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Hamlet has been praised and revered for centuries as one of William Shakespeare’s best known and most popular tragedies. Based on its popularity, critics alike have taken various viewpoints and theories in order to explain Hamlet’s actions throughout the play. The psychoanalytic point of view is one of the most famous positions taken on Hamlet. Psychoanalytic criticism is a type of literary criticism that analyzes and classifies many of the forms of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature.
One of the most popularized psychoanalysts of all time was Sigmund Freud. His theories on repression most directly parallel to Hamlet’s actions in the play. This theory states that «much of what lies in the unconscious mind has been put there by consciousness, which acts as a censor, driving underground unconscious or conscious thoughts or instincts that it deems unacceptable. «Censored materials often involve infantile sexual desires» (Murfin).
You can check more viewpoints such as: Oedipus complex, Incestuous desires or Vengeance in the sub-categories of this section.
To make this review I have made a mix of different websites. I have organized and rewritten it for better understanding. You can see all this pages at my Bibliography.
You can also see & copy the links of words in blue in my Bibliography.
Academic year 2012/2013
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Aitor Bori Ibáñez
aiboi@alumni.uv.es