The Problem with “Hamlet and His Problems”

Throughout the years, playwrights, especially William Shakespeare, have created some of the most stirring and thought provoking stories to be performed on stage. One of the most famous of Shakespeare’s plays is the tragedy of “Hamlet”. Most people would read “Hamlet” and come to the conclusion that Shakespeare is a playwright mastermind, however, there are a few that would call it a disaster. One of these few people is T. S. Eliot, who wrote an essay called “Hamlet and his Problems” in which he verbally attacks Shakespeare and claims that the storyline of “Hamlet” is more mixed up than the character himself. He firmly believes that because of the main characters random lunacy in almost every scene, that “Hamlet” was a failure in its purpose to stress the heartbreak caused by death and revenge. Sadly however, Eliot deeply misunderstands the importance of Hamlets madness. “Hamlet” is a well thought out story, which is beautifully pieced together, and excellently enhanced by the intricate insanity of Hamlet.

There is one main accusation in his paper that is the basis for his whole argument. This claim is that “Hamlet” was based off of a different play called “The Spanish Tragedy” by Thomas Kyd, of which play Shakespeare apparently had knowledge. According to Eliot, the two plays are similar in that each has a main character whose father was murdered by his uncle, whose mother then married the uncle, and then who acted insane for one reason or another. In “The Spanish Tragedy” the reason for the insanity is clearly that the son wants to avoid suspicion, and according to Eliot, it is not the main focus of the play. The guilt of the mother to her son for marrying his murderous uncle is the main theme in the earlier piece. If all of this were true, Eliot would have a wonderful argument. However, Shakespeare’s play is called “The Tragedy of Hamlet”, not “The Spanish Tragedy”, and there is no evidence that he is trying to remake the Thomas Kyd play. While it