Von Goethe: Religion
All duties seem holy for Hamlet
Swinburne: Hamlet's character
The single characteristic of Hamlet's innermost nature is by no means irresolution or hesitation...but rather the strong conflux of contending forces.
Bradley: Religion
Hamlet is unable to carry out the sacred duty, imposed by divine authority, of punishing an evil man by death
Samuel Johnson: Hamlet's character
Hamlet is...rather an instrument than an agent
Coleridge: Hamlet's character
Hamlet is obliged to act on the spur of the moment
Wilson Knight: Claudius is a good King
Claudius, as he appears in the play, is not a criminal...He is..a good and gentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with his crime.
Wilson Knight: Hamlet's character
Hamlet is an element of evil in the state of Denmark
Alexander: Human aggression
The play does not offer any conclusions about what is the right response to the questions it poses about human aggression
Belsey: Revenge
Revenge is not justice. It is rather an act of injustice on behalf of justice
Belsey: Justice
Revenge is always in excess of justice
Belsey: Morals
Revenge exists on a margin between justice and crime
Wilson Knight: Hamlet's Morality
He [Hamlet] is in fact the poison in the veins of the community
Alexander: Vengeance
The desire for vengeance is seen as part of a continuing pattern of human conduct
Alexander: Audience Reaction
The audience are entertained because they are asked to see, feel and understand a little more about the hidden springs of action
Rebecca Smith: Polonius' character
Polonius seems to love his children; he seems to have the welfare of the kingdom in mind. His means of actions, however, are totally corrupt
Rebecca Smith: Polonius and Ophelia's relationship
Trained his daughter to be obedient and chaste and is able to use her as a piece of bait for spying
Marilyn French: R&G
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sacrifice the bond of human friendship to a social propriety
Showalter: Ophelia's character
Ophelia is deprived of thought, sexuality and language..she represents the strong emotions that the Elizabethans thought womanish
Brucher: Revenge and Justice
Revengers create their own civil justice
Sir Herbert Tree: Comedy
But for humour he should go mad. Sanity is humour.
Jonathon Dollimore: Corruption
Articulates a crisis in the decay of a traditional social order in England