Summary

This document provides multiple perspectives on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The analysis encompasses interpretations by various literary critics, highlighting different aspects of the play's characters and themes. Scholars such as T.S. Eliot, Harold Bloom, and A. C. Bradley share different takes on the play.

Full Transcript

''But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue'' (he feels like no one would understand him since no one sees anything wrong with what is happening) 1. **T.S. Eliot**: An influential 20th-century poet and playwright, Eliot is known for his modernist works and critical essays. He emphasiz...

''But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue'' (he feels like no one would understand him since no one sees anything wrong with what is happening) 1. **T.S. Eliot**: An influential 20th-century poet and playwright, Eliot is known for his modernist works and critical essays. He emphasized the psychological depth of characters in literature. - Quote: \"The play is a tragedy of thought. Hamlet is a man who thinks too much, and his thoughts paralyze his actions.\" - Citation: Eliot, T.S. \"Hamlet and His Problems.\" In *The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism*, 1920. 2. **Harold Bloom**: An American literary critic and theorist, Bloom is recognized for his works on the Western canon and his analysis of Shakespeare\'s plays, particularly \"Hamlet.\" - Quote: \"Hamlet is the most beautiful and the most terrible of all Shakespeare\'s plays. It is a play about the human condition, about the struggle between action and inaction.\" - Citation: Bloom, Harold. *Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human*. Riverhead Books, 1998. 3. **A.C. Bradley**: A British literary scholar, Bradley is known for his influential work on Shakespearean tragedy, particularly his character analysis in *Shakespearean Tragedy*. - Quote: \"Hamlet is a character of profound complexity, and the ghost serves as a crucial catalyst in his journey of self-discovery and moral questioning.\" - Citation: Bradley, A.C. *Shakespearean Tragedy*. Macmillan, 1904. 4. **Samuel Johnson**: An English writer and lexicographer, Johnson was a prominent figure in 18th-century literature and is known for his critical essays and biographies of literary figures. - Quote: \"The ghost in \'Hamlet\' is a powerful figure that embodies the themes of revenge and justice, compelling the protagonist to confront his own moral dilemmas.\" - Citation: Johnson, Samuel. *The Plays of William Shakespeare*. 1765. 5. **Coleridge**: An English poet and literary critic, Coleridge is known for his contributions to Romantic literature and his insightful analyses of Shakespeare\'s works. - Quote: \"The ghost is a symbol of the unresolved past, haunting Hamlet and driving him towards a path of vengeance that ultimately leads to tragedy.\" - Citation: Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. *Notes and Lectures upon Shakespeare*. 1895. 6. **Friedrich Nietzsche**: A German philosopher known for his critiques of traditional morality and religion, Nietzsche\'s ideas often explore themes of existence and the human condition. - Quote: \"Hamlet is a reflection of the human struggle with existence, and the ghost represents the haunting nature of our unresolved issues and the quest for meaning.\" - Citation: Nietzsche, Friedrich. *The Birth of Tragedy*. 1872. 7. **Stephen Greenblatt**: An American literary critic and scholar, Greenblatt is known for his work in Renaissance literature and his contributions to the field of New Historicism. - Quote: \"The ghost\'s appearance is not just a supernatural event; it is a manifestation of the political and personal corruption that permeates the world of Elsinore.\" - Citation: Greenblatt, Stephen. *Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare*. W.W. Norton & Company, 2004. **Additional Quote about Hamlet\'s Ghost**: - **E.M. Forster**: A British novelist and essayist, Forster is known for his novels exploring social and political themes. - Quote: \"The ghost in \'Hamlet\' is a reminder of the past that cannot be ignored, a figure that compels the living to confront their own truths and moral responsibilities.\" - Citation: Forster, E.M. *Aspects of the Novel*. Edward Arnold, 1927.

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