StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Shakespeares Hamlet: a Marxian Critique - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
This research paper "Shakespeare’s Hamlet: a Marxian Critique" presents a Marxist study of Hamlet that tends to put forward the fact that the reading of Hamlet seems to yield a diverse narrative interpretation of the play, depending upon the social positioning of the reader reading the play…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.1% of users find it useful
Shakespeares Hamlet: a Marxian Critique
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Shakespeares Hamlet: a Marxian Critique"

Irrespective of the fact that Shakespeare’s drafted Hamlet in a period much before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, yet there is no denying the fact that even a cursory perusal of Hamlet testifies to the fact that the socio-economic context in Hamlet is much replete with the incidence of class struggle. It is not a surprise that the times in which Shakespeare lived, the system of land ownership affiliated to a hierarchy that was much given to a feudal sharing of power and resources was much in existence. It will also not be surprising to assume that during these times the serfs must have been desirous of getting rid of this feudal dominance preserved by a monarchial political system. Hence, it would be apt to apply a Marxist critical approach to any of the works of Shakespeare, and more so to Hamlet. The more traditional approaches towards literary criticism do coax and cajole the text to yield the innate meanings inherent in it. However, a Marxist approach towards the understanding of Hamlet, rather than delving into bringing out the hidden meanings, will rather try to approach the text as a material creation that needs to be understood in a historical context.

            To be able to interpret Hamlet in a Marxist context, the readers need to approach the theory wearing a Marxist lens that places a more than regular stress on how the characters affiliated to varied classes tend to interact with each other, particularly in the backdrop of the class oppression and the involving socio-economic inequity, and especially considering those words and dialogues emanating from any character that propose or are indicative of the rebellion against the upper classes. This is because, from a Marxist perspective, the main element of interest will tend to be a determining base and then the determined superstructure imminent on it. In that context in the play Hamlet, the mannerisms inherent in the interactions between varied social classes, and the way the society is structured in the play indeed happens to be a strong driving force in the play (Joughin 57).

            In Hamlet, one could indeed trace a strict representation of the avowed Marxist social classes that are the Aristocracy, represented by the royal family and the people of the court, which constitute the ruling class and make the pivotal socio-economic decisions in the play, the Bourgeoisie that are the characters that stand just below the aristocracy and earn a living by trading in the resources required by the other classes, and then the lowest class that are the Proletariat or the working class or the serfs that eke out a living by selling their labor and skills. There is no denying the fact that without much elaborating on the characters akin to each of the respective social classes, it is amply evident in Hamlet that every character in it could be placed in one of the three Marxian social classes.        

            The very first scene in Act I in Hamlet is replete with the indications of class struggle and thereby constitutes an ideal subject for a Marxian dissection. The scene begins by showing one of the guards on the palace walls relieving his colleague of the night duty. Now, in the times of Shakespeare, night watch was a work that was never assigned to the members of the upper class, and hence it could be concluded that the two guards, though being officers, hailed from the lower social strata. Irrespective of their mutual greeting of “Long Live the King!” which seems to evince their loyalty for the aristocracy, this loyalty seems to smack of falsehood and despair as no good member of the lower class made to perform the watch duty on a cold night will prefer to be so supportive of the upper classes who made one undergo such an ordeal. Hence, the truth that leaps forward is that perhaps Shakespeare happened to be an opportunist who simply could not help supporting and sustaining the socio-economic status quo of which he was a part of, that is, the monarchy because it facilitated him with his living (Castronovo 79). These two guards are further shown to meet Horatio, who represented some sort of a primitive intelligentsia and who simply refuses to place his faith in the guards’ talk about the ghost of the old king, and thereby comes out as a revolutionary who refuses to uphold the influence of the dead king.

The traditional Marxist interpretation of Hamlet seems to bring forth the decay inherent in the Renaissance court and the society by showing Hamlet leaving it to the constraints of time and conscience, the reforms which required urgent organized action and concern. This approach further tends to enunciate the fact that Gertrude’s hasty marriages and the revelations made by the Ghost were shocking indicators of the decay and corruption rampant in the Danish society (Goldstein 55). Thereby, the sins committed by people who are close to Hamlet draw his attention to the ills rampant in the society, which he hitherto used to take for granted, being a member of the ruling class.

            Hence, a Marxist approach towards Hamlet not only yields much information about the loyalties that were dear to Shakespeare but also unravels a poignant picture of the socio-economic life during the Renaissance.   

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1480125-research-paper
(RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/english/1480125-research-paper.
“RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1480125-research-paper.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Shakespeares Hamlet: a Marxian Critique

Shakespeare as fetish

The problem statement for this study is to explain the concept of fetishization; determine how this is applied to Shakespeare's work; outline specific cases of fetishized pieces and explore the positive and negative dimensions to the issue.... hellip; The objective of this paper is to describe the fetishization of William Shakespeare's work....
16 Pages (4000 words) Dissertation

England's National Poet: W.Shakespeare

Pearson (as cited in Han, 2001) reiterated that “hamlet” presents Shakespeare's sense of mortality.... Table of Contents 1.... Biography of William Shakespeare 1 2.... Overview of Some of His Works 1 3.... Contribution and Influence 3 References 6 William Shakespeare: England's National Poet 1....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Researched Drama Paper (Hamlet)

?? The drama's stock of varying and exciting incidents, its store of pregnant utterances and maxims, its fairly equal… into scenes of tragedy and comedy, above all – the appeal of its leading characters have made hamlet the most popular of all Shakespeare's plays (Grolier Encyclopedia, 1961).... Opinions have differed as to which other character can best bring out hamlet's character to the fore.... Many writers would probably choose Horatio, his close friend and ally who supports hamlet throughout the story, who echoes his way of thinking and is all praises for him....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Proposal

Shakespeares Universal Appeal as Shown in Hamlet

This essay discusses Shakespeare as a continuous dealing with superlatives.... The superlatives that apply to this great writer, not those that come cheaply, even in this day and age where adulation is cheap.... … This essay stresses that the more one reads Shakespeare, he discovers along the way that this great genius has much to tell – the truths of life that he expounds on in his narrative are profound....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Hamlets Tragic Flaws

However, the way he uses it and the fact that he uses it of Oedipus in Sophocles play suggests rather… hamlet is then thinking about the hidden flaws in men, and especially about Claudius, since he is the one who called for the drunken revel, when the Ghost appears to reveal the hidden The act ends with Hamlets assumption of an "antic disposition.... Claudius is a villain but a hypocrite; to seek his vengeance, hamlet himself will have to pretend to be what he is not: mad....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Othello by William Shakespeare - Literary Sociological Criticism

In the play Othello, William Shakespeare compares one society to his own highlighting prominently the differences between the two politically and in a creative manner.... Shakespeare, using the play, illustrates his ability to appreciate and portray different forms of political… He applies sociological imagination in coming up with the captivating play while at the same time making reference to the autocratic government of his time....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Shakespeare Hamlet

Due to his fascination with the human mind, Shakespeare examines the reasons behind insanity and how it is portrayed in Through the characterization of hamlet, Shakespeare is able to investigate and illustrate the nature of insanity in its various forms.... n the play hamlet, Shakespeare portrays the character of hamlet in a way that supports both the idea that hamlet is insane and that hamlet is not mad.... This is displayed by hamlet as being probably very divergent in nature and complex to comprehend in Shakespeare's understanding of insanity....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Influence of Humanism on Shakespeare's Hamlet

rom the hamlet play, Shakespeare develops his major themes of revenge, madness and power but employs humanistic figures and ideas in the plots to make sense of the human nature in world.... He uses key humanistic figure, basically the prince of hamlet, Horatio and employed humanistic texts to develop the hamlet.... The ideas of humanism are expressed in Shakespeare's creativity of hamlet plot, decision making of the main character (hamlet) and the critical actions taken by humanistic characters....
9 Pages (2250 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us