Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all …
He knows death to the bone –
Man has created death.
(W. B. Yeats, “Death”)
If Yeats is right by saying that man has created death, or rather the idea of death, then it is not surprising that what people thought about death in the past differs from the attitudes we have today and even across different cultures, the feelings concerning death and its representation vary. As Neill states in his study, Renaissance tragic drama is about “the discovery of death and the mapping of its meanings” and he mentions that Hamlet is a play “whose action is obsessively concerned with the exploration of mortality” (1997: 1). According to Zimmerman the play creates an “unsettling atmosphere of existence on the margins, of half-states in which neither life nor death holds sway” (2005: 172). This in–betweenness is also something that Julia Kristeva investigates in her influential study The powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980). She develops the theory of the abject, which is primarily concerned with the state of something that is between subject and object and therefore, arouses a feeling of uncanniness.
This paper is concerned with the exploration of these margins and half-states concerning death in Hamlet. The investigation has two main aims. First, it wants to identify occurrences of death in Hamlet, which are marked by ambiguity and uncertainty, i.e. with an abject death according to Julia Kristeva’s theory. Second, it tries to answer the questions why a particular appearance of death in the play is abject and whether cultural conventions and the religious development of the Reformation in England at that time influenced the effects and affects evoked with the Elizabethan audience.
“Shakespeare’s plays are works that live as much in their written/printed as in their performative re-productions and that [...] are therefore most fruitfully examined in both forms side by side” (Aebischer 2004: 13). Taking this assumption as a preliminary, the analysis in this paper focuses on the text of the play, as well as on practical questions concerning performance and stage conventions in the Elizabethan time.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical background
2.1 What is abject/abjection?
2.2 Death and all his friends
2.2.1 The skull
2.2.2 Mourning and funeral rites
2.2.3 The corpse
2.2.4 Ghosts
3. Analysis of the scenes
3.1.1 The first appearance of the ghost: Act 1 Scene 4
3.1.2 The encounter between Hamlet and the ghost: Act 1 Scene 5
3.1.3 The second appearance of the ghost: Act 3 Scene 4
3.2 The grave-yard scene: Act 5 Scene 1
3.2.1 Enter two Clowns
3.2.2 Hamlet’s reflections at the grave
3.2.3 Ophelia’s funeral and the struggle between Hamlet and Laertes
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper explores the margins and half-states of death in Shakespeare's Hamlet, applying Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject to identify occurrences of death marked by ambiguity. It aims to analyze why specific manifestations of death in the play are perceived as abject and how Elizabethan cultural and religious conventions influenced the audience's reception of these depictions.
- The theoretical conceptualization of the abject in relation to death.
- Elizabethan attitudes toward the skull, corpses, and mourning rites.
- The ambiguity of ghosts in Hamlet and their reception by contemporary audiences.
- The role of the graveyard scene in deconstructing boundaries between the living and the dead.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.2 The encounter between Hamlet and the ghost: Act 1 Scene 5
The ghost’s first utterance in 1.5, “Mark me” (1.5.2), contributes to its ambiguous nature. As it was said before, the ghost is somewhere between life and death and his strong outer appearance is underlined by his powerful first statement, which is an imperative. However, it is just a ghost or a spirit as it calls itself and this renders it vulnerable.
The ghost’s secretive nature is intensified, due to the fact that he claims to come from Purgatory, which was no longer existent for most of the audience and the fact that he refuses to talk about his place of suffering (Neill 1997: 256-257): “But that I am forbid [t]o tell the secrets of my prison-house” (1.5.13-4). The way it depicts his “prison-house” with its “sulph’rous and tormenting flames”, evokes nausea, disgust or abjection. The sulphurous smell reminds one of decay and this, as Kristeva puts it, shows us what we “permanently thrust aside in order to live” and brings us to the border of our condition as a living being (1982: 3).
Neither the ghost’s utterances concerning its own nature help to understand it. On the one hand it refers to itself as a spirit and excludes itself of not being of “flesh and blood” (1.5.22), but on the other hand it sees itself as the “dear father” (1.5.23). One can say that neither the reader, nor the audience and nor the characters in the play, i.e. especially Hamlet are sure about the ghost. One cannot decide whether to refer to the ghost as subject or as object and again, this in-betweenness makes it abject.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the research focus on death in Hamlet, introducing Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject as a framework for exploring the ambiguity of mortality.
2. Theoretical background: Establishes the foundation of the abject and examines historical Elizabethan perspectives on death, including the skull, mourning, corpses, and the religious controversy surrounding ghosts.
3. Analysis of the scenes: Provides a detailed examination of the ghost's appearances and the graveyard scene, analyzing how these moments disrupt identity borders and elicit feelings of abjection.
4. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, confirming that death in Hamlet is consistently portrayed through ambiguity and that these representations were heavily influenced by the cultural and religious climate of the Elizabethan era.
Keywords
Hamlet, Shakespeare, Abjection, Julia Kristeva, Death, Elizabethan Era, Ghost, Mourning, Graveyard, Corpse, Identity, Reformation, Purgatory, Uncanny, Ambiguity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this paper?
The paper examines the representation of death in William Shakespeare's Hamlet through the lens of Julia Kristeva's theory of "the abject," focusing on the ambiguity between life and death.
What are the central thematic fields?
Key themes include the exploration of bodily boundaries, the cultural and religious context of death in Renaissance England, the reception of ghosts, and the performative aspects of funeral rites.
What is the central research question?
The research asks which occurrences of death in Hamlet are marked by uncertainty and how Elizabethan audience expectations, influenced by religious shifts like the Reformation, shaped the perception of these abject figures.
Which methodology does the author use?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, drawing on psychoanalytic theory (Kristeva) and historical-contextual studies of Elizabethan stage conventions, visual arts, and religious practices.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The body analyzes specific scenes, including the three appearances of King Hamlet's ghost and the graveyard scene (Act 5, Scene 1), contrasting them with period-specific interpretations of death and mourning.
Which keywords best describe this study?
The core keywords are Hamlet, Abjection, Death, Elizabethan, Ghost, Purgatory, Mourning, and Identity.
Why does the author focus on the ghost of King Hamlet?
The author focuses on the ghost because its nature is fundamentally ambiguous; it exists between life and death, and its identity is constantly contested between Protestant and Catholic beliefs, making it a prime example of the abject.
What significance is attributed to the graveyard scene?
The graveyard is analyzed as a paradoxical location that "annihilates all distinction," where the gravedigger acts as a figure who blurs the boundary between the living and the dead, further deepening the sense of abjection.
- Citar trabajo
- André Valente (Autor), 2010, "The Abject of Desire" in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/160161
