harrowing to his sensitive nature, and which rendered his mind affectionate, devoted to the memory of his father, and indignant

Transcription

1 123 Art. VIII.?PSYCHOLOGY OF HAMLET* BY THE EDITOR. "Quem deus vult perdere, prius dementat. 1 he mental condition of Hamlet has frequently been discussed, and various interpretations have been given in connection with the subject. Shakespeare intended Hamlet to be a man of passionate disposition, of noble and gentle temperament, most affectionate, devoted to the memory of his father, and indignant at the absence of shame in his mother. Frailty, thy name is woman! A little month, or ere these shoes were old With which she followed my poor fathers body, Like Niobe, all tears ; why she, even she 0 God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourned longer?married with my unc e. The play thus commences with a delicate youth, with feelings of grief mingled with disgust, who had doubtless reflected for some time upon a theme which was both repugnant and harrowing to his sensitive nature, and which rendered his mind liable to be unhinged by the slightest provocation. The primary cause for the sudden outbreak of Hamlet's madness may be traced to the appearance of his father's ghost, causing a state of excitement, but calming down as by degrees the vision disappear. ^ he first evidence of his mental aberration occurs in the scene ^hen the apparition has left him and he is asked by Horatio Av ^at secret has been divulged? There's not a villain in all Denmark, But he's an arrant knave. which Horatio replies? These are but wild and whirling words, my lord. This is the first allusion to the wildness and unnaturalness of Hamlet's disposition. Another early indication of his c?ndition occurs in the interview between Ophelia and hei father My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doubtlet all unbraced; 12, I879lnt article originally appeared in the Medical Press Circular of February

2 124 PSYCHOLOGY OF IIAMLET. No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled, Ungartered and down-gyved to his ankle ; Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other ; And with a look so piteous in purpose As if he had been loosed out of hell, To speak of horrors,-?he comes before me. In this scene Polonius alludes to the return of the gifts made by Hamlet to Ophelia as the cause of his madness? That has made him mad. In the scene we following find Rosencrantz and Gruildenstern, both intimate friends of Hamlet, sent by the King to act as attendants and watch over his personal liberty. From a pre- vious acquaintance with him, it was not to be expected that a suspicion would be cast on the motive of their visit to Denmark and intrusion on his presence. The Queen instructs them thus:? Good gentlemen, ho hath much talked of you ; And sure I am two men there are not living To whom he more adheres.? And I beseech you instantly to visit My too much changed son. There can be no doubt but at this period of the play Shake- speare regarded Hamlet as a madman, driven to desperation by all that he had gone through. A mind embracing both gentleness and firmness, naturally of a strong melancholic temperament, of a highly reflective character, stung to remorse and terror by the villany of his uncle?the murder of his father, and the incestuous behaviour of his mother, all as acting excitants in one already predisposed to melancholy, and prostrating by their baneful influence his mind and producing the condition as described and depicted by the dramatist. Polonius, who to ex- was of a crafty and knowing disposition, and ever eager press his opinion to the King, considered that he had found out the cause for this strange change in Hamlet's mind? I have found the very cause of Hamlet's lunacy. Of course he here alludes to the supposed affection f?l Ophelia, about which, however, there is a diversity of opinion as to whether Hamlet really loved Ophelia or not. He is evidently conscious of his condition, for he perceives that he is being watched by Rosencrantz and Gruildenstern and under their supei" vision, Hamlet asks them a direct question? y?u l?0*' ^ent for? Is it? your own inclining? Is it a free visitation e, come, deal justly with me; come, come : nay, speak.

3 PSYCHOLOGY OF HAMLET. 125 This remark is made to them in reference to tlieii sudden visit to Denmark. Again? What have you, my good good friends, deserved at the hands of Fortune, that she send you to prison hither? It has often been argued from Hamlet's conversation here that he was feigning madness. This, to my mind, is, however, contradicted in the beautiful speech describing his melancholic brooding, which frequently has been brought forward as a typical illustration of a melancholic temperament. Burton, in his " Anatomy of Melancholy," who was a contemporary of Shakespeare's, has also depicted this condition. He writes. They are soon tired with all things; they will now tarry, now? 111 M they will rise ; now now up, then they go to bed ; they like, now then dislike all. PloM$J*Sn,3' Scquitur nunc vivendi nunc monendi, cupula, As Aurielianus says. Hamlet thus describes his melancholic disposition. ' I have of late?but wherefore know not?lost all custom of my exercise; and indeed it goes so t heavily.with my dispos on that,fot% frame, the earth, seems to me a?teri 6 promontory this mo excellent canopy, the air, look you, this bravo o'erhanging firmament tms majestical roof?in fretted with golden fire,?why it a foul appears no other thing and pestilent congregation of vapours. Suicidal tendencies are always present in connection with Melancholia. Shakespeare, mindful of this, introduces in the following scene a speech as illustrative:? To be or not to be, that is the question. F rom the context this evidently refers to the contemplation?f self-destruction. The interview between Hamlet and Ophelia, which she is informed that he never loved her, is chaiactei- 1?tic of a mind unhinged :? 0, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown. His melancholic state gradually subsides into one of subacute mania, reaching its culminating point in the scene with e Payers, where he finds the account given by the Ghost of 16 rnurder of his father corroborated :? qnaut 4 dke fco Tuld 1 drink hot look blood, and do such bitter business the day would on. After the interview with his mother and the muidei of?lonius, Hamlet is sent to England under the charge ^sencrantz of and Guildenstern, to whose protection he has been trusted by his uncle- And ho to England shall along with you.

4 126 PSYCHOLOGY OF HAMLET. On his return home Hamlet meets the cortege bearing the " Fair Ophelia." After this there is no history of any lunacy, and he continues in a sound state of mind until the termination of the play. As a substantial proof of this, I must refer to the speech made by him to Laertes previous to their duel. It is however, to be regretted that this is omitted in the present version of the play. Upon this the whole question hinges as to whether he was feigning madness. Give me your pardon, sir, I have done you wrong ; But pardon't as you are a gentleman. This presence knows, and you must needs have heard, How I am punished with a sore distraction. "What I have done, That might your nature, honour, and exception, Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. He declares further on in the same dialogue that he destroyed Polonius and drove Ophelia to distraction under the influence of insanity. He says that " his madness is poor Hamlet's enemy." The inference to be gathered from this is either that Hamlet was sane and excused himself on a self-imposed plea of madness, or that he was conscious of his previous irre- sponsibility, and was eager to explain misdeeds. There is the reason for his sufficient evidence from a careful examination of the traits in his character to ignore the first plea. Hamlet was not a coward. He would not have made use of deception to escape calumny and disgrace. On the contrary, he was brave, truthful, honourable, and mentally resolute, and I cannot admit that he was a man likely to purposely deceive Laertes. It was contrary to his nature and to the history of his case. The general conclusion I have arrived at is, that there is no evidence to prove that Hamlet feigned madness, and that, tracing the delineations of his disposition carefully, there are conclusive facts of the existence of mental aberration, followed, as I have shown, by complete restoration to health previous to the termination of the play. I am desirous of saying a few words on the performance of Hamlet at the Lyceum Theatre. of Ophelia by Miss Ellen Terry, feminine gentleness, beauty, and grace : With regard to the portrayal, a character so redolent of It has been argued by

5 PSYCHOLOGY OF HAMLET. 127 some critics that there is not sufficient acting in the part. It appears to me a most of what Shakeperfect representation speare intended, the personification of a love-sick girl, whose mind is wrecked, giving vent, during her insane warblings, to ideas which could never have suggested themselves to any one but the possessor of a " mind diseased," a mind prostrated and perverted, and to one who had lost control over her better reason, reduced to a state of disordered instinct and imagination. All this is displayed by Miss Ellen Terry. The gieat error to guard against in a true representation of Ophelia is over action and exaggeration. This is carefully avoided. It is a most difficult thing to feign madness, from the tendency to overdo the part and exaggerate the symptoms. Exception has again been taken to the tears shed in the mad scene as being contrary to what is found in insanity. The now populai notion that persons who are of unsound mind do not shed tears, is a fallacy. It is erroneous and contrary to all experience. The Ophelia of Miss Ellen Terry is true to nature, and may be pronounced a most brilliant representation. Ihe masteily Performance of Hamlet, as rendered by Mr. Irving, is so well known as not to require any further comments from me. The character is depicted with the skill of a consummate aitist. I have heard that to produce Hamlet, as it is now acted at the Lyceum Theatre, has been the study of a lifetime, and Mr. Irving must be congratulated upon the great success of his undertaking.