Sigmund freud look at hamlet
The Oedipal Complex is a complex of emotions. It is a theory of phsycosexual stages of development which describe a boys feelings of wanting his mother yet feeling jealous of his father as he feels that his father is like a rival and has to fight for his mother affection against his father.
Sigmund Freud's discovery of the Oedipal complex was based on the Sophocles’ Oedupud Rex. In this a person named Oedipus unknowingly murders his father then sleeps with his mother. He doe this because he has a curse that makes him do this. Through research, Freud came to the discovery and conclusion that men have an unconscious desire to sleep with there mother. As well as this that's when the he came to the discovery of the three parts of a persons personality. The Id, Superego and Ego. According to Booker 'The relationship between the Oedipal drama and Freud's three parts to a person's personality is very clear. The infantile mind is essentially the source of the Id; the authorities of the father, which triggers the Oedipal crisis. It becomes the principal source of the Superego by limiting the Id, based desire for the mother"
Hamlet is a good example for someone who suffered from this Oedipus complex.Freud, "The father of modern psychology" was first to acknowledge and think about Hamlet's delay in regard to his Oedipal Complex. Freud's model of the using the oedipal complex human mind shows us that Hamlet's desire to sleep with his mother, (Queen Gertrude) comes from his Id. There in a massive delay in the killing of Hamlet's uncle, now step father, the king of Denmark, Claudius. This might have been because of fear or the fact that if he killed him during prayer he would end up with a heavenly death. Hamlet didn't want to give him that opportunity.
In Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams'. he says "Hamlet is able to do anything except take vengeance on the man who got away with his father and took that father's place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized. Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish. Here I have translated into conscious terms what was bound to remain unconscious in Hamlet's mind....The distance for sexuality expressed by Hamlet in his conversation with Ophelia fits in very well with this" Claudius represented the embodiment of Hamlet's Oedipal urges as flesh and blood. He represents Hamlets Id which is the part of Hamlet that wants to sleep with Gertrude (his mother).
Hamlet's father who we see as the Ghost represents Hamlets Superego. This is the part of Hamlet that seeks to control his is (desire to sleep with his mother). Since Hamlet's father who was the king, is dead and died in the hands of Claudius the Id is gaining some form of strength. This is what makes it difficult for Hamlet to go ahead and kill Claudius. Hamlet's Id is stronger than his Superego. The fact that his father, who represents his Superego then makes the Superego not as strong as the ego. in act 3 scene 4 the strength of Hamlets Id comes through. This is when Hamlet is angry at Gertrude for her sexual acts, "....rank sweal of an enseamed bed". At that moment the the Ghost of King Hamlet appears. At this point Hamlets urge to sleep with his mother (Id) is very strong. As the Id is about to become conscious, the Ghost (superego) appears to stop this urge form being realized. Hamlet goes on to acknowledge the Ghost, this shows his guilty conscience of his delay and desires. Hamlet says "Do you not come to tordy son to chide lapsed in time and passion lets go by. Th' important acting of your dread command". In response the Ghost says "Do not forget! The visitation. Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose". Hamlet's Superego symbolically gains control of his Id. This leads Hamlet to get on with what he need to do, avenging of the Ghost's death.
In order for the murder of Claudius to take place Gertrude needed to be dead first. In act 5 scene 3 towards the end of the play Hamlet finally kills Claudius. He does this only because his mother has accidentally drank from the poisoned cup, which was meant for Hamlet and she dies. Gertrude was the object of Hamlets desire and now she was dead. His urges and desire was no longer there. Hamlet no longer has to repress his desire, his strength then returns. This makes him strong enough to go ahead and kill Claudius. How does this not only once, but twice. The first thing he does is cut him with the sword then forces him to drink from the poisoned cup. Claudius's 'deaths' are representations of different things to Hamlet. One represents his Id, then the other King Hamlet. Only after the death of Claudius, Hamlet is able to rest, symbolized by his physical death.
Hamlet is not aware of the reasons behind the delay of killing Claudius. According to Lasser, "He is troubled first and last by the mysterious force within him which keeps him from executing it". Hamlet reveals that he doesn't know why he was delayed in killing Claudius, he says "I do not know why yet I live ti say., This thing to do I sith. I have cause, and will and strengths and means. To d't. The interpretations as to that Hamlet did it due to fear or because he didn't want Claudius to have a heavenly death becomes invalid. They rely on him using his conscious . Hamlet is not conscious of his behavior because his desires came from the part of his personality which he is not aware of, his Id.
Bilbliography:
http://www.uvm.edu/~jbailly/courses/tragedy/student%20second%20documents/Oedipus%20Complex.html
Rowell, Maria Helena. "The Oedipus Complex." The Freud Page. 2006. 11 Nov 2006 http://www.geocities.com/mhrowell/oedipus_complex.html
"Oedipus Complex." Wikipedia. 8 Nov 2006. Wikimedia Foundation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_complex
http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/def_oedipuscomp.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_and_Oedipus
Sigmund Freud's discovery of the Oedipal complex was based on the Sophocles’ Oedupud Rex. In this a person named Oedipus unknowingly murders his father then sleeps with his mother. He doe this because he has a curse that makes him do this. Through research, Freud came to the discovery and conclusion that men have an unconscious desire to sleep with there mother. As well as this that's when the he came to the discovery of the three parts of a persons personality. The Id, Superego and Ego. According to Booker 'The relationship between the Oedipal drama and Freud's three parts to a person's personality is very clear. The infantile mind is essentially the source of the Id; the authorities of the father, which triggers the Oedipal crisis. It becomes the principal source of the Superego by limiting the Id, based desire for the mother"
Hamlet is a good example for someone who suffered from this Oedipus complex.Freud, "The father of modern psychology" was first to acknowledge and think about Hamlet's delay in regard to his Oedipal Complex. Freud's model of the using the oedipal complex human mind shows us that Hamlet's desire to sleep with his mother, (Queen Gertrude) comes from his Id. There in a massive delay in the killing of Hamlet's uncle, now step father, the king of Denmark, Claudius. This might have been because of fear or the fact that if he killed him during prayer he would end up with a heavenly death. Hamlet didn't want to give him that opportunity.
In Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams'. he says "Hamlet is able to do anything except take vengeance on the man who got away with his father and took that father's place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized. Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish. Here I have translated into conscious terms what was bound to remain unconscious in Hamlet's mind....The distance for sexuality expressed by Hamlet in his conversation with Ophelia fits in very well with this" Claudius represented the embodiment of Hamlet's Oedipal urges as flesh and blood. He represents Hamlets Id which is the part of Hamlet that wants to sleep with Gertrude (his mother).
Hamlet's father who we see as the Ghost represents Hamlets Superego. This is the part of Hamlet that seeks to control his is (desire to sleep with his mother). Since Hamlet's father who was the king, is dead and died in the hands of Claudius the Id is gaining some form of strength. This is what makes it difficult for Hamlet to go ahead and kill Claudius. Hamlet's Id is stronger than his Superego. The fact that his father, who represents his Superego then makes the Superego not as strong as the ego. in act 3 scene 4 the strength of Hamlets Id comes through. This is when Hamlet is angry at Gertrude for her sexual acts, "....rank sweal of an enseamed bed". At that moment the the Ghost of King Hamlet appears. At this point Hamlets urge to sleep with his mother (Id) is very strong. As the Id is about to become conscious, the Ghost (superego) appears to stop this urge form being realized. Hamlet goes on to acknowledge the Ghost, this shows his guilty conscience of his delay and desires. Hamlet says "Do you not come to tordy son to chide lapsed in time and passion lets go by. Th' important acting of your dread command". In response the Ghost says "Do not forget! The visitation. Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose". Hamlet's Superego symbolically gains control of his Id. This leads Hamlet to get on with what he need to do, avenging of the Ghost's death.
In order for the murder of Claudius to take place Gertrude needed to be dead first. In act 5 scene 3 towards the end of the play Hamlet finally kills Claudius. He does this only because his mother has accidentally drank from the poisoned cup, which was meant for Hamlet and she dies. Gertrude was the object of Hamlets desire and now she was dead. His urges and desire was no longer there. Hamlet no longer has to repress his desire, his strength then returns. This makes him strong enough to go ahead and kill Claudius. How does this not only once, but twice. The first thing he does is cut him with the sword then forces him to drink from the poisoned cup. Claudius's 'deaths' are representations of different things to Hamlet. One represents his Id, then the other King Hamlet. Only after the death of Claudius, Hamlet is able to rest, symbolized by his physical death.
Hamlet is not aware of the reasons behind the delay of killing Claudius. According to Lasser, "He is troubled first and last by the mysterious force within him which keeps him from executing it". Hamlet reveals that he doesn't know why he was delayed in killing Claudius, he says "I do not know why yet I live ti say., This thing to do I sith. I have cause, and will and strengths and means. To d't. The interpretations as to that Hamlet did it due to fear or because he didn't want Claudius to have a heavenly death becomes invalid. They rely on him using his conscious . Hamlet is not conscious of his behavior because his desires came from the part of his personality which he is not aware of, his Id.
Bilbliography:
http://www.uvm.edu/~jbailly/courses/tragedy/student%20second%20documents/Oedipus%20Complex.html
Rowell, Maria Helena. "The Oedipus Complex." The Freud Page. 2006. 11 Nov 2006 http://www.geocities.com/mhrowell/oedipus_complex.html
"Oedipus Complex." Wikipedia. 8 Nov 2006. Wikimedia Foundation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_complex
http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/def_oedipuscomp.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_and_Oedipus