Hamlet And The Oedipus Complex

Differently to what is thought nowadays, the Oedipus complex described by Freud goes beyond just the son 's desire to have sex with his mother. The Oedipus complex includes the teenager 's psychosexual idea of feeling jealousy, anger, and above all, competing with his father. Besides, Freud’s theory emphasizes that boys select their mother as their principal object of desire, and subconsciously wish to usurp or even murder their fathers in order to gain exclusive possession of her and become their mothers ' lover.

According to Ernest Jones, Hamlet has the “Oedipus-Complex” while others might just call him a momma’s boy. The “Oedipus-Complex” from Freud is expressed through Diderot statement of, “If we were left to ourselves and if our bodily strength only came up to that of our phantasy we would wring our fathers’ neck and sleep with our mothers.” In

Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Oedipus the King by Sophocles are both tragic stories which contain many elements of which are similar and different. Although both Hamlet and Oedipus suffer from fate, Hamlet’s father is murdered by his brother Claudius, while Oedipus kills his own father. Both Hamlet and Oedipus have the opportunity to shun their fate, but the two men believe themselves to be the only individual who can resolve the predicament which they are faced with. The homeland of Hamlet and Oedipus, Denmark and Thebes, are both in a state of tumult. After Hamlet’s father’s death Denmark was presided by a new court, after Claudius, who in addition to murdering Hamlet’s father, became king by marrying his

The Greek drama “Oedipus The King” evidently leads to the unveiling of a tragedy. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play uncovers his tragic birth story and the curse he had been baring his whole life. Oedipus is notorious for his personal insight that helped him defeat Sphinx, which lead him to becoming the king of Thebes. He is admired by the people of Thebes and is considered to be a mature, inelegant and a rational leader. From his birth, his story began with a prophecy that Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Through out the play numerous people, who tell him of his unknown past, visit Oedipus. Blind to the truth he casts them away until a blind man named Therisis gives a sight of truth to Oedipus. As Oedipus learns the truth he realizes the great evil his life carries. After finding his wife and also mother hung in her bedroom, Oedipus blinds himself with the gold pins that held Jocasta’s robe. Oedipus blind to the truth is finally able to see when the old blind man visits him and tells him the truth about his life. Both metaphorically and physically sight plays a significant role in understanding the irony of a blind man seeing the truth while Oedipus who isn’t blind doesn’t seem to the truth that’s right in front of him.

Hamlet is often seen as one of the most well known examples of an Oedipus Complex presented in literature. The reasons for this is probably because of the plot that resolves around the revenge that Hamlet has against his step-father Claudius and because of the relationship that Hamlet has with his mother that is loaded with sexual energy. Hamlet's love for his mother is especially exemplified by the Mel Gibson's interpretation of the infamous closet scene.

The Oedipus complex refers to the thoughts some men have regarding their mother or maternal figures. Many scenes from the play can prove Hamlet did have these thoughts about his mother, such as acts one and three. If the reader knows what he or she is looking for, then these signs can be easily spotted. The story of Oedipus Rex is an

Similar to Hamlet. Hamlet is a teenage and is influenced by his Oedipus complex. He has been frustrated by his mothers' remarriage to Claudius, which makes him jealous. Hamlet has confronted his feeling again about his mother's remarriage and says, "No, by the rood, not so. You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife, And-would it were not so!-you are my mother." (3.4.13-15), Hamlet also mentions his wishes that Gertrude was not his mother. This could suggest that Hamlet is jealous of Claudius and could be wishing that if he was not her son than he could and been married to Gertrude. Hamlet felt this loneliness inside of him, which is due to his father's death and Ophelia leaving him. He felt that both his mother and him would be lonely after his father's death and accompany one another, but, Gertrude found someone else. Hamlet is no accepting their marriage which is a sign that he is not willing to accept the reality that he cannot get his mother and fulfil their loneliness. Hamlet is feigning this madness, but, gets tangled up in the reality and world of fantasy. He does not know how to keep the acting and showing his reality separate. Hamlet is unable to keep his facts (look for a diff word) straight about if he does or does not like Ophelia. Just like when he says, Let her not walk i' th' sun. Conception is a blessing, but, as your daughter may conceive-Friend, look to 't."

Oedipus from the drama, “Oedipus the King” and Hamlet from, “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” are two characters that are different, yet they both share the same title of being a tragic hero. Oedipus and Hamlet have many characteristics of a tragic hero that separates them in varieties. However, some of those characteristics show that both characters have and use similar thought processes and methods, which classify them as tragic heroes of their dramas. The five characteristics of a tragic hero are: nobility, tragic flaw, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and lastly irony. Both Oedipus and Hamlet hold or have a nobility position in their drama’s plot. Oedipus is the son of the king, and fate has foretold that he will kill his father and take over the

This paper is the rough draft version. There are grammatical errors and other such errors in it.

Hamlet and Oedipus have two vastly different reactions to the familial situations they find themselves in. While the story of Oedipus is often used to describe a situation in which a person feels romantic ties towards one of his or her parents and a loathing towards the other, the reaction of Oedipus when he realizes the situation he has found himself in is relatively suitable. Unlike many of the situations that the story is used to describe, Oedipus lives mostly unknowing to his incest and does not live normally once he realizes the situation. He instead chooses to act in the manner

We are all born little happy babies. Then we start to learn words and understand what surrounds us. We are taught to react to certain things negatively, and have a bias towards some things that other family members do not agree with. You get taught things that make life miserable, like doubt, fear and worry. If you were to be living life in doubt, worry, or fear, you would be unhappy. I agree with the choruses statement saying that the human condition is essentially an unhappy one because we get taught things that are supposed to sadden us during our upbringing. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s fate shows his sorrowful life when he went through hardships like the curse on Thebes, denial of himself, and the worry about the fulfillment of his prophecy.

Throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet with the same types of behaviors and frustrations in humans that Sigmund Freud saw at a much later date. When the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is analyzed Freud's oedipal complex theory comes to mind. The oedipal complex is a theory created by Freud that states that "The child takes both of its parents, and more particularly one of them, as the object of its erotic wishes."(51) Because of this desire to be with the parent of the opposite sex, a rivalry is formed with the parent of the same sex. In the play, Hamlet shows great hostility toward his uncle Claudius because his mother's remarriage to him. Hamlet sees his mother's remarriage as disgusting

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In it, a young, Danish prince struggles with the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This struggle is so profound; it shakes its main character Hamlet to the core and brings him to the brink of sanity. Shakespeare uses madness to convey important information throughout the play especially through Hamlet and his love interest, Ophelia. Hamlet does not always appear to be mad, in fact throughout the play his sanity is questioned by the reader and other characters. Whether real or faked, Hamlet and Ophelia’s madness reveal to us more about their characters, opinions and secrets than their regular discourse.

The tragic flaw of a human being is usually checked with the method he or she reacts with to the circumstances that life throws upon him or her. Contemporary society appears to be fixated on giving gatherings of people cases of such individuals who, in spite of the affliction of their lives, that still transcend. In fact, maybe nobody is more fit for indicating triumph over struggles than Sophocles and William Shakespeare. In both Oedipus and Hamlet, for example, the primary characters struggle with many obstacles and consequences and find themselves with unimaginable problems furthermore and are compelling to choose what the correct decision will be. This develops to Oedipus and Hamlet becoming motivated, courageous people and also becoming dishonest to themselves throughout the two books. Shakespeare and Sophocles’ plays show that sometimes when dealing with consequences and the obstacles there are different ways to react instead of leading to a tragedy. Oedipus and Hamlet’s motivation in dealing with problems is evident when the two primary characters want to find out the murderers of their father’s. Their courageous actions develop them towards having one goal, which was to kill the former King, and show courageous traits towards other people. They become dishonest to their themselves and is showed throughout the two books, which then causes misfortune for both of them in the end. Despite the resemblances of the two, Hamlet is in control of his activities, and he very

Uncle and ‘Son’: Zefferelli’s integration of the Oedipus Complex in Hamlet Although Shakespeare’s protagonist Hamlet is fixated on revenge, the motivation for his bloodlust is not as apparent. One possible interpretation of his madness that he is acting on primitive urges: Hamlet’s desire to murder his uncle Claudius is a natural transition from his desire to overcome his recently-deceased father. Only if he is successful, so dictates psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus complex, will his mother Gertrude be responsive to his sexual advances; it is only then that he will take his proper place in the household as the dominant male.