Hamlet Conscience And Consciousness Essay

Conscience and Consciousness in Hamlet and Oedipus
When analyzing and interpreting the classic plays “The Tragedy of Hamlet” and “Oedipus the King” by Shakespeare and Sophocles, respectively, it is worthwhile to ask whether these masterpieces should be read as dramas of moral conscience, or dramas of consciousness itself. While the answer is surely ‘both’, this report argues that the more fruitful and edifying line of interpretation is the latter, and that Hamlet and Oedipus are primarily dramas of human consciousness, including the mysteries of the unconscious mind.
For centuries, Hamlet has left readers with a much debated question: why is he so hesitant to avenge the murder of his father? One powerful interpretation of this mystery, proposed
Even though major moral dilemmas are present in both plays, the characters often know unambiguously what is right and wrong. Despite his hesitation, Hamlet would surely answer that his uncle deserves to die (Jones 83). Likewise, Oedipus knows that it was wrong to kill his father and sleep with this mother. These questions are too easy to be central to these great dramas. Some scholars have even used this observation to link the two great plays thematically, suggesting that the mystery of Hamlet’s hesitation can only be solved by citing an unconscious ‘Oedipus complex’ at work within him (Jones 83). In other words, Hamlet’s mysterious repugnance at the thought of avenging his father’s murder can be explained in terms of psychoanalytic theory: part of him naturally desired the death of his father (Jones 88). This would also explain why the brilliant Hamlet is not capable of consciously grasping his own hesitation, since the Oedipus complex is fundamentally unconscious. Hamlet and Oedipus are not tortured by the moral implications of their actions, but by their frustrating inability to know their own minds, hearts, and