Feminism:
The literary critical view that suggests that women are deliberately positioned in subordinate roles in literature that reflect the traditional roles of women in most global societies, particularly those of the Western World. This theory examines the ways in which women have been portrayed in literature, the amount of power female literary characters have been given relative to that of male literary characters, and the relative importance that has been given to female writers as opposed to that of their male counterparts.
Look at the roles of Gertrude and Ophelia. Consider the following:
1. How much power does each of these characters relative to the male characters?
2. Who determines their fate? What choices are made available to them?
3. What role or function does each of these characters serve in the play? What is their character’s purpose? (Think of them in terms of their relationships to the men in the plays)
Psychoanalysis:
This critical theory is based primarily on the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud, who believed that the human psyche is composed of roughly three parts, the id, ego, and superego, each of which governs one portion of the individual’s moral development. For Freud, literature is seen as the wish fulfillment or fantasy gratification of desires denied by the reality principle or prohibited by moral codes. These unconscious libidinal desires find symbolic expression in art as in dreams. Art is sublimation, the translation of instinctual desires into higher aims, and the goal of psychoanalytic criticism is to reveal the latent content of the work that underlies and determines its manifest content. Condensation -- the image as more than itself, a fusion of unconscious desires -- and displacement -- the image as other than itself, a substitution of the socially acceptable for the socially unacceptable -- are the two major resources of symbolism
Use psychoanalytic theory to examine Hamlet’s motivations, especially in terms of the issues raised in his soliloquies(for example, the faculties of man, the nature of life, the appropriateness of murder when committed for revenge, etc.) Pay particular attention to his treatment of the women in his life.
Postmodernism:
A general and wide-ranging term which is applied to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and cultural and literary criticism, among others. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding, interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through our interpretations of what the world means to us individually. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, knowing always that the outcome of one's own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal.
Postmodernism is "post" because it is denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody - a characteristic of the so-called "modern" mind. The paradox of the postmodern position is that, in placing all principles under the scrutiny of its skepticism, it must realize that even its own principles are not beyond questioning. As the philosopher Richard Tarnas states, postmodernism "cannot on its own principles ultimately justify itself any more than can the various metaphysical overviews against which the postmodern mind has defined itself."
Note: Mr. Foote hates Post-Modernism. If you ever want to set him off on a tangent, ask him about it.
Deconstructionism:
A term tied very closely to postmodernism, deconstructionism is a challenge to the attempt to establish any ultimate or secure meaning in a text. Basing itself in language analysis, it seeks to "deconstruct" the ideological biases (gender, racial, economic, political, cultural) and traditional assumptions that infect all histories, as well as philosophical and religious "truths." Deconstructionism is based on the premise that much of human history, in trying to understand, and then define, reality has led to various forms of domination - of nature, of people of color, of the poor, of homosexuals, etc. Like postmodernism, deconstructionism finds concrete experience more valid than abstract ideas and, therefore, refutes any attempts to produce a history, or a truth. In other words, the multiplicities and contingencies of human experience necessarily bring knowledge down to the local and specific level, and challenge the tendency to centralize power through the claims of an ultimate truth which must be accepted or obeyed by all.
Discuss (write down responses) how you relate to the characters of Hamlet based on your own background. Consider (and write down) your own race, gender, religion, nationality, political orientation and economic class in determining your viewpoint. Then choose three groups of people not represented immediately in your group (for example, homosexual Catholics), and explain how their experiences may differently shape their views on this play and its characters.
Marxism:
Karl Marx(1818-1883), the founder of this view, believed that the main cause of the inequities that exist in all societies is the unequal access by members of a given society to the main engines of economy: the means of production, methods of distribution and markets of exchange. The chief aim of Marxism is to create a society that has only one universal economic class, based on common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. This belief, also known as Communism (based on the ideal of communal, or group, ownership), is the basis for many political, economic, and social theories that have been proposed in various forms over the last 150+ years. In terms of literary critical theory, the Marxist view is that
“a writer’s social class, and its prevailing ‘ideology’ (outlook, values, tacit assumptions, half-realised allegiances, etc.) have a major bearing on what is written by a member of that class” (Peter Barry, Beginning Theory).
In addition, the Marxist critic believes that there are certain tensions that are being worked out between various groups within literary works and even within and among literary characters themselves.
Examine the power structure of the major and minor characters in Hamlet. Create a graph that shows how power is distributed, and then list the factors that determine the rank of each character. Keep in mind: economic class/job title, gender, rank, level of education (as can be presumed based on their rank. For example, if you were to summarize the factors affecting Zeus’ power, you could say:
ZEUS: “Father of Gods and Men,” God, defeated father to claim title of top God, born into legacy of “last son trumps dad.” Ruler of all that lives and breathes, governs the sky that sits above everyone and everything. Subject only to the Fates. Presumed to be most educated as he settles all major arguments.
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