Why is the image of Hamlet an eternal image? The image of Hamlet in Shakespeare's tragedy

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Why is the image of Hamlet an eternal image? There are many reasons, and at the same time, each individually or all together, in a harmonious and harmonious unity, they cannot give an exhaustive answer. Why? Because no matter how hard we try, no matter what research we conduct, “this great mystery” is not subject to us - the secret of Shakespeare's genius, the secret of a creative act, when one work, one image becomes eternal, and the other disappears, dissolves into nothingness, so without touching our soul. And yet, the image of Hamlet beckons, haunts…

B. Shakespeare, "Hamlet": the story of creation

Before embarking on an exciting journey into the depths of Hamlet's soul, let's recall the summary and history of writing the great tragedy. The plot of the work is based on real events described by Saxo Grammatik in the book "History of the Danes". SomeHorvendil, the we althy ruler of Jutland, was married to Gerut, had a son, Amlet, and a brother, Fengo. The latter envied his we alth, courage and fame, and one day, in front of all the courtiers, he brutally de alt with his brother, and subsequently married his widow. Amlet did not submit to the new ruler and, in spite of everything, decided to take revenge on him. He pretended to be crazy and killed him. After some time, Amlet himself was killed by another of his uncles… Look, the resemblance is obvious!

The time of the action, the place, the action itself and all the participants in the unfolding events - there are many parallels, however, the problems of the tragedy of W. Shakespeare do not fit into the concept of "the tragedy of revenge" and go far beyond its limits. Why? The thing is that the main characters of the Shakespearean drama, headed by Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, are ambiguous in nature, and differ significantly from the solid heroes of the Middle Ages. In those days, it was not customary to think a lot, reason, and even more so, to doubt the adopted laws and ancient traditions. For example, blood feud was not considered evil, but a form of restoring justice. But in the image of Hamlet we see a different interpretation of the motive of revenge. This is the main distinguishing feature of the play, the starting point of all that unique and amazing that is in tragedy, and that has been haunting for several centuries.

Summary of the play

Elsinore is the majestic castle of the Danish kings. Every night, the night guard observes the appearance of the Ghost, which is reported by Horatio, Hamlet's friend. This is the ghost of the dead fatherDanish prince. In the "dead hour of the night" he confides to Hamlet his main secret - he did not die a natural death, but was treacherously killed by his brother Claudius, who took his place - the throne and married the widow - Queen Gertrude.

The inconsolable soul of the murdered man demands revenge from his son, but Hamlet, confused and stunned by everything he has heard, is in no hurry to act: what if the ghost is not a father at all, but a messenger of hell? He needs time to be convinced of the truth of the secret told to him, and he pretends to be crazy. The death of the king, who in the eyes of Hamlet was not only a father, but also the ideal of a person, then hasty, despite the mourning, the wedding of his mother and uncle, the story of the Phantom is the first lightning of the emerging imperfection of the world, this is the plot of the tragedy. After her, the plot develops rapidly, and with it the main character himself changes dramatically. In two months, he turns from an enthusiastic young man into an indifferent, melancholic "old man". On this, the topic being disclosed is “V. Shakespeare, "Hamlet, the image of Hamlet" does not end.

Deceit and betrayal

Claudius is suspicious of Hamlet's illness. To check whether the nephew really suddenly lost his mind, he conspires with Polonius, a loyal courtier of the newly-made king. They decide to use the unsuspecting Ophelia, Hamlet's lover. For the same purpose, the old devoted friends of the prince, Rosencrantz and Guildensten, are also summoned to the castle, who turn out to be not so loyal, and readily agree to help. Claudius.

Mousetrap

A theater troupe arrives in Elsinore. Hamlet persuades them to put on a performance in front of the king and queen, the plot of which exactly conveys the story of the Ghost. During the performance, he sees fear and confusion on the face of Claudius, and is convinced of his guilt. Well, the crime is solved - it's time to act. But Hamlet is again in no hurry. “Denmark is a prison”, “time is dislocated”, evil and betrayal reveal themselves not only in the murder of the king by his own brother, they are everywhere, from now on this is the normal state of the world. The era of ideal people is long gone. Against this background, blood feud loses its original meaning, ceases to be a form of "rehabilitation" of justice, because, in essence, nothing changes.

The path of evil

Hamlet is at a crossroads: “To be or not to be? - that is the question . What is the use of revenge, it is empty and meaningless. But even without an early retribution for the evil done, it is impossible to live on. This is a debt of honor. Hamlet's internal conflict leads not only to his own suffering, to his endless arguments about the futility of life, to thoughts of suicide, but, like boiling water in a stoppered vessel, boils and pours into a whole series of deaths. The prince is directly or indirectly guilty of these murders. He kills Polonius, who is eavesdropping on his conversation with his mother, mistaking him for Claudius. On the way to England, where Hamlet was to be executed, he replaces a letter discrediting him on board the ship, and his friends, Rosencrantz andGuildenster. In Elsinore, Ophelia, who has gone mad with grief, dies. Laertes, brother of Ophelia, decides to avenge his father and sister, and challenges Hamlet to a court duel. The tip of his sword is poisoned by Claudius. During the duel, Gertrude dies after tasting poisoned wine from a bowl that was actually intended for Hamlet. As a result, Laertes, Claudius is killed, and Hamlet himself dies … From now on, the Danish kingdom is under the rule of the Norwegian king Fortinbras.

The image of Hamlet in the tragedy

The image of Hamlet appears just when the Renaissance is nearing its decline. At the same time, other, no less vivid, "eternal images" appear - Faust, Don Quixote, Don Juan. So what is the secret to their longevity? First of all, they are ambiguous and multifaceted. In each of them are hidden great passions, which, under the influence of certain events, sharpen one or another trait of character to an extreme degree. For example, the extreme of Don Quixote lies in his idealism. The image of Hamlet brought to life, one might say, the last, extreme degree of introspection, introspection, which does not push him to make a quick decision, to take decisive action, does not force him to change his life, but, on the contrary, paralyzes him. On the one hand, events dizzyingly replace each other, and Hamlet is a direct participant in them, the main character. But this is on the one hand, this is what lies on the surface. And on the other? - He is not a “director”, he is not the main manager of the whole action, he is just a “puppet”. He kills Polonius, Laertes, Claudius, becomes the culpritthe death of Ophelia, Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildensten, but all this happens by the will of fate, by tragic accident, by mistake.

Renaissance Exodus

However, again, not everything is so simple and unambiguous. Yes, the reader gets the impression that the image of Hamlet in Shakespeare's tragedy is filled with indecision, inactivity and weakness. Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Under the impenetrable thickness of water, something else is hidden - a sharp mind, an amazing ability to look at the world and oneself from the outside, the desire to get to the very essence, and, in the end, to see the truth, no matter what. Hamlet is a real hero of the Renaissance, great and strong, putting spiritual and moral self-improvement in the first place, glorifying beauty and boundless freedom. However, it is not his fault that the ideology of the Renaissance at its late stage is going through a crisis, against which he is forced to live and act. He comes to the conclusion that everything he believed in and how he lived is just an illusion. The work of revising and reevaluating humanistic values turns into disappointment, and as a result ends in tragedy.

Different approaches

We continue the theme of what is the artistic image, the characteristic of Hamlet. So what is the root of the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark? In different eras, the image of Hamlet was perceived and interpreted in different ways. For example, Johann Wilhelm Goethe, a passionate admirer of W. Shakespeare's talent, considered Hamlet a beautiful, noble and highly moral being, and his death comes from the entrustedthe fate of a burden on him that he could neither bear nor throw off.

The famous English poet, S. T. Coldridge, draws our attention to the complete lack of will in the prince. All the events taking place in the tragedy, no doubt, should have caused an unprecedented surge of emotions, and subsequently an increase in activity and decisiveness of action. It couldn't be otherwise. But what do we see? Thirst for revenge? Instantaneous execution? Nothing like that, on the contrary - endless doubts and meaningless and unjustified philosophical reflections. And it's not about lack of courage. It's just the only thing he can do.

Weakness of will attributed to Hamlet and V. G. Belinsky. But, according to an outstanding literary critic, it is not his natural quality, rather conditional, due to the situation. It comes from a spiritual split, when life, circumstances dictate one thing, and internal beliefs, values and spiritual abilities and opportunities are different, absolutely opposite.

B. Shakespeare, "Hamlet", the image of Hamlet: conclusion

As you can see, how many people - so many opinions. The eternal image of Hamlet is surprisingly many-sided. It can be said that a whole art gallery of mutually exclusive portraits of Hamlet: a mystic, an egoist, a victim of the Oedipus complex, a brave hero, an outstanding philosopher, a misogynist, the highest embodiment of the ideals of humanism, a melancholic, not adapted to anything … Is there an end to this? More likely no than yes. Just as the expansion of the universe will continue indefinitely, so will the image of Hamlet in Shakespeare's tragedywill worry people forever. He broke away from the text itself a long time ago, left the narrow framework of the play for him, and became that “absolute”, “supertype” that has the right to exist outside of time.