Hamlet
Hamlet's hesitation to kill Claudius in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is debatably one of the most interesting topics of this play. Among the most renowned analysts to have theories on Hamlet's procrastination is Ernest Jones, who explains his reasoning through Sigmund Freud's Oedipus complex theory. Today, many psychologists disapprove of Freud's theories, but literary analysts still rely on his theories to explain much of Hamlet's reasoning. Although the psychological and philosophical aspects contains small gaps unanswered because of Hamlet's state of confusion and melancholy, the Tragedy and the Mind of the Infant still gives proof of Hamlet's procrastination through Freudian theory, caused by his inability to cope with repressed childhood feelings.One of these weaknesses of Jones's view relates to the Oedipus complex. Freud stated that it affects children up to the age of five, not adults, such as Hamlet. Freud never stated that adults share these feelings towards their mother because of represse
On the philosophical aspect, Hamlet is overanalyzing the possible solutions delaying the murder further. In Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be" soliloquy, as Jones puts it, he "perpetuates the sin and so must endure the stings of torturing conscience". By allowing Claudius to live, he imagines himself in Claudius's place, fantasizing Gertrude, while at the same time, he is suffering seeing another man sleep with her. Yet, as Jones states, "killing his mother's husband would be equivalent to committing the original sin himself". It isn't until Hamlet gives a projective test, or Thematic Apperception Test, that he starts to lose his fears about punishing Claudius. Although there are some minor weaknesses in Jones's theory, many of these weaknesses can be solved by further analyzing Freudian theory beyond the Oedipus complex. Jones's weaknesses partly attribute to the fact that Hamlet was not a real character and that Shakespeare could not replicate the Oedipus complex theory perfectly because Freud did not invent it at the time
Some common words found in the essay are:
Claudius Act, Gertrude Act, Apperception Test, Hamlet Freud, Wretched Queen, Mind Infant, Freud's Oedipus, Infant Hamlet, Iv25 Oedipus, Shakespeare's Hamlet, oedipus complex, freudian theory, jones's view, act 3 scene, act 3, hamlet's procrastination, kill claudius, 3 scene, wretched queen, queen adieu, wretched queen adieu, oedipus complex theory, mind infant, 3 scene 4, scene 4 hamlet,
Approximate Word count = 695
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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