《哈姆雷特》是否是问题剧？

［摘要］莎士比亚是世界文学中被人们评论得最多的作家之一。因而莎士比亚戏剧在英国文学史上占有极其重要的一页，《哈姆雷特》更被誉为“经典中的经典”。有无数的莎评学者对《哈姆雷特》做出过精辟的阐释，但无论从何种角度，采用何种方法对其进行剖析，它们的前提都是一致的，即都承认《哈姆雷特》是一部悲剧，而本文则从一个新的角度——问题剧，来分析哈姆雷特内心的冲突和角色的复杂性。

［关键词］莎士比亚； 哈姆雷特；问题剧

［Abstract］Shakespeare is regarded as one of the most writers who has many criticisms in world literature. So Shakespeare play has been holding an important position in the history of English literature, Hamlet is admitted as the most classic one among them. Some critics had made excellent interpretation to Hamlet, they all treated it as a tragedy no matter what kind of perspective and no matter how to interpret. This thesis will analyze hamlet’s internal conflicts and the complexity from a new angle — problem play.

［Key words］Shakespeare,Hamlet,problem play

As one of the greatest playwrights, William Shakespear wrote 37 plays during his life, and each of them occupies a very important position

in the history of world drama, and the play Hamlet is recognized as the most important one among all his plays.

Shakespearean plays have been occupying a significant position in the history of English literature. Hamlet has attracted critics and readers of many generations. Traditionally, Hamlet is treated as a tragedy. But some critics view it as a new genre of play — problem play. The term was proposed in 1896 by a playwright named F.S.Boas. But he did not systematically define the term. After reading and thinking carefully, it dawned on me that Hamlet is more than a problem play. It is a study of complex human mind.

The problem play is a form of drama that emerged during the 19th century as part of the wider movement of realism in the arts. It deals with contentious social issues through debates between the characters on stage, who typically represent conflicting points of view within a realistic social context.

Problem play mainly deals with social issues whereas Hamlet’s hesitation is an individual’s moral and psychological problem.

First of all, Hamlet is humanist. As is known to all, the university of Wittenberg where Hamlet was educated was the intellectual center of humanism in Shakespeare’s day. It follows that the prince must be

influenced by the humanistic thought. As a humanist, he shows his admiration for the visible forms of nature. Because of his humanist ideas he does not want to do wrong to Claudius. Although at the very beginning of the play, the ghost has told Hamlet the truth about this father’s death, Hamlet does not fully accept it or make up his mind to take revenge at once. After seeing the ghost, Hamlet immediately falls into a dilemma. On the one hand, he doubts about his father’s sudden death. When old Hamlet is dying, the Prince is studying abroad at Wittenberg. All the information about his father’s treatment and death is told by others. So he does not have exact information of that situation. And on the other hand, Hamlet does not completely accept what the ghost said to him. He thinks that maybe the ghost is a devil rising from the deep hell to tempt him, so as a humanist, Hamlet needs some time to look for the valid evidence for either of them. With the help of play-in-play trick, he draws the conclusion that Claudius is no other than the murderer of his father.

Knowing the truth, Hamlet should act at once. To our surprise, he postpones it again, which shows again Hamlet’s nature as a humanist. The philosophy of humanism emphasizes the dignity and worth of all people based on their ability to determine right and wrong by apealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts. In short, humanism is oriented. Under the influence of such dogma, Hamlet wants

to expose Claudius’s evil deeds to the public so that the society could remain stable and the people need not suffer from the chaos and war.

Furthermore, Oedipus complex is the reason for Hamlet’s hesitation. Oedipus complex is named after the Greek mythical character Oedipus, who is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. According to the theory of the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, the child feels an inherent sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and the desire for the death of the parent of the same sex from the childhood. Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, has a desire to do exactly what his uncle has done; that is to get rid of the husband so that he can have Gertrude to himself. If this is true, Hamlet cannot act because he is fighting against his subconsciousness; he knows he wants something that is entirely evil, and if he were to go through with it, he would be no better than Claudius. In the play, Hamlet once gets a very good chance to take revenge for his father after he confirmed the evil deeds of Claudius by the play-in-play trick. At that time, Claudius is doing his confession after seeing the play, and Hamlet happens to be on the way to meet his mother as arranged before. Hamlet hears Claudius’s confession, but Claudius does not sense the presence of Hamlet. Then it should be the best chance for the young Prince to take Claudius life. To our surprise, Hamlet raises his sword, and quickly puts it down. The strong impulse that he must kill the vicious murderer didn’t turn to action when he envisioned himself lying in bed

with his mother Gertrude. He is beaten by his guilty conscience.

A heap of possible factors make Hamlet a complicated person. He is thrown into a world rampant with lapsing into total disorientation. Hamlet is a tragic hero not just because he is a loser in this conflict. Shakespeare makes Hamlet a loser also because the hesitation and delay in his revenge are caused by painful, mental and psychological conflicts inside his mind.

【 References 】

［1］Bloom, Harold. 1986. William Shakespear’s Hamlet［M］.New York: Chelsea House Publisher.

[2] Gill Roma. 1997. Hamlet［M］.Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

[3] Werd, Karl. 1907. The Heart of Hamlet’s Mystery［M］.Trans. Elizabeth Wilder. New York: Putnam.