William Shakespeare explores the fundamental concepts of modern psychology in his plays. In one of his longest plays, Hamlet, he not only utilizes characters and time to portray the beliefs of the late 16th century, but to additionally examine basic principles and interactions of humans. The psychoanalytical notion that children have a repressed desire to…
We don’t know whether there was a historical Oedipus. “Oedipus” means “swollen feet”. The Greeks pronounced it “oy-DEEP-us”. Oed- is the same root as “oedema / edema” (tissue swelling; the British preserve the initial “o”), while “-pus” is feet (hence “octopus”, the eight-footed animal.) Laius and Jocasta were king and queen of Thebes, a town…
HAMLET’S STRUCTURE: Like most of Shakespeare’s plays, the act divisions of later editions of Hamlet have little relation to the play’s structure, and there is no break between some scenes. In terms of production, Hamlet has three major movements: Movement One (I.i-I.v). This section sets the action in motion in three main rhythms: 1. the…
