OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Book Reports >> Through Rose Colored Glasses: How The Victorian Age Shifted The Focus Of Hamlet
We have many free term papers and essays on Through Rose Colored Glasses: How The Victorian Age Shifted The Focus Of Hamlet. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Through Rose Colored Glasses: How the Victorian Age Shifted the Focus of
Hamlet. 19th century critic William Hazlitt praised Hamlet ...
Submitted by monkeyober on February 5, 2007
Category: Book Reports
Words: 1428 | Pages: 6
Views: 169
Popularity Rank: 59,053
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
19th century critic William Hazlitt praised Hamlet by saying that, "The whole play is an exact transcript of what might be supposed to have taken pace at the court of Denmark, at the remote period of the time fixed upon." (Hazlitt 164-169) Though it is clearly a testament to the realism of Shakespeare's tragedy, there is something strange and confusing in Hazlitt's analysis. To put it plainly, Hamlet is most definitely not a realistic play. Not only are the events conveyed in the drama fantastic, the dialogue that brings it to the reader is overdramatic and often metatheatrical. The stirring monologues delivered throughout the play are theatrical speeches rather than genuine dialogue. Frequent references to acting and theater, especially surrounding the presence of the players, serve to make the audience aware of the play instead of drawing them into it. The tragedy's villain oozes evil, murdering the king and marrying his queen in just two months. Even more unrealistic is the presence of the king's ghost, surely there weren't really any apparitions floating around the court at Denmark. Then why does Hazlitt make this statement? Though it is tempting to simply write him off as a bad critic, similar statements made by other critics of the 19th century suggest that this view of Hamlet as a realist drama was commonly held in the Victorian Era. It seems clear that the ideals of the Victorian era caused a significant change in the way Hamlet was interpreted. Victorian society's high esteem for rationality and utility shifted the focus of Hamlet from the tragedy's fantastic nature to its realistic insights. The values of the age imply that a 19th century audience would not appreciate Hamlet as a fanciful tale, choosing instead to view the play as an accurate depiction of one man's difficult situation and internal struggle.
To understand this shift we must first look at the philosophies and ideologies that shaped the Victorian age. Two popular schools of...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!