Hamlet and His Problems
Encyclopedia
"Hamlet and His Problems" is a 1919 essay by T. S. Eliot
which offers a critical reading of Hamlet
. Originally published in Eliot's The Sacred Wood
: Essays on Poetry and Criticism, it was reprinted in Selected Essays, 1917-1932
. The essay introduced his concept of objective correlative
and is noted for its bold description of Hamlet
as "an artistic failure".
Eliot sets the ground rules by criticising the fixation on Hamlet the character as opposed to Hamlet the play, which is exacerbated, in the case of Goethe's treatment of the subject
, by the creative ability to meld Shakespeare's creation into a 'Werther' while still professing to offer critical insight.
The essay states the purpose of "interpretation" is to present the reader with those relevant facts that he is assumed not to know. In Eliot's view these are, in this case, the three Sources for Hamlet being The Spanish Tragedy; Kyd's Hamlet (based on Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques); and a version of the play performed in Germany during Shakespeare's lifetime. Eliot is not impressed with Shakespeare's efforts to copy, revise and amend his subject matter.
Eliot declared the play an artistic failure, as Shakespeare's depiction of Gertrude did not supply an adequate chain of events for the private sense of disgust with which the play was overburdened (his Objective correlative).
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
which offers a critical reading of Hamlet
Critical approaches to Hamlet
From its premiere at the turn of the 17th century, Hamlet has been one of Shakespeare's best-known, most-imitated, and most-analyzed plays. The character of Hamlet played a critical role in Sigmund Freud's explanation of the Oedipus complex and thus influenced modern psychology. Even within the...
. Originally published in Eliot's The Sacred Wood
The Sacred Wood (T.S. Eliot)
The Sacred Wood is a collection of 20 essays by T. S. Eliot, first published in 1920. Topics include Eliot's opinions of many literary works and authors, including Shakespeare's play Hamlet, and the poets Dante and Blake....
: Essays on Poetry and Criticism, it was reprinted in Selected Essays, 1917-1932
Selected Essays, 1917-1932
Selected Essays, 1917-1932 is a collection of prose and literary criticism by T.S. Eliot. Eliot's work fundamentally changed literary thinking and Selected Essays provides both an overview and an in-depth examination of his theory...
. The essay introduced his concept of objective correlative
Objective correlative
An objective correlative is a literary term referring to a symbolic article used to provide explicit, rather than implicit, access to such traditionally inexplicable concepts as emotion or colour.- Origin of terminology :Popularized by T. S...
and is noted for its bold description of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
as "an artistic failure".
Eliot sets the ground rules by criticising the fixation on Hamlet the character as opposed to Hamlet the play, which is exacerbated, in the case of Goethe's treatment of the subject
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795-96. While his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, featured a hero driven to suicide by despair, the eponymous hero of this novel undergoes a journey of self-realization...
, by the creative ability to meld Shakespeare's creation into a 'Werther' while still professing to offer critical insight.
The essay states the purpose of "interpretation" is to present the reader with those relevant facts that he is assumed not to know. In Eliot's view these are, in this case, the three Sources for Hamlet being The Spanish Tragedy; Kyd's Hamlet (based on Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques); and a version of the play performed in Germany during Shakespeare's lifetime. Eliot is not impressed with Shakespeare's efforts to copy, revise and amend his subject matter.
Eliot declared the play an artistic failure, as Shakespeare's depiction of Gertrude did not supply an adequate chain of events for the private sense of disgust with which the play was overburdened (his Objective correlative).
External links
- Eliot, Thomas Stearns. "Hamlet and His Problems." The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism.