A View of the Views about Hamlet

Introduction

• Albert H. Tolman's "A View of the Views About Hamlet" explores the various interpretations of Hamlet's delay in avenging his father's murder.
• The essay aims to classify and interpret existing essays on Hamlet to assist both scholars and casual readers.
• The central focus is on why Hamlet delays in avenging his father's murder, fulfilling the Ghost's command.
• Three questions are addressed:
  • Possible explanations for Hamlet's procrastination.
  • Theories put forth by critics.
  • Compatibility and conflicts among these explanations.

The Command to Revenge

• The Ghost lays a threefold command upon Hamlet:
  • Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
  • Taint not thy mind.
  • Nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught.
• Emphasis is placed on the first injunction to revenge.
• Ethical presuppositions of the play:
  • Should Hamlet accept immediate, violent revenge as his duty?
  • Should he accept the Ghost's testimony as final?
  • Should the King's reaction to the play lead to immediate revenge?
• Some critics argue that Hamlet exists in a time where blood-revenge is unquestioned.
• Taine suggests Hamlet's task is to "go quietly, and, with premeditation, plunge a sword into a breast."

Possible Explanations for Hamlet's Delay

• Assuming Hamlet accepts the duty of revenge, possible explanations for his delay include:
  • Excessive tendency to reflection.
  • Weakness of will.
  • An unhealthy or disturbed emotional nature:
    • Deep-seated melancholy.
    • Discovery of life's hypocrisies leading to moral paralysis.
  • Suspicion of the Ghost and doubt of his revelation.
  • Overpowering love for Ophelia.
  • Consciousness of mental derangement.
  • Interest in playing the role of madman.
  • A wish to be a reformer.
  • Certain bodily infirmities.
  • Cowardice.

Affiliated Explanations

• The first three explanations (reflection, will, emotional nature) are closely related and represent Hamlet's difficulty as personal and subjective.
• Excessive reflection implies inactivity, and weakness of will relates to the activity of other powers.
• Emotional being and temperament underlie reflection and volition.
• Coleridge emphasized Hamlet's "great, almost enormous, intellectual activity."
• Goethe attributed weakness of volition and extreme moral sensitiveness to Hamlet.
• Loening considers Hamlet's melancholy temperament as fundamental.
• Sievers suggests Hamlet is hindered by extreme moral sensitiveness, where the discovery of the falseness of man destroys his faith in the good.

Supplementing Interpretations

• The line of interpretation needs supplementation and should not focus solely on the intellectual, volitional, or emotional side.
• Hamlet acts with decision and energy at times, possibly due to a passionate strain or "choleric element" in his nature.
• Hamlet's suspicion of the Ghost is a possible reason for delay, as he fears the devil may be abusing him.
• Loening suggests Hamlet's doubt is a pretense to justify inaction.
• Ophelia's meeting with Hamlet and his devotion to her may contribute to his dilation.
• Woelffel believes Ophelia's failure to respond to Hamlet's love is the turning point in the tragedy.

Madness and Pretense

• Opinions on Hamlet's sanity vary, with some believing he is truly mad and others that he is only pretending.
• Lowell speaks of Hamlet's "perpetual inclination to prose."
• The author accepts the view that Hamlet feigns madness to avoid action and express tumultuous feelings.
• Some believe Hamlet's mental derangement is the sole explanation for his conduct.
• Grimm and Lewes argue that one cannot definitively decide whether Hamlet is mad or not.

Additional Grounds for Delay

• Other possible grounds for delay include:
  • Filial desire to obey the injunction, "Taint not thy mind."
  • Conscientious scruples against blood-revenge.
  • Aversion to killing the King due to familial ties.
  • Fear that attaining the crown is his real object.
  • Perception that he cannot justify killing the King to the Danish people.
  • Desire to expose, disgrace, and dethrone the King.

Conscientious Scruples and Ethical Dilemmas

• Hamlet's desire to obey the Ghost's command to "Taint not thy mind" is a factor in his delay.
• Hamlet may have conscientious scruples against blood-revenge, creating a tragic dilemma.
• The author quotes Corson asking about the dramatic interest of an "irredeemable do-nothing."
• The Quarterly Review suggests Hamlet questions his conscience even after the King's attempts on his life.
• The play presents a contradiction between seeking revenge and keeping his mind untainted; this inherent contradiction may cause his delay.
• Christian and natural sentiments appear side by side in the play, showcasing conflicting forces.

Historical and Moral Perspectives

• The author references Shakespeare's time and moral standards, including Francis de Belleforest's version of Hamlet, which suggests the incompatibility between Christianity and revenge.
• Bacon's essay on Revenge indicates blood-revenge was viewed as "wild justice."
• Hamlet must kill the King treacherously, making revenge distasteful to someone with fine feelings.
• Richardson, Ulrici, Amézieres, and Courdaveaux support the view that Hamlet is held back by conscience.

Werder's Theory: A Different Perspective

• Werder's theory posits that Hamlet's mission is to depose and disgrace the King, not merely kill him, in order to set matters right before the world.
• Werder argues Hamlet must bring the King to confession and unmask him before acting.
• This view suggests Hamlet's pretense of madness is to give vent to his feelings and allow for more active operations against the enemy.
• Werder's view ennobles Hamlet's character, making the drama a tragedy of Fate rather than Character.

Criticisms of Werder's Theory

• The author renounces Werder's view, finding it inconsistent with the natural impression of the drama.
• Werder's interpretation does not align with Ghost's demand for revenge or the natural interpretation of "Taint not thy mind."
• Hamlet's soliloquies contradict Werder's view that his purpose is to unmask the King.
• The play before the King may convince Hamlet of the Ghost's truthfulness, but Hamlet's primary concern is his own doubts, not the King's confession.
• The Ghost's words to Hamlet, "to whet thy almost blunted purpose," are questioned if Hamlet's intent is to expose the King.
• The author thinks that Goethe and Coleridge's interpretation has been misunderstood, and they were followed in error by many Shakespeare students.

The Ghost's Third Command

• The third command, "nor contrive against thy mother aught," leads to the following grounds for Hamlet's inaction:
  • Desire to obey his father's injunction.
  • Affection for his mother and desire to save her from shame.
• Tschischwitz is noted as the only critic who prioritizes these motives.
• Weiss suggests the question of revenge becomes more difficult as it involves widowing his mother.

Influence of Older Plays

• Difficulties in interpreting Hamlet may arise from the influence of an older play.
• Shakespeare based his play on a crude old tale of blood-revenge, such as one created by Belleforest, which could have influenced Shakespeare's version.
• The existence of an earlier English play about Hamlet suggests a distinct conception of the character before Shakespeare's version.
• Latham argues the "pretendedness" of Hamlet's madness is unquestionable, similar to Orestes.
• The First Quarto, Second Quarto, and First Folio show the gradual development of the drama, potentially leading to contradictions.

Hamlet's Age and Discrepancies

• Discrepancies exist regarding Hamlet's age, with conflicting references to his youth and maturity.
• Furnivall suggests Shakespeare initially conceived Hamlet as young and later made him a formed man.
• Minor discrepancies are noted, such as Horatio's timeline at Elsinore and contradictions in Hamlet's statements about fencing practice.
• Corbin suggests Shakespeare's additions to the old tragedy of blood were contradictory to its vital structure as a drama, which contributes to divisions in modern critics and actors.

Shakespeare's Mouthpiece

• Kreyssig suggests Shakespeare chose Hamlet as the exponent of what lay nearest to his own heart.
• Jones Very notes Shakespeare's tendency to overact the part of Hamlet, creating obscurity.
• Riimelin argues Shakespeare's use of the legend introduces a subjective and modern element into the action.
• The author references specific passages, such as those dedicated to the art of acting, as personal utterances of Shakespeare, as well as influences from The Sonnets and the Diggers' scene.

Conclusion

• Shakespeare's Hamlet is the ultimate example of character portrayal in drama, exceeding what is usually found in intense, concentrated dramas.
• The play exhibits an excess of monologue, with recognized by their omission from the First Folio and other utterances of the hero.
• Multiple reasons for Hamlet's inactivity exist, suggesting complementary and harmonious motives rather than exclusive and contradictory ones.
• The author suggests his own theory, where he accepts the consideration for excessive reflection, weakness of will, melancholy temperament, extreme moral sensitiveness. The role of Shakespeare's own thoughts and feelings also intensifies the impression of weakness and dilatoriness of Hamlet.
• The author feels that the problem of Hamlet is unlikely to be solved, and that the heart of his mystery will remain uncaptured.