Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet

by David Bevington, S. Bevington

"It is appropriate that for modern critics Hamlet should be Shakespeare's greatest dramatic enigma, for misunderstanding is the unavoidable condition of Hamlet's quest for certainties," states David Bevington in his introduction to this book.Indeed, some of the most competent readers of the twentieth century have been sharply divided in their responses to this play and its hero. T.S. Eliot considered Hamlet an enigma, "the 'Mona Lisa' of literature." But D.G. James argues, "the plain issue was, Does God exist or not? What was at stake in Hamlet's mind was nothing less than the greatest which confronts our mortal minds."The mind and character of Hamlet have provoked widely varying theories from other eminent critics such as Harry Levin, L.C. Knights, and J. Dover Does he stand resolute "as the very archetype of character at odds with destiny," or is he victimized by his obsessions and his "habitual tendency to make everything, even what he deeply feels, into a matter of playacting?""Shakespeare achieved a transformation in Hamlet that has recommended it especially to modern audiences similarly bemused by the absurdity of human action." Hamlet's "universal dilemma becomes our own."

Genres: Literary Criticism, Shakespeare, Essays

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1968

About the author

David Bevington was an American literary scholar.

Reviews

[Abby Cullen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book plummeted my reading momentum, but some of the essays did help me better understand the play.