance.

Question 34

Eagleton

Answer 34

Terry Eagleton Hamlet rejects identities from his feudal father or Machiavellian uncle (1980s). - Eagleton analyzed Hamlet as resisting the expectations of loyalty to his father or political cunning of Claudius.

Question 35

Bate

Answer 35

Jonathan Bate Hamlet is both a political play and a personal journey (2007). - Bate highlighted the dual focus on political intrigue and Hamlet’s internal struggles.

Question 36

Tennenhouse

Answer 36

Leonard Tennenhouse Hamlet represents patrilinear claims; Claudius, force and marriage (1986). - Tennenhouse saw Hamlet as embodying traditional inheritance, while Claudius symbolizes disruptive political power.