Hamlet: Critics Flashcards
‘All duties seem _________ to Hamlet’ (Von Goethe)
holy
‘The aim of tragedy is to arouse sensations of_______ and ________’
(Aristotle)
pity and fear
‘The opening scene of Hamlet is as well _______ as that of any play ever written’ (T.S. Eliot)
constructed
‘Claudius shows every sign of being an excellent ________ and king’ (Knight)
diplomat
‘Ophelia is deprived of thought, _______ and _________’ (Showalter)
sexuality and language
Which critic said:
‘Opelia is deprived of thought, sexuality and language’?
Showalter
‘In Shakespeare’s society, the ideal female is cherished for her youth, ___________ and purity’ (Rogers)
beauty
Which critic said:
‘In Shakespeare’s society, the ideal female is cherished for her youth, beauty and purity’
Rogers
Hamlet can be privileged in madness to say things about the corruption of __________/___________ (Mack)
human behaviour
‘Hamlet seems incapable of ___________ action’ (Hazlitt)
deliberate
‘Hamlet’s delay is due to…a form of _____________’ (Bradley)
melancholy
‘The single characteristic of Hamlet’s character is by no means hesitation but the strong conflux of ___________ forces.’ (Swinbourne)
contending
Which critic?
‘Hamlet is a tragedy of thought.’
Bradley
‘Hamlet is a tragedy of ______________.’ (Bradley)
thought
Which critic?
‘The single characteristic of Hamlet’s character is by no means hesitation but the strong conflux of contending forces.’
Swinbourne
‘We can imagine Hamlet’s story without _________ but ____________ literally has no story without Hamlet.’
(Edwards)
Ophelia
Which critic?
‘We can imagine Hamlet’s story without Ophelia, but Ophelia literally has no story without Hamlet.’
Edwards
‘Gertrude is a moral ________________’ (Muir)
defective
‘Gertrude is a ____________ defective’ (Muir)
moral
Which critic?
‘Women are either innocent maiden saints or loathsome sinners.’
Mcgrory
‘Women are either innocent maiden saints or ______________________.’
‘loathsome sinners’
Which critic?
‘Polonius seems to love his children….his means of action however are totally corrupt’
Smith
Polonius seems to love his children….his means of action however are…’ (Smith)
totally corrupt
Women are either …… or loathsome sinners (McCrory)
innocent maiden saints
What did Muir say about Gertrude?
She is a ‘moral defective’
What did Bradley say about Hamlet as a tragedy?
It is a ‘tragedy of thought’.
What did Knight say that Claudius shows every sign of being?
An excellent diplomat and king
According to Aristotle, what is the aim of tragedy?
‘to arouse sensations of pity and fear’
What did Von Goethe say about how Hamlet sees duty?
‘all duties seem holy to Hamlet’
According to Hazlitt, what is Hamlet incapable of?
‘deliberate action’
According to Showalter, what is Ophelia deprived of?
‘thought, sexuality and language’
The single characteristic of Hamlet is by no means hesitation but…(Swinbourne)
the strong conflux of contending forces.
What did Swinbourne say about Hamlet’s main characteristic?
It is ‘by no means hesitation but the string conflux of contending forces’
Hamlet’s primary psychological endeavor is not merely to avenge his father’s death but to.. (Adelman)
remake his mother
Who said this:
Hamlet’s primary psychological endeavor is not merely to avenge his father’s death but to remake his mother
Adelman
What did Adelman say about Hamlet’s primary psychological endeavour?
It is not to avenge his father but to remake his mother.
Hamlet’s disgust at the feminine passivity in himself is translated into… (Leverenz)
violent revulsion against women.
Who said this:
Hamlet’s disgust at the feminine passivity in himself is translated into violent revulsion against women.
Leverenz
Claudius is not a monster, he is…. (Mabillard)
morally weak
What did Mabillard say about Claudius?
he is ‘not a monster, he is morally weak’
Claudius’ soliloquy gives the impression of rhetorical pageantry rather than… (Arnold)
sincere contrition
What did Arnold say about Claudius’ soliloquy?
It ‘gives the impression of rhetorical pageantry, rather than sincere contrition’
The ghost is the _________ of the play (Wilson)
linchpin
Who said this:
The ghost is the linchpin of the play
Wilson
What did Wilson say about the ghost?
It is the linchpin of the play
Through madness, Ophelia makes a… (Charney)
forceful assertion of her being
Who said this:
Through madness, Ophelia makes a forceful assertion of her being.
Charney
Polonius has trained his daughter to be obedient and chaste and is thus able to use her as…(Smith)
a piece of bait for spying.
Who said this:
Polonius has trained his daughter to be obedient and chaste and is thus able to use her as bait for spying.
Smith
What did Smith say about Polonius?
He has trained his daughter to be obedient and chaste and is thus able to use her as bait for spying.
What did Showalter say about Ophelia and hamlet’s madness?
Ophelia’s madness is erotomania whereas Hamlet’s madness is associated with intellectual or imaginative genius.
Who said this?
Hamlet’s madness is associated with intellectual or imaginative genius, but Ophelia’s madness is erotomania’
Showalter
Hamlet’s madness is associated with intellectual or imaginative genius, but Ophelia’s madness is… (Showalter)
erotomania
Who said this:
Hamlet is rather an instrument than an agent’
(Johnson)
Hamlet is rather an __________ than an ___________ (Johnson)
instrument/agent
What did Johnson say about Hamlet?
Hamlet is rather an instrument than an agent.
‘Laertes is like a…’ (Prosser)
hurricane
What did Prosser say about Laertes?
He is ‘like a hurricane - he rushes into the palace in an uncontrolled rage roaring for blood’
Who said this?
‘Laertes is like a hurricane - he rushes into the palace in an uncontrolled rage roaring for blood’
Prosser
‘Ophelia is a ______ we have never really known’ (Kerrigan)
lesser
Who said this?
‘Ophelia is a lesser we have never really known’
Kerrigan
What did Kerrigan say about Ophelia?
She is a ‘lesser we have never really known’
‘In the final act, Hamlet accepts his world and we… (Mack)
discover a different man
What did Mack say about Hamlet at the end of the play?
He ‘accepts his world and we discover a different man’
Who said this?
‘In the final act, Hamlet accepts his world and we discover a different man’
Mack
‘Hamlet is a tragedy without…’ (Frye)
catharsis
Who said this?
‘Hamlet is a tragedy without catharsis’
Frye
What did Frye say about Hamlet as a tragedy?
It is a ‘tragedy without catharsis’
O’Toole said that ‘Hamlet is patently not a…’
hero
Who has suggested that Hamlet is ‘patently not a hero’?
O’Toole
What did O’Toole say about Hamlet as a character?
He is ‘patently not a hero’
