for murdering his uncle to seize the throne himself, but also for selfishly seeking to cast an infamous slur on the memory of a man who could no longer defend his honour. This would have resulted in the sanctification of the uncle, and so the frustration of the revenge. In other words it was the difficulty not so much of the act itself that deterred Hamlet as of the situation that would necessarily result from the act.
Thanks mainly to Werder's ingenious presentation of this view, several prominent critics, including Rolfe,[1] Corson,[2] Furness,[3] Hudson[4] and Halliwell-Phillips[5] have given it their adherence. It has not found much favour in the Hamlet-literature itself, and has been crushingly refuted by a number of able critics, particularly by Tolman,[6] Loening,[7] Hebler,[8] Ribbeck,[9] Bradley,[10] Baumgart,[11] and Bulthaupt.[12] I need, therefore, do no more than mention one or two of the objections that can be raised to it. It will be seen that to support this hypothesis the task has in two respects been made to appear more difficult than is really the case; first it is assumed to be not a simple revenge in the ordinary sense of the word, but a complicated bringing to judgement in a more or less legal way; and secondly the importance of the external obstacles have been exaggerated. This distortion of the meaning of the revenge is purely gratuitous and has no warrant in any passage of the play, or elsewhere where the word is used in Shakspere.[13] Hamlet never doubted that he was the legitimately appointed instrument of punishment, and when at the end of the play he secures his revenge, the dramatic situation is correctly resolved, although the nation is not even informed, let alone convinced, of the murder that is being avenged. To secure evidence that would convict the uncle in a court of law was from the nature of the case impossible, and no tragical situation can arise from an attempt to achieve the impossible, nor can the interest of
- ↑ Rolfe: Introduction to the English Translation of Werder, 1907.
- ↑ Corson: Cited by Rolfe. Loc. cit.
- ↑ Furness: A New Var. Ed. of Shakespeare, Vol. Ill and IV, 1877.
- ↑ Hudson: Shakespeare's Life, Art, and Characters, 2nd ed., 1882.
- ↑ Halliwell-Phillips: Memoranda on the tragedy of Hamlet, 1879.
- ↑ Tolman: Views about Hamlet and Other Essays, 1904.
- ↑ Loening: Op. cit., S. 110-113 and 220-224.
- ↑ Hebler: Aufsätze über Shakespeare, 2e Ausg., 1874, S. 258-278.
- ↑ Ribbeck: Hamlet und seine Ausleger, 1891, S. 567.
- ↑ Bradley: Shakespearian Tragedy, 1904, Art. Hamlet.
- ↑ Baumgart: Die Hamlet-Tragödie und ihre Kritik, 1877, S. 7-29.
- ↑ Bulthaupt: Dramaturgic des Schauspiels, 4e Aufl., 1891, II, S. 237.
- ↑ Loening: (Op. cit., Cap. VI), has made a detailed study of the significance of revenge in Shakspere's period and as illustrated throughout his works; his conclusion on the point admits of no questioning.
