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Anna Olson
4/17/15
Engl 305
Essay 5
Title
Hamlet's delay in murdering/seeking revenge upon Claudius, one questions why Hamlet
is having such an inner struggle. Hamlet has ample opportunities to fulfill the ghost's command,
but the task is never completed. Hamlet is conflicted by ideologies of his society about family
and religion. In the ideology of family, one is obligated to the members. Unfortunately, Hamlet
is asked to avenge Old Hamlet, but the one he seeks revenge upon in his new father figure. On
the other hand, the ideology of religions has a hand in protecting Claudius because of the
commandment that thou shall not murder. The conflicting ideologies in the society of Hamlet
creates his sense of madness. This shows that madness is socially constructed and ultimately
Hamlet cannot avenge his father nor kill Claudius and not till overcome by death can he be
relieved of his conflictions that create his madness.
In Althusser’s “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” he discusses the idea of an
ideological state apparatus. There is a plurality in the ideological state apparatus and “this
plurality of ISAs as a body is not immediately visible” (Althusser 1489). As such, ISAs function
as a representation whether it be fictional or material. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet two examples of
ISAs are that of religion and family. Within the ISAs there are the ideologies of what religion
represents as well as the families. In the subheading ideology is described as such: “Ideology Is a
‘Representation’ of the Imaginary Relationship of Individuals to Their Real Conditions of
Existence” (Althusser 1498). The representation is culturally created by society. Through the
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representation members of society can make sense of their lives and guide how one should
believe or act. Such ideologies help to make sense of the predicament Hamlet is in. The
ideologies help the reader to understand why Hamlet is struggling in avenging his father’s death.
In the example of the ISA of family, there is the ideology of how a family should be, and the ISA
of religion has its own moral beliefs.
In Hamlet’s case, it is right for him to avenge the death of his father, but on the other
hand Claudius is his uncle, also family. In the example of the ISA of religion, there is the
ideology of what is moral. If Hamlet were to kill his uncle, he would be committing murder,
which is against the church. Hamlet is torn between the ideologies of religion and family; he
must murder his uncle to avenge the life of his father, his family, but murder is wrong in the eyes
of religion. Torn between two ideologies, Hamlet must make a decision that will violate one and
decide the lesser of the two evils.
The ghost of Old Hamlet requests that Hamlet, “If thou didst ever they dear father love…
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murther” (1.5.23-25). Hamlet’s filial obligation to his father
puts him in a place where he is obliged to follow through with the request. On the other hand,
Claudius is his new father figure in the marriage structure of society. In this sense he has a filial
obligation to both Old Hamlet and Claudius. When Hamlet is given on opportunity to come
through with request of his father, he is hindered by catching Claudius in prayer. Claudius asks
that angel would “Bow, [his] stubborn knee” (3.3.70) and “[He kneels]” (3.3.72). Finding
Claudius on his knees Hamlet is struck by the implications created by the cultural ideology of
religion and the power between prayer and death.
Now might I do it [pat], now ‘a is a-praying;
And now I’ll do’t—and so ‘a goes to heaven,
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And so am I [reveng’d]. That would be scann’d:
A villain kills my father, and for that
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven. (3.3.73-78)
Hamlet realizes that Claudius in prayer, he is trying to make himself right before God. Prayer
here is signifying entry into heaven and joyful afterlife. This is the opposite of what Hamlet
would want to induce through his murder. Instead of avenging his father, he would be sending
the man who killed him straight to heaven. Hamlet cannot commit the deed of murder “when he
[Claudius] is fit and season’d for his passage” (3.3.86). Rather than having Claudius rue his past
actions, instead he is prepared for an afterlife in heaven.
His conflicting obligations lead him to madness. He is unable to fulfill his duty to Old
Hamlet or Claudius. Such madness is socially constructed by society and culture. His ideologies
are shaped by his culture and when they conflict the result is madness. According to Karin
Coddon, “Hamlet’s crisis of subjectivity, then is Hamlet’s crisis of authority” (395). Hamlet’s
inner crisis is conflicting the norms of society. This conflict between inward beliefs and outward
expectations, when they do not match, is labeled madness. Hamlet is unable to resolve his
internal conflict and unable to meet the expectations of his society. Hamlet is unable to escape
such ideologies or societal constructions, thus he is caught in a constant cycle of madness.
In Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act 3, Hamlet contemplates whether death, or suicide would be
an answer to his problem. The famous line “To be, or not to be, that is the question” (3.1.55) is
where Hamlet acknowledges his predicament and questions whether it is worth living in his
situation or to let himself be overcome by way of suicide.
To die, to sleep—
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To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams, may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil… (3.1.63-66)
“To sleep, perchance to dream”, there is an opportunity in death for Hamlet to be removed from
his societal constraints and to no longer be in conflict with his internal and external expectations.
“There’s the rub” signals a problem in the idea of death. Such a death implies suicide, which
relates back to the ideology of religion. Within the beliefs of the church is the idea of suicide
being a sin. This is evident in the burial of Ophelia in light of her apparent suicide: “If this had
not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out a’ Christian burial” (5.1.22-24). The
only reason that Ophelia is getting a Christian burial is because she was a gentlewoman,
otherwise one who dies by suicide would not receive such a burial. Hamlet is prevented from
death by suicide because of his society’s religious expectations.
It is not until the end of the play that Hamlet is able to escape his conflicting ideologies
and his madness. This is done through his death.
Give me the cup. Let go! By heaven, I’ll ha’t!
O god, Horatio, what a wounded name,
Things standing thus unknown, shall I leave behind me!
If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,
Absent thee from felicity a while,
And in this harsh world draw they breath in pain
To tell my story. (5.2.325-331).
Drinking from the cup of poison gives Hamlet…
Works Cited
Althusser (how to cite?)
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Coddon, Karin. “Suche Stronge Desygns’: Madness, Subjectivity, and Treason in Hamlet and
Elizabethan Culture.” Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
1994. 380-402. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1994.
Print.