Hamlet Critic quotes Flashcards
Aristotle
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
Bright
Bright suggests that Hamlet’s introspection and melancholic tone could undermine its tragic seriousness.
Middleton
Middleton references Hamlet’s famous graveyard scene to mock its dramatic solemnity in these plays.
Jonson
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
Betterton
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.
Collier
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.
Addison
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.
Addison
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.
Hill
Aaron Hill
Praised contradictions in Hamlet’s temperament (1735).
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Hill celebrated Hamlet’s complexity, especially his fluctuating emotions and indecisiveness.
Voltaire
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.
Garrick
David Garrick
Played Hamlet guided by grief for his father (1742-1776).
Goethe
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.
Goethe
Goethe
Hamlet is a poetic soul crushed by the barbarous task of murder (1795).
Schlegel
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.
Hazlitt
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.
Coleridge
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.
Swinburne
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.
Jones
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.
Eliot
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.
Knight
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.
Spurgeon
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.
Bloom
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.
Showalter
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.
Smith
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.
Olivier
Olivier, 1948, Gertrude is played by a younger woman in low-cut tops, Oedipal complex lens
Dixion
“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
Murphy
Murphy, 1772: play is a “poetic representation of a weak and melancholy person.”
Doran
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)
Billington
“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)
Tennant
David Tennant’s “Agitated Parker wearing wreck in a worl,d where the players never escape observation” RSC 2009
Edwards
Lee Edwards
Ophelia has no story without Hamlet (1979).
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Edwards pointed out how Ophelia’s identity is entirely dependent on Hamlet’s actions and choices.
Dane
Gabrielle Dane
Ophelia is socially constructed, fragmented, and martyred (1998).
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Dane saw Ophelia as a tragic figure shaped and destroyed by societal and patriarchal pressures.
Belsey
Catherine Belsey
Revenge is in excess of justice (1985).
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Belsey explored the ambiguous morality of revenge in Hamlet, where justice becomes indistinguishable from vengeance.
Eagleton
Terry Eagleton
Hamlet rejects identities from his feudal father or Machiavellian uncle (1980s).
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Eagleton analyzed Hamlet as resisting the expectations of loyalty to his father or political cunning of Claudius.
Bate
Jonathan Bate
Hamlet is both a political play and a personal journey (2007).
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Bate highlighted the dual focus on political intrigue and Hamlet’s internal struggles.
Tennenhouse
Leonard Tennenhouse
Hamlet represents patrilinear claims; Claudius, force and marriage (1986).
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Tennenhouse saw Hamlet as embodying traditional inheritance, while Claudius symbolizes disruptive political power.
