Hamlet critical quotes (ao5) Flashcards
Hamlet - Goethe
“all duties…”
all duties are holy to Hamlet
Hamlet - Coleridge
“Hamlet is obliged…”
Hamlet is obliged to act in the spur of the moment
Hamlet - C.S.Lewis
“Hamlet is haunted…”
Hamlet is haunted, not by the physical fear of dying, but of being dead
Hamlet - Henry Mackenzie
“with the strongest purposes of revenge…”
with the strongest purposes of revenge, he is irresolute and inactive
Hamlet - Thomas Hamner
“his actions are…”
his actions are unworthy of a hero
Hamlet - Kate Flint
“he himself is literally…”
he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish
Hamlet - Jacqueline Rose
“the violence towards the mother…”
the violence towards the mother is the effect of the desire for her
Hamlet - Kate Flint
“his madness gives him licence of a fool…”
his madness gives him licence of a fool to speak cruel truths, transgressing the language of social decorum
Hamlet - Goethe
“a poetic and morally…”
a poetic and morally sensitive soul crushed by the barbarous task of murder
Hamlet - Susan Synder
“comedy can be seen as…”
comedy can be seen as the grounds from which tragedy develops
Hamlet - Coleridge
“has no firm…”
has no firm belief in in himself or anything
Hamlet - Coleridge
“a man incapable of acting…”
a man incapable of acting because he thinks too much
Hamlet - Gabriel Josipovici
“suffering a behavious stem…”
suffering a behaviour stem from the fact that he cannot find a play to be a part of
Claudius - Schofield
“he has the persuasiveness and…”
he has the persuasiveness and physical courage of a ruler, but is morally empty
Claudius - Dawson
“he loved Gertrude…”
he loved Gertrude deeply and genuinely
Claudius - Wilson Knight
“a good…”
a good and gentle king
Claudius - Amanda Mabillard
“he is not…”
he is not a monster, he is morally weak
Claudius - Richard Altick
“the cunning and lecherousness…”
the cunning and lecherousness of Claudius’ evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of Denmark
Claudius - L.C.Knights
“a slimy…”
a slimy beast
Polonius - Michael Pennington
“a bad…”
a bad parent
Polonius - Michael Pennington
“made palatable…”
made palatable by the fact he is funny
Polonius - Samuel Johnson
“knowing in retrospect…”
knowing in retrospect, and ignorant in foresight
Polonius - J.H.Walter
“cold hearted…”
cold hearted devil
Polonius - Gabriel Josipovici
“a man whose moral…”
a man whose moral compass is indefinitely wobbly
Gertrude - G.F.Bradbury
“a character of ambiguous…”
a character of ambiguous morality who we can never fully know
Gertrude - T.S.Eliot
“negative and…”
negative and insignificant
Gertrude - Rebecca Smith
“pleasing men…”
pleasing men in Gertrude’s main interest
Ophelia - Elaine Showalter
“Ophelia is deprived of…”
Ophelia is deprived of thought, sexuality and language
Ophelia - Diane Bornstein
“women are so often given the same advice…”
women are often given the same advice that is given to servants… chastity, piety, and obedience
Ophelia - Elaine Showalter
“portrayed as an…”
portrayed as an insignificant minor character
Ophelia - Lee Edwards
“Ophelia has literally…”
Ophelia has literally no story without Hamlet
Ophelia - Emi Hamana
“suffers a series of…”
suffers a series of patriarchal oppressions
Ophelia - Rebecca Smith
“only concern…”
only concern is pleasing others
Ophelia - Elaine Showalter
“the romantic Ophelia…”
the romantic Ophelia feels too much, as Hamlet thinks too much
Ophelia - Elaine Showalter
“her tragedy…”
her tragedy is insubordinate to that of Hamlet
Horatio - Amanda Mabillard
“the harbinger of…”
the harbinger of truth
Horatio - Taylor
“he is remarkably…”
he is remarkably unmotivated
Horatio - Hudson
“very noble character but he…”
very noble character but he moves so quietly into the drama
Horatio - Gervinus
“only observes and…”
only observes and never acts
Horatio - Verity
“horatio serves as a…”
Horatio serves as a foil to Hamlet
Laertes - Magnus
“fiery, self assured…”
fiery, self assured and impetuous
Laertes - Trench
“Laertes refers to Hamlet as ‘Hamlet’…”
Laertes refers to Hamlet as “Hamlet”, rather than what his sister and father would do, call him “Lord Hamlet”
Laertes - Prosser
“he denies his conscience…”
he denies his conscience, his king and his God
Laertes - Hall
“Laertes and Fortinbras are both representatives…”
Laertes and Fortinbras are both representatives of action and such furnish a most expressive contrast to the non-activity of the Danish prince
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Katy Limmer
“cannot be true friends of…”
cannot be true friends of Hamlet when there is two of them
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Marilyn French
“sacrifice the bond of…”
sacrifice the bond of human friendship to a social propriety
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Robert H. Morgan
“they are willing…”
they were willing tools of Claudius
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Kenneth Branaugh
“receive agressive…”
receive aggressive treatment from Hamlet
