Psychoanalytic View of Hamlet Flashcards
Lacanian Phallus?
- Hamlet is continually challenged by people around him to dissuade from the common masculine ideal. (Swords used at end, beginning and sometimes used in “To be or not to be”)
- Hamlet is directly castrated by his uncle as the cause of all the story’s plot
To be or not to be? (Lacanian)
To resolve back into the primordial one, the core being before birth. This resolution becomes inherent within each of us to desire a wholeness of being without impurity and be nothing. Jouissance, going beyond the pleasure principle inherently acts like this, as it acts as a devolving back into the death drive.
Ego, Id, Superego
The id acts as the childlike (impulsive) state of all men and women, whereas the ego is the completely rational individual. The superego balances the two.
Anima-Animus (Jungian)
The anima is the representation of fem. in men, animus being representation of masc. in women. (Syzygy dualistic)
Collective Unconscious vs. Personal Unconscious (Jungian)
Collective Unconscious: Personality reinforced from birth; Contains the archetypes.
(Your unconscious that you are not aware of)
Personal Unconscious: Rational change and potential for future development (Your unconscious that you are aware of)
Persona (Jungian)
The facade we show the world; acts as “Packaging for the ego” and makes ourselves desirable and bearable. [We think we live for ourselves, but we are egotistical, selfish and ignorant]
Individuation (All theories)
The recollection and understanding of the core self through self-actualization (Retrospective analysis on conflict, power and balances of individuals)
The Shadow (Jungian)
Embodies the darkness within all of us, embellishing the evil within us to project it onto others (Hamlet projects the evil of Claudius towards other people, creating a study not of political strife, but of emotion)
The Self (Jungian)
The unification point for all of the psyche and archetypes. Provides balance between the subconscious and conscious layers of the mind.
What is the danger of the inner world? (Jungian)
Overexposure to the introspective makes you extremely introverted, restricted and fearful of the outside world and no longer able to become a working member of society (e.g Hikikomoris in Japan and other “hermits”); Hamlet may act as that.
What is the fear of the outer world? (Jungian)
The overexposure of indulgence and retrospection hinders your movement and actions, resulting in suffering and the lack of recognition, trapping you in an endless loop of suffering. (Claudius)
Kierkegaard and Freedom
“Anxiety is the dizziness of Freedom”
Kierkegaard and Immortality
“Sygdommen til Døden”; Acts as the languidity of nothingness as you reach true despair [‘To be or not to be’]
