William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a play about indecision, apprehension, and inner turmoil. Hamlet, the main protagonist, struggles within himself, attempting to muster the courage to avenge his father’s death by the hand of the current King, Claudius, who is also his late father’s brother. There seem to be many possible reasons for Hamlet’s delay in doing so. However, the one theory that answers all the questions is that Hamlet was possessed by his own Oedipus Complex , that is, he was deeply in love…

The Oedipus Complex in Oedipus Rex Thousands of years after Sophocles wrote the story of Oedipus Rex; psychologists named a complex after the behavioral characteristics of Oedipus. For many years psychologists have called a son having a sexual attraction toward his mother the Oedipus Complex. It is common belief that Oedipus Rex did not actually suffer from the Oedipus Complex. The basic support for this theory can be found through Oedipus' inherent fear of the prophecy placed upon him,…

Although it may be a difficult idea to grasp, Shakespeare employed some of Sigmund Freud’s concepts long before Freud himself was even a figment of his ancestor’s imagination. Many scholars discuss Shakespeare’s use of the Oedipus complex, penis envy, and many of Sigmund Freud’s other famous concepts and while a proxy family may not be a Freudian concept specifically, it certainly enables them. Many of Shakespeare’s works include a main character who has a strained relationship with their parent…

Hamlet and the Oedipus Complex Hamlet is the typical kind of son almost every father and mother would want: intelligent, loving, caring, strong and loyal. Yet, some scholars believe that he is just another emotional character, defying our eyes to think that his acts are innocent, when his real purpose is to take his mother for himself. This gives scholars, like Ernest Jones, the impression that Hamlet’s actions were encouraged by an Oedipus complex, characterized by feelings of intense…

and her son. Sigmund Freud himself came up with the Oedipus complex, which is when a boy has an attachment to the mother, which in turns results in aggressive and envious feelings toward the father and these feelings are largely repressed. The Oedipus complex comes from Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus but has largely been associated with Hamlet as well, since he and his mother Gertrude, have an extremely complicated relationship (Oedipus Complex). Hamlet is the predecessor of modern psychological thought…

Oedipus Complex in Hamlet In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s personality can be explained by the Oedipus Complex. Throughout the play there are many times where he proves that he has Oedipus Complex. Oedipus Complex was not around at the time that that Hamlet was written. It just shows that Shakespeare saw the same personality complex’ as Freud. Freud first named the Oedipus Complex Theory in his book , An Interpretation of Dreams, in 1899. Freud states "The child takes both of its parents,…

Oedipus Complex "It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father." - Sigmund Freud(Clark, 122) The Oedipus conflict or complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain psychological disorders in childhood. It is defined as a child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. This desire includes jealousy toward the parent…

When examining Hamlet through the lens of the Oedipus complex, it is critical to first define and thoroughly explain the Oedipus complex, then to apply it to Hamlet's relationships, before a final conclusion is reached. The Complexities of the Complex Before one can understand the Oedipus complex, one must understand Sigmund Freud's theory on infantile sexuality. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy points out that the roots of Freud's theory can be found…

classic Oedipus Complex, that of a son with an undue and unhealthy attachment to his mother. D.H Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, along with other early modernist works, shows how a son’s bond to his mother can lead to that character’s major downfall. Even earlier than works of the late 19th Century does the Oedipus Complex appear, in this case, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Shakespeare’s play about the Prince of Denmark shows the beginning of an Oedipal Complex, with Hamlet’s…

of his day regarding mental health, childhood development, and human sexuality. Freud explored the inner life of children developing into adulthood by reviving mythological stories of incest, brutality, and obsessive self-love: The Oedipus Complex and the Electra Complex, both variations on the theme of destructive love, murdering the same-sex parent and marrying the opposite parent, and narcissism, destructive love of self, vividly allegorized the perils of the journey to adulthood. Freud approached…