Lainie Reinhart Intertextual Allusions in Hamlet In 1966 the term intertextuality was coined by Julia Kristeva. Kristeva, a poststructuralist critic, gave a definition of intertextuality as the shaping of texts meaning from other texts (Chandler). Ever since this term originally came around many people have simplified the definition into simply being an allusion to other texts. The term intertextuality should be known and understood while reading the infamous play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare. In this play Hamlet alludes to many characters from previous texts including many from Greek mythology and also the Bible. Some theories surrounding the reasoning for Hamlet s erratic behavior can also be attributed to literary works outside of the text. Shakespeare s choice to use mythological characters to describe Gertrude, Claudius, and other individuals gives the reader a different perspective and deeper sense of understanding of these key roles. One of the major aspects of Hamlet is the indecisiveness of his choice to avenge his father s death and kill Claudius, or to not act on the matter at all. There are many theories as to way Hamlet is so hesitant about his choices. According to psychoanalytic criticism, the theory of the Oedipus complex could be the answer to Hamlet s grief. The Oedipus complex which states that a male infant has the unconscious desire to murder his father and then become sexually involved with his mother is the psychoanalytic solution (Barry 93). This Oedipus complex is based off the ancient Greek story of Oedipus, prince of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father and then slept with his mother ( Oedipus the King ). Therefore psychoanalysts believe that Hamlet unconsciously had the desire to kill his father and be sexually involved with Gertrude, so Claudius really only beat Hamlet to the job. This whole concept is an example of
intertextuality from a psychoanalytic standpoint. The story of Oedipus the King can prominently be related to the plot in Hamlet. Even though Shakespeare never out rightly stated that this theory was the cause for Hamlet s madness, it can certainly be related. According to Peter Barry, psychoanalytic critics pay close attention to the unconscious desires and feelings that either the characters are experiencing within the text or the unconscious feelings that the author is having while writing these works (Barry 100). Whether or not Shakespeare intended to have readers realize that Hamlet s irrationality is due to the Oedipus complex s ideas in unknown, but psychoanalysts have found an explanation for this behavior. Allusion are very prominent in Hamlet, include biblical and mythological. According to Barry in his work about literary theories, he states that postmodernist set out to foreground what might be called intertexual elements in literature, such as parody, pastiche, and allusion, in all of which there is a major degree of reference between one text and another, rather than between the text and a safely external reality (Barry 87). Hamlet is very famous for the amount of allusions that Shakespeare included into the play. One of the allusions that could also be recognized as parody is the reference of Claudius being as much as a father figure, as Hamlet is as much Hercules (Jordan). Hamlet uses his intelligence and wit to make a comparison that tells the audience how he really views Claudius, which we then see is obviously negative. To view this passage as an allusion, the reader should know the story of Hercules. Son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Hercules killed his wife and children due to madness (Jordan). This trait in Hercules could relate to the madness that Hamlet is feeling about his decision to murder Claudius or not (Jordan).
Another allusion that helps the audience understand Hamlet s feelings towards other characters in the play is when he refers to his mother as Niobe in his soliloquy in Act I Scene 2. Niobe, a Greek mythological character, mourns the loss of her children, not husband. The Gods feel pity for her because of her unrelenting grief and eventually turn her to stone (Jordan). This allusion could also be a form of irony. Gertrude is the opposite of Niobe; not only did she not grieve over her husband s death but she also married his brother between two and four months after his death. The irony of this allusion could also be passed over to the fact the Niobe was mourning the loss of her children, and the children in Hamlet, Ophelia, Laertes, and Hamlet, are all murdered by the end of the play (Jordan). Along with the endless amount of allusions to Greek mythology come the references to the Bible, which are also prominent in this play. Hamlet describes Denmark as being, an unweeded garden that grows to seed, in the beginning of his soliloquy in Act I Scene 2. Hamlet feels disgusted with Denmark ever since his uncle has taken over the throne. Going along with the ill feelings Hamlet has towards Denmark could be the comparison to the Garden of Eden. Some may think that comparing Denmark to the beautiful and luscious vegetation of this biblical oasis couldn t mean anything negative. However, this is foreshadowing to the fall of Denmark in comparison to the betrayal of Adam and Eve in the Bible ( Hamlet Symbolism. Overall, Hamlet is full of prime examples of allusions. These allusions, according to Barry, make postmodernist critics recognize these intertextual elements (Barry 87). Not only are the allusions in Hamlet able to be related to Greek mythology, but the whole plot of Hamlet can be compared to the plot of Orestes, a famous Greek myth (Murray 255). In both stories the protagonist is the son of a slain king, however in the Greek version the cousin take succession to the throne, and in Hamlet, the former King s older brother (Murray 225).
There are slight differences in the smaller details of these two stories, such as instead of the ghost of the murdered king speaking to his son like in Hamlet, Orestes has dreams about his father, and speaks to an oracle about the matter (Murray 225). Also the endings of the two plays differ significantly. Hamlet dies in the end of the play, from wounds inflicted during the fight scene, while Orestes earns his place on the throne of the kingdom (Murray 225). Another discrepancy between the Greek and Shakespeare s version is the fate of the mother. In Shakespeare s play Gertrude is accidently slain, but in the Greek version, Orestes purposely slays his mother, Clytemnestra and her new lover (Murray 226). The madness of both Orestes and Hamlet is prevalent in both versions. In Electra, Orestes actually forgets that he has planned to kill his mother after him and his sister, Electra, have killed their mother s lover. Orestes contemplates with his sister stating, Twas she that bare My body into life. She gave me suck. How can I strike her? Orestes only killed his mother because of his father s requests that Orestes heard in his dreams. This is another way that this Greek story differs from Shakespeare s. Not only was Gertrude not killed by her own son, Hamlet, but the King never asked Hamlet to kill her when he visited Hamlet as a ghost (Murray 257). According to Earl Showerman, author of Hamlet and Orestes: From Myth to Masterpiece, Hamlet is based very much so on Greek myth (Showerman). Also the common themes that run through both Greek myths and Shakespeare s tragedy of Hamlet are hard to ignore. This list of themes including, incest, assassination, fate, murder, and adultery are seemingly endless. The question of whether or not Shakespeare studied Greek mythology enough to add aspects and ideas to his plays may be raised after learning this information. However Showerman indulges into this question, which Murray asked in his work, Did Shakespeare study these Greek tragedians directly? Murray answers himself replying, no,
however he goes on to say of course it is likely enough that some of Shakespeare s university friends, who knew Greek, may have told him in conversation of various stories or scenes or effects in Greek plays (Showerman). Once again Murray s and Showerman s works on the ties between the Greek mythological tragedy of Electra and Shakepeare s Hamlet are an example of intertextuality. This concept can once again be related back to postmodernism criticism. A postmodernist critic would look through the text of Hamlet and point out these allusions especially since they are so notable, and relatable to other texts. Hamlet can easily be related to a number of other works including Greek mythology and Biblical passages. The first definition that Kristeva gave to the word was to shape the meaning of texts through the reading of other texts (Chandler). Some of the examples that were given, including the background of Oedipus the King, and the story of Orestes and Electra definitely could help readers have a clearer or different understanding of the text, or helped shape the meaning of the literature as Kristeva would say. On the other hand the more common and diluted definition of intertextuality is simply allusions in the text. While these allusions could give a better understanding, they may not necessary change the meaning or shape the text in a different way like the first definition might. For example, after learning about the Oedipus complex, a reader may have a completely different outlook on Hamlet. However learning about the Greek character Niobe and how Hamlet alluded to her in comparison to his mother may just give the reader a better understanding of Hamlet s thoughts and feelings. Shakespeare s use of intertextuality throughout the play of Hamlet allows numerous people to have different perspectives and a better understand of the text.
http://www.shakespeare-oxford.com/wp-content/oxfordian/showerman-orestes.pdf http://www.hamletregained.com/other_figures.html http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc1w1.htm