Hamlet Psychoanalytic Analysis

Mothers-in-law have always had the reputation of being a hassle. This very true for the character Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet portrays the story of young Prince Hamlet and the events that unfold in his life after his father’s death. With his mother, Gertrude, hastily remarrying his uncle, Claudius, and his love interest, Ophelia, slipping away, it’s no wonder that Hamlet seems to be going mad. But what if these events aren’t just factors to Hamlet’s madness? What if these situations are domino effects of each other? In Teaching William Shakespeare 's Hamlet from Multiple Critical Perspectives by Douglas Grudzina, there is a critical perspective called “psychoanalytic/Freudian theory.” The chapter details that with this perspective, “One will further understand that a character’s outward behavior might conflict with inner desires, or might reflect as-yet-undiscovered inner desires.” Outwardly, Hamlet may be treating Ophelia in a rude and disrespectful manner, but inwardly, he struggles with much more that had nothing to do with her personally. Instead of turning to the girl he loved for comfort and support, he shut her out in order to protect himself from what he saw as another opportunity to be hurt. Through language in the play and other psychological factors, it is evident that Gertrude marrying

In Act III, Scene 1, Shakespeare presents a scene in which Hamlet and Ophelia discuss their relationship. Hamlet speaks in puns and ambiguities and accuses Ophelia of being a seductress. He urges her to either join a brothel or a convent and after this conversation, Ophelia speaks to herself of the changes in Hamlet saying, “And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, that sucked the honey of his music vows, now see that noble and most sovereign reason like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; that unmatched form and feature of blown