A Psychoanalytic Reading of Hamlet

William Shakespeare's Hamlet is different from other Elizabethan revenge plays in

the sense that the playwright did put much effort in depicting the psychological make-up of his
hero Hamlet. The way Shakespeare portrays the psychological complexities of Hamlet; the play
has become a lucrative text to the critics to see through the psychoanalytic lens. Analysis of
Hamlet using psychoanalytic criticism reveals the inward states of Hamlets mind. Among the
various aspects of Hamlets character, the thing that instantly draws our attention is his relation
with his mother Gertrude. It is here the psychoanalytic critics opine that Hamlet has an Oedipus
complex to his mother. Freud developed the theory of Oedipus complex, whereby, says Freud,
the male infant conceives the desire of eliminate the father and become the sexual partner of the
mother. Hamlet, too, has several symptoms to suffer from Oedipus complex.

Hamlets Oedipus complex:

A fundamental basis for all of Freudian psychology resides in the oedipal feelings which
Freud believed are common to all male children. The major psychological distinction between
one person and another was said to come from the way the person handled those feelings and the
way that handling was represented in everyday life (how the hell do you write such nonsense
sentences?). Freud is categorical about the existence of the oedipal impulse. It is the fate of all of
us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our
first murderous wish against our father. Our dreams convince us that that is so. King Oedipus,
who slew his father Laus and married his mother Jocasta, merely shows us the fulfillment of our
own childhood wishes...
Here is one in whom these primeval wishes of our childhood have been fulfilled.
While the poet, as he unravels the past, brings to light the guilt of Oedipus, he is at the same time
compelling us to recognize our own inner minds, in which those same impulses, though
suppressed, are still to be found. (Freud, 1965. p.296) As a child, Hamlet always expressed the
warmest fondness and affection for his mother. This adoration contained elements of disguised
erotic quality, especially seen in the bed chamber scene with his mother. The Queen's sensual
nature and her passionate fondness of her son are two traits that show her relationship with
Hamlet goes beyond the normal mother-son relationship.

Nonetheless though, Hamlet finds a love interest in Ophelia. His feelings for Ophelia are
never discussed fully in the play, but it is evident to the reader that at one time he loved her
because of the hurt he feels when she lies to him. At this part in the play, Hamlet insults Ophelia
by telling her, "Or if/ thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know/ well enough
what monsters you make of them. To a /nunn'ry, go, and quickly too" (3.1.136-139).
At this part in the play, it is extremely difficult for Hamlet to differentiate between his
mother and Ophelia. Therefore, making his true feelings for his mother become more obscure.
Another thing is that, when Hamlet's father dies and his mother re-marries, the independency of
the idea of sexuality with his mother, concealed since infancy, can no longer be hid from his
consciousness. Emotions which were favorable and pleasing at infancy are now emotions of
abhorrence and disgust because of his repressions. In the beginning of the play he becomes
extremely derisive and contemptuous to his mother. "Seems, madam? Nay, it is, I know not
"seems." (1.2.76).
When Hamlet says this, he is mocking his mother's question about why he is still
mourning his father's death. Ironically, out of the love he still has for his mother, he yields her
request to remain at the court. The long "repressed" need to take his father's place, by gaining his
mother's devotion is first stimulated to unconscious activity by the marriage of his mother to
Claudius. Claudius has usurped the position of husband to Gertrude, a position that Hamlet had
once longed for. Their incestuous marriage thus resembles Hamlet's imaginary idea of having a
sexual relationship with his mother. These unconscious desires are struggling to find conscious
expression, without Hamlet being the least aware of them.

Hamlet is his own great enemy because he did not take the opportunities given to him to
proceed with his plan. He just finds ways to reason himself out of all the opportunities. His id,
ego, and superego makes him confuse and weak. His reasoning is his way to hide the true reason
why he cannot kill Claudius, which is his weakness. Hamlet tragic death is not because of
madness. Madness is only an act and it is not true. Hamlet is a smart, very educated, and a good
person. His flaws that cause his tragic death are his weakness, reasoning, and confuse id, ego,
and superego.
In Hamlet, Hamlet dies a tragic death. Most readers wonder what or who is the reason for
Hamlet's dreadful death. Even though some people might say that the person who is at fault is
Hamlet's mother, the queen, who is unfaithful to Hamlet's father, King Hamlet or King Claudius

with his evil scheme has killed King Hamlet. In realization, Hamlet's action which leads to his
death is based on his id, ego, and superego. Hamlet's consciousness from his ego makes him so
weak that he backed out on almost all of his plans to kill King Claudius. Some readers might
think that Hamlet is mad which brings a catastrophic death to his end. In reality, Hamlet's
madness is a bogus. His madness is his cunning way to hide what he is really up to and what he
knows. Hamlet is smarter than some readers might give him credit for, even though he is absurd
in some cases where he could take action to kill King Claudius. Hamlet's id, ego, and superego
cause him to be his worst enemy, because he is the one who brought his tragic death upon
himself with his action.
A person's actions are all based on his/her id, ego, and superego. The id is the true
wanting of a person. The id only judge a situation with the feelings of what the person wants and
thinks. The super-ego is the judgments with society advice or suggestions. The ego is the
combine of both the id and the superego like what Sigmund Freud suggests that "the ego looks at
both the person's feelings and his/her surrounding to choose which path he/she should take "(15).
This also goes for Hamlet. Hamlet looks at both what he wants to do and what other expects of
him. Then he chooses which path he should take either kill Claudius at that point or just wait
until the next time. Like his famous speech "To be or not to be":
"To be or not to bethat is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end
them. To die, to sleepno moreand by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand
natural shocks that flesh is heir to'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished "(123).

In this speech Hamlet is wondering should he act now and tell everyone that Claudius is
the one who has murder his father or should he just wait until the next opportunity to come by.
Even though the ego is the combine of both the id and the superego it is not always stable. The
ego is always
Changing; it does not stay constant (Freud 15). The ego is a combination of both the id
and the superego. It can either combine more with the id or it can combine more with the
superego. It depends on which one have the most influence on the person, which in this case is
Hamlet. Hamlet is the type of person where his ego is scare, his id is weak, and his superego is
not that strong enough to influence him to take action.

Defense Mechanisms
The ego has some tools it can use in its job as the mediator; tools that help defend the
ego. These are called Ego Defense Mechanisms or Defenses. When the ego has a difficult time
making both the id and the superego happy, it will employ one or more of these defenses:

Repression:In anticipation of his later theories of the Oedipus complex, Freud suggests that Claudius
has shown Hamlet the repressed wished of his own childhood realization (his desire to kill his
father and take his fathers place with his mother). Since this theory in closet scene: in which

Hamlet confronts his mother in her private quarters has been portrayed in a sexual light in
several performances Hamlet is played as scolding his mother for having sex with Claudius
while simultaneously lover and hates about his mother.

Depression:Depression may be a reaction to a disturbing event, and in this case Hamlet is reacting to
his fathers death. It is normal for people who have just lost a loved one to experience the stages
of grief. This seems to be the biggest stage Hamlet goes through. Throughout the play it is
mentioned that Hamlet is wearing dark clothing, clearly here he is still mourning over the death.
Also it is seen during the reading that Hamlet is harsh and sarcastic to his mother and uncle, this
reaction reflects the conflict with [his] parents, says Jones. Hamlet first starts to show his
depression with his fathers passing. His first sign is when he is introduced wearing a complete
black suit.
Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not forever with thy vailed of lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou knowst tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity. (1.2.70-75)

It is clear that Hamlet is in dark clothing and still in the mourning of his fathers death.
This shows his conflict with his mother and uncle because he is objecting to his mothers

requests. The other cause for Hamlets depression is his mothers quick decision to remarry her
husbands brother.

Projection:Claudius can be explained through a psychoanalytic model in two ways: either he is a

psychological projection of Hamlets unconscious mind, or a real person who has coincidentally
fulfilled Hamlets unconscious fantasies. If the first is true, then we are presumably interpreting
the play a psycho-drama, replacing the man-against-man conflict with a strictly internal one. If
the second is true, and we view Claudius as a real man (who happens to also be a psychological
projection of Hamlet), then Hamlet is incapable of killing Claudius because he identifies too
strongly with him. Either way, Hamlets much-debated inaction throughout the play is
explained.
As a ghost, Hamlets father is both real and unreal by nature, so it's natural to view him as
some type of symbolic projection. Unlike Claudius with his hidden, secret motivations, the ghost
gives Hamlet tangible information and clear instruction for action. Thus, he/it can be understood
as a manifestation of Hamlets conscious mind. The ghosts command to Hamlet not to "let thy
soul contrive against thy mother"(1.5.86), is an example of the socially constructed super-ego
and the ego (the primary element of the conscious mind) attempting to keep the unconscious
impulses of the id under control. The "Closet Scene" (3.4) reaffirms this notion of conflicting
psychological forces, when the ghost returns to prevent Hamlet from enacting his oedipal fantasy
with his mother.

Displacement:In Shakespeares play Hamlet an example of displacement can be found in the recurring
appearance of the color black. In act 1, scene 2 Gertrude tells Hamlet to cast thy nighted color
off. She wishes Hamlet would stop wearing black mooring clothes. Gertrude advises him to
seek for thy noble father in the dust/ Thou knowst tis common; all that lives must die. She
suggests that Hamlet should get over grieving his father death, because death happens to
everyone all of the time and therefore is something he should just accept.
However, Hamlet still wears black, long after his father funeral has passed. His attire sets
him apart from the rest of the plays characters, symbolizing his marginality, emotionally and
intellectually. Hamlets intense grief and potential insanity makes him stand out psychologically,
as his refusal of change out of his black clothes sets him apart visually. Hamlets black attire
symbolizes his psychological of his fathers death. The image of black clothing and Hamlets
fixation on his mourning are unified by the idea that Hamlet is literally wearing his emotions.
Another example of displacement in Hamlet can be found in act 1 scene 4, when Horatio
and Hamlet are conversing about the wedding celebration, Hamlet remarks that partying and
drinking is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance . Hamlet believes
that it is better to ignore the party rather than to practice it. Here, he is displacing his anger of his
mothers hasty remarriage onto the celebration itself. He is unifying the image of the wedding
with his feeling of grief, causing him to see the wedding as something that should not be
celebrated and is frustrated by the carousing and chooses not to participate in it.

Laca
n theory:In Lacanian theory, an individual goes through three stages of development: the Real, the
Imaginary/Mirror stage, and the Symbolic order. The Real is when the individual is an infant and
he or she believes that everything is one, that he or she is the same entity as his/her mother. The
Imaginary/Mirror stage is defined by the individual discovering that he or she is a separate entity
from his or her mother, which then results in tragedy for the child. The Symbolic Order is when
the individual enters the realm of languagebut for our purposes only the first two stages apply.
According to this theory, because of the separation anxiety Hamlet has been dealing with
resulting from the Imaginary/Mirror stage, he has an urge to become one with Gertrude again
through sex. Because of the marriage, Claudius has prevented Hamlets ability to do so, which
explains Hamlets resentment towards him. The closet scene in 3.4 where Hamlet directly tells
Gertrude how disgusted he is of her and Claudius having a sexual relationship, and begs her to
refrain from any type of sexual expression shows his inability to handle the reality of his
mothers sexuality.

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