Manukian 1

Edgar Manukian

ENG 120

7 March 2016

Hamlet: Final Unit Essay

Hamlet by William Shakespeare was a joy to read and enjoyable to watch, although I

didnt feel any catharsis after both watching and reading it. Northrop Frye once said Hamlet

seems to me a tragedy without a catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is

smothered under ferocious revenge codes, treachery, spying, and the consequences of weak

actions by broken wills."(90). I agree with his assertion on the lack of catharsis in Hamlet. The

non-existence of catharsis is shown by the actions and thoughts of the characters Gertrude,

Laertes, and Claudius.

Gertrude's death provides no catharsis, neither pity nor fear. Queen Gertrude dies when

she drinks from a poisoned cup that was intended for Hamlet, this was a result of Claudius

schemes and Hamlets crusade against her and against his uncle. Gertrude is setup as a caring

mother with no real faults, other than the one thing Hamlet is most fixed on, her remarriage to his

uncle. Hamlet unleashes an onslaught towards his own mother.

HAMLET. Nay, but to live

In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,

Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love

Over the nasty sty!

QUEEN GERTRUDE O, speak to me no more!

These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears.

No more, sweet Hamlet! (III.4.92-98).

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Hamlet tortures Gertrude by insulting and persecuting her for marrying so quickly while also

being incestuous. Now while these are valid critiques one cannot help but feel sorry for the way

Gertrude is being treated here. Even after all this is said Gertrude even agrees to help Hamlet in

his crusade by not informing anybody of the true nature of Hamlets antic disposition "I have no

life to breathe What thou hast said to me."(III.4.202-203). By helping Hamlet she is redeemed, if

she told the king Hamlets plan would have been thwarted and he would have surely died, she is

no longer just an incestuous strumpet. Later during the final duel scene Gertrude drinks from the

poisoned cup that was intended for Hamlet during a toast to Hamlet himself "No, no, the drink,

the drink!O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisoned. (dies)"(V.2.305-306).

Gertrude's death is tragic and leaves the audience dissatisfied; when she dies the audience still

pities her, she was a caring mother that only wanted the best for her son. No catharsis is achieved

after the death of Gertrude; the pity is still there afterwards.

The non-existence of catharsis is also shown by the interactions between Laertes and

Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet are very similar, both want to exact revenge on their father's killers.

When Laertes is deciding whether or not to strike Hamlet with the poisoned blade he has some

reservations "(aside) And yet it is almost 'gainst my conscience."(V.2.300). Even though Hamlet

did indeed devastate Laertes's family by killing his father and driving his sister mad we can see

that Laertes still has a conscience. Even in the end Laertes forgives Hamlet for killing both him

and his father "Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my fathers death come

not upon thee, Nor thine on me. (dies)(V.2.324-326). Laertes has very legitimate reasons for

trying to kill Hamlet; Hamlet is the reason that Laertes's life is completely filled with rage. And

yet he goes in with a guilty conscience, showing us that even though he is filled with rage he still

has a side that is above it all. Sure, he kills Hamlet thus completing his journey for revenge, but

his death leaves an all too familiar taste of pity lingering in our minds. Laertes is pitied as a result
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of his death, he made a choice to get revenge on Hamlet which leads him to commit treacherous

acts in the name of revenge and as a result he gets himself killed. When he died, pity was still in

the air as he died, nothing was resolved. This all leaves us with no cathartic moment.
Claudius and Hamlet's interactions display the lack of catharsis as a result of their

ferocious revenge codes and treachery. Towards the end of the play we see Hamlet force feeding

Claudius the very poison he was going to use against Hamlet.

CLAUDIUS O, yet defend me, friends. I am but hurt.
HAMLET Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damnd Dane,
Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?
Follow my mother.(Claudius dies) (5.2.328-331).
Hamlet exacts his revenge against his uncle for killing his father, but Claudius isnt some regular

villain as Frye mentions here, "An uncomplicated villain, like Richard III, would have wiped

Hamlet out of his life at the first of danger, and slept all the better for it."(92). Claudius doesnt

come after Hamlet immediately and even when he does, he does it very cautiously and

unwillingly. The audience only sees Claudius as an evil and wicked person because of Hamlet

and the ghost of Hamlet Sr. We arent even sure if the ghost and what he says is true. Claudius is

seen as a good king by everyone except Hamlet and Horatio who have heard the word of the

unreliable ghost and even so, when you do something wrong, does that define you forever as

who you are? Hamlet has hated and disliked Claudius before all of this anyway, maybe the ghost

is using the distaste and hate that Hamlet has for Claudius to damn Hamlet. And of course

Hamlet agrees to it, it fulfills Hamlets Oedipal desires by marring his mother and killing his

father. All this treachery and revenge codes between each other culminate in the absence of

catharsis in the play.

To conclude, the demises and interactions between the characters Gertrude, Laertes, and

Claudius contribute to Frye's claim of catharsis in Hamlet. "Hamlet seems to me a tragedy

without a catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is smothered under ferocious

revenge codes, treachery, spying, and the consequences of weak actions by broken wills."(90).
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On the surface Hamlet seems just like any other Shakespearian play, but when you look behind

the simple plot you unveil a look into human nature and many mature themes such as suicide

and mortality it can teach us and reveal things we didnt know about ourselves. Everyone should

have read at least one Shakespearian play, and if I were to recommend one it would without a

doubt be Hamlet.

Work Cited

1. Mategrano, Terri. CliffsComplete Hamlet. N.p.: John Wiley & Sons, 2000. Print.

2. Frye, Northrop, and Robert Sandler. Northrop Frye on Shakespeare. New Haven: Yale UP,

1986. Print.