Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Edgar Manukian
ENG 120
7 March 2016
Hamlet by William Shakespeare was a joy to read and enjoyable to watch, although I
didnt feel any catharsis after both watching and reading it. Northrop Frye once said Hamlet
seems to me a tragedy without a catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is
smothered under ferocious revenge codes, treachery, spying, and the consequences of weak
actions by broken wills."(90). I agree with his assertion on the lack of catharsis in Hamlet. The
non-existence of catharsis is shown by the actions and thoughts of the characters Gertrude,
she drinks from a poisoned cup that was intended for Hamlet, this was a result of Claudius
schemes and Hamlets crusade against her and against his uncle. Gertrude is setup as a caring
mother with no real faults, other than the one thing Hamlet is most fixed on, her remarriage to his
Hamlet tortures Gertrude by insulting and persecuting her for marrying so quickly while also
being incestuous. Now while these are valid critiques one cannot help but feel sorry for the way
Gertrude is being treated here. Even after all this is said Gertrude even agrees to help Hamlet in
his crusade by not informing anybody of the true nature of Hamlets antic disposition "I have no
life to breathe What thou hast said to me."(III.4.202-203). By helping Hamlet she is redeemed, if
she told the king Hamlets plan would have been thwarted and he would have surely died, she is
no longer just an incestuous strumpet. Later during the final duel scene Gertrude drinks from the
poisoned cup that was intended for Hamlet during a toast to Hamlet himself "No, no, the drink,
the drink!O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisoned. (dies)"(V.2.305-306).
Gertrude's death is tragic and leaves the audience dissatisfied; when she dies the audience still
pities her, she was a caring mother that only wanted the best for her son. No catharsis is achieved
Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet are very similar, both want to exact revenge on their father's killers.
When Laertes is deciding whether or not to strike Hamlet with the poisoned blade he has some
reservations "(aside) And yet it is almost 'gainst my conscience."(V.2.300). Even though Hamlet
did indeed devastate Laertes's family by killing his father and driving his sister mad we can see
that Laertes still has a conscience. Even in the end Laertes forgives Hamlet for killing both him
and his father "Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my fathers death come
not upon thee, Nor thine on me. (dies)(V.2.324-326). Laertes has very legitimate reasons for
trying to kill Hamlet; Hamlet is the reason that Laertes's life is completely filled with rage. And
yet he goes in with a guilty conscience, showing us that even though he is filled with rage he still
has a side that is above it all. Sure, he kills Hamlet thus completing his journey for revenge, but
his death leaves an all too familiar taste of pity lingering in our minds. Laertes is pitied as a result
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of his death, he made a choice to get revenge on Hamlet which leads him to commit treacherous
acts in the name of revenge and as a result he gets himself killed. When he died, pity was still in
the air as he died, nothing was resolved. This all leaves us with no cathartic moment.
Claudius and Hamlet's interactions display the lack of catharsis as a result of their
ferocious revenge codes and treachery. Towards the end of the play we see Hamlet force feeding
villain as Frye mentions here, "An uncomplicated villain, like Richard III, would have wiped
Hamlet out of his life at the first of danger, and slept all the better for it."(92). Claudius doesnt
come after Hamlet immediately and even when he does, he does it very cautiously and
unwillingly. The audience only sees Claudius as an evil and wicked person because of Hamlet
and the ghost of Hamlet Sr. We arent even sure if the ghost and what he says is true. Claudius is
seen as a good king by everyone except Hamlet and Horatio who have heard the word of the
unreliable ghost and even so, when you do something wrong, does that define you forever as
who you are? Hamlet has hated and disliked Claudius before all of this anyway, maybe the ghost
is using the distaste and hate that Hamlet has for Claudius to damn Hamlet. And of course
Hamlet agrees to it, it fulfills Hamlets Oedipal desires by marring his mother and killing his
father. All this treachery and revenge codes between each other culminate in the absence of
without a catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is smothered under ferocious
revenge codes, treachery, spying, and the consequences of weak actions by broken wills."(90).
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On the surface Hamlet seems just like any other Shakespearian play, but when you look behind
the simple plot you unveil a look into human nature and many mature themes such as suicide
and mortality it can teach us and reveal things we didnt know about ourselves. Everyone should
have read at least one Shakespearian play, and if I were to recommend one it would without a
doubt be Hamlet.
Work Cited
1. Mategrano, Terri. CliffsComplete Hamlet. N.p.: John Wiley & Sons, 2000. Print.
2. Frye, Northrop, and Robert Sandler. Northrop Frye on Shakespeare. New Haven: Yale UP,
1986. Print.