(Sigmund Freud)
Here's to the launch of the HamLab collaborative!
In this post please share anything new you learned, questions you still have (but didn't have the courage to ask, perhaps?), how you felt a college class compares and contrasts with a high school class, or anything else to reflect on today's seminar.
For reference, a quick summary on today's topics:
- The ego - its development, its boundaries that are blurred in cases of love or pathology.
- The superego - its role of punishing and keeping the ego in check; its roots that stem from not wanting to disappoint the mother (and by extension: parents, authority, etc.) or lose acceptance/love.
- Hamlet and repression - Freud's explanation that Hamlet does not take action against Claudius because he (Hamlet) secretly wants to be in Claudius' position - with his mother.
- The ghost - what it is: a literal ghost, or a figment of Hamlet's addled mind?
- The role of remembering and memory
- To be or not to be - its question of existence; metaphor of dreams and sleep.
- The unanswerable question: What should Hamlet do?
To contribute to this post, just add a comment below in the following format.
Name:
Period:
Reflection/Question/Etc.:
Please keep any other discussions civil and on topic.
3-2-1 Reflection
ReplyDeleteThe Hamlet Seminar=refreshing experience
That was my fist time forming part in a college classroom discussion and it made me realize how quiet high school students really are. I enjoyed listening to college students speak, as well as the Professor. I must admit, it was a bit intimidating as i am not accustomed to that level of depth. However, it was a refreshing experience because i was able to see how college students think and also gain different perspectives on Hamlet. What was most interesting to me was how the Professor could take any line in Hamlet, and somehow make more of it. For example, "remember me" and "do not forget". The Professor asked the question of why at first King Hamlet's ghost tells Hamlet"remember me" and then he says "do not forget." What i take from that is that even the smallest details in a text could play a significant role . Another concept i took from the Seminar is that King Hamlet's Ghost serves Hamlets' external super ego. He serves almost as Hamlet's conscience, which reminds him that his fathers death must be avenged. Maybe even, the re-appearances of the ghost serve a tool to instill guilt in Hamlet for putting off the revenge on Claudius. Lastly, i enjoyed breaking down the "to be or not to be" speech. The final message that i got from it was that Hamlet debates where to live or not to live. In other words he contemplates suicide. However, he also fears what death might bring him, those "dreams". So basically, humanity carries this inability to know what occurs after death, and that causes fear.
The professor stated" that the mind is like the book" fragile, however i was not entirely clear on how so.
How does Freud's "Right vs. Brute force" apply to Hamlet?
Goal: Connect every aspect mentioned in our copies of Freud's articles to Hamlet.
Kenia Coyoy Per. 1.
ReplyDelete3 - 2 - 1 Reflection
Three things I learned/found fascinating:
1 -Hamlet's Oedipal complex toward his mother holds him back from taking action
-He also seemed more obsessed with the fact that his mother remarried than with the fact that his father was killed. The ghost of his father even comes back again to remind him not to forget (his memory? the vengeance he promises/did not promise?)
2. Civilization and society use the superego to control the individual. The need for approval from authority (stemming from the need for approval from mother/father) prevents the individual from doing things they fear will disappoint those they care about/respect. In this way, there is no way an individual in a civilization can have "freedom" because "nothing escapes [the superego], not even the subject's thoughts"
3. The ghost in Hamlet may at first be real (others see it/hear it, too.) but later on as Hamlet succumbs to madness/loses his sanity, the second time he sees the ghost, it may just be something in his head. It may even be his ego being projected outward causing paranoia because he knows he's not taking any "real" action and is instead just mulling about. I found it fascinating that Gertrude cannot see the ghost the second time, maybe because she's not remembering (honoring?) her late husband in the right way, if at all.
Two questions I still have?
1. How exactly can one connect Freud's view on society/civilization and the role of justice (individual brute force vs. community right) with Hamlet?
2. Does Hamlet ever realize he's maybe going mad? And instead of fighting it, just goes along with it, because it keeps him from taking action against Claudius?
3. When he first talks to the ghost of his father and swears to remember does he do it because he fears forgetting, or does he just exaggerate the action as a way of stalling from what the ghost was really telling him to do (avenge him?)
One goal I have
Further read Freud and try to find parallels between his views and Hamlet. Maybe also try to figure out how Shakespeare's life (death of son, Hamnet.) sheds light on Hamlet (if any.)
Quick reflection on seminar:
Though I did not talk much, I greatly enjoyed the conversation. I thought I would get lost, but I kept up and took many notes which I will study on my own and try to process the information. I learned many new things I didn't know before and heard ideas that shed light on some of my own theories. All in all, it was a great experience, but I wish I would have contributed to it and not just listened.
Elvis Arteaga - Period 1
ReplyDelete3 - 2 - 1 Reflection
Three things I learned:
1. Human Pathology:
The play Hamlet reflects the complexity of human emotions through the paradoxical situations conveyed in the play .Hamlet himself demonstrates the frailty of the human soul through his inability to act; constantly questioning that which cannot be answered. The end of the play remains ambiguous with regards to whether or not Hamlet answers his own questions. Consequently, it can be inferred that Hamlet's answer may have been death for he would no longer be plagued by his endless thought.
2. Antic Disposition - Result of Civilization:
Hamlet's antic disposition demonstrates the repression of desire by civilization. Hamlet is driven to the verge of madness due to Claudius's seizing of Hamlet's mother whom Hamlet desperately wants for himself. The agony Hamlet experiences remains with the stigma of society keeping him from acting upon the thought of murder. It becomes especially apparent in Act III, Sc iii when Hamlet fails to murder Claudius as he prays. Hamlet fails to act because he determines that killing Claudius as he prays would bestow upon Claudius redemption and decides to wait more before making his final decision. Incidentally, Freud asserts religion as merely a method to suppress the desires of the ego and Hamlet reflects this by using religion as a reason for his indecision.
3. Memories - Writing:
Per the discussion, the memories of the Ghost are forgotten and Hamlet anguishes while attempting to remember the words he inscribed within his mind. The analogy proposed is the mind and parchment, where both are capable of holding memories but both are also susceptible to a complete wipe. However, as Hamlet learns quickly as he progresses, it becomes impossible to truly wipe an individual's memories since they are what defines who they are.
Two questions I still have:
1. Why does Claudius accepts his fate instead of attempting to prevent it at the return from England?
2. Does Hamlet truly follow the Oedipus Complex? Why is Hamlet so obsessed with Gertrude?
One Goal I have:
I seek to apply the Freudian perspective to other works of literature such as The Brothers Karamazov.
Reflection on the Seminar:
Overall, the discussion felt quite different from that of our AP English class in that the students were the ones leading the discussion and not the instructor. The experience remains within the recesses of my mind as I felt like i belonged in that classroom filled with intellectuals. Other people like me. If more people had spoken up then the experience would have been more surreal. I look forward to the college experience!
"Hamlet" is indeed most cross-examined -overly studied text (besides the Bible) in the history of literature. Any opportunity to explore Shakespeare's psychological-existential drama is daunting, but thought-provoking. Perchance, for me, the quintessential aspect of the tragedy is comprehending the true nature and function of the GHOST. Instead of denoting the GHOST, Shakespeare incorporates Catholic, Protestant views. The Ghost, is indeed a diabolical presence, deceiving Hamlet's into sacrificing his soul. This, in addition to: the existential crisis, the moral dilemma, the distorted civilization and the unnatural family compose Hamlet's stream of consciousness.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, the ghost is what really intensifies Hamlet's antic disposition. For instance, when appearing during the discourse betwixt Hamlet and its mother, the Ghost reactivates domestic values -appearing in "nightgown" and toys with Hamlet's psyche, emotional state and civility. Seemingly, this is perhaps, the only familial moment Hamlet is provided with. The only moment he partakes with his true, natural family. The family he desperately craves for. Again, this moment is "seemingly", a meta-theatrical moment.
The meta-theatrical, self-referential aspect of Hamlet is perchance, the most puzzling and eccentric: "Seems Madam..." The tragedy is Platonic, justifying the discrepancy between appearance and reality. A drama characterized by seemingly virtuous, seemingly civilized characters.
Suggestions for students:
1. Something critically germane in this tragedy, is the appearance of the Ghost (as both dressed in "armor" and "nightgown"). Perchance, the military fashion suggests a war against the "serpent" who has stung, raped Denmark from his natural state and has altered the hierarchical order of the universe: "The Great Chain of Being".
Questions to ponder:
1. As the prolific critic, Harold Bloom inquires: Exactly when, does the erotic relationship with Queen Gertrude and King Claudius commences?
2. Is Hamlet at War with civilization? Religion? Self? Mother?
Nevertheless, Hamlet is in a quest for Knowledge, Truth and Essence. Perhaps, a knowledge too pervasive for him to contrive.