Author Li Yongyi
Born in 1975, Ph.D., lecturer at School of Foreign Languages, Beijing Normal University, majoring in British and American literature, China classical literary theory and ancient Roman literature.
From: Century China, thank you!
Nietzsche attributed Hamlet's escape from revenge to his thorough understanding of the world in The Birth of Tragedy. Hamlet realized the inevitable absurdity of life, so he thought that any activity "can't change the eternal state of things"; Those who are really bold in their actions must need "an illusion tent" to deceive themselves (Nietzsche 43). Perhaps Hamlet's tragedy and eternal charm lie in his approach to what philosophers call "aporia" in repeated thinking. The original meaning of "aporia" in Greek is "no way to pass". The strange death of his father set off a storm in Hamlet's heart, which made him fall into an isolated and extreme state, forcing him to question some ultimate reality outside and inside, and to advance to the boundary of thought until all the meanings surrounding all actions disappeared, and a terrible picture gradually emerged: the world was unknown, the language was unreliable, and justice could not be found. ...
Ghosts and ghosts
When Hamlet first appeared in the play, it was already a sad and cynical image. However, if there is no verbal confrontation with his father's ghost, his pain may not become metaphysical pain including the universe. There are ghost images in many Shakespeare's plays, but the ghost of Hamlet's father seems to have special magic and symbolic significance. Through him (it), Hamlet seems to catch a glimpse of another world he has been vaguely feeling, as if he had found a mirror of his world-weary philosophy and survival dilemma. Ghosts, like catalysts, directly triggered his long-simmering spiritual transformation.
When analyzing the ghosts in Hamlet, Derrida created the concept of "ghost" to refer to the disturbing duality and uncertainty. Ghosts occupy a (non-) space between "being" and "being" and "appearing" and "disappearing". They are all things with vague forms and "nothing" floating outside the form.
It is because of this uncertainty that Hamlet has always had doubts about ghosts. When he first saw the ghost, he was very alert and scared. He couldn't help shouting, "Bless us, angels!" " "He said to the ghost," No matter whether you are a god or a demon,/No matter whether you bring a heavenly wind or an evil spirit from hell,/No matter whether your purpose is good or bad, since you have brought such a suspicious shape,/I want to talk to you. " ( 1.4.45-50; Bian translation). Obviously, he is quite skeptical about the source and motivation of ghosts. After the ghost revealed the details of his murder, Hamlet still dared not trust the ghost, although he vowed to avenge his father. He was worried about "the ghost I saw/maybe the devil" (2.2.433-34), so he tried to test the king through acting to get indirect evidence. Even after being convinced of the truth of the murder, when the ghost appeared in front of him again, he still asked the angel to protect himself like the devil (3.4.119-120). It can be seen that, at least subconsciously, he did not transfer his son's feelings for his father to the ghost, but regarded him (it) as a hostile force threatening himself.
The key reason why he has such an emotional reaction is that the ghost of a ghost may subvert people's feelings and imagination of reality at any time. When discussing the reasons why Shakespeare has a soft spot for ghosts, greenblatt pointed out that ghosts can make us think about the ability of drama to "question reality" and "debunk the illusion caused by the plot itself" (greenblatt 200). For Hamlet in the play, ghosts are also subversive. The terrible scene of purgatory presented by ghost narrative pushed Hamlet's despair and hatred of the world to the extreme. Before that, although his mother's hasty remarriage made him doubt the virtue of women and even the whole human nature, at least he still kept a father image constructed by memories and imagination in his heart. This is an almost perfect image. He is not only a wise king, a brave warrior, but also a gentle lover and an upright father (1.2.143-46; 3.4.63-73), in him, you can see the shadows of Hyperion, Mars and even Zeus. For Hamlet, this image (illusion) is the other pole opposite to the universal evil and corruption in the world, supporting his own belief building. However, the image of another father revealed by the ghost shook Hamlet's belief and caused him more serious psychological trauma than his father's death. This is the opening remarks of the ghost: "I am the soul of your father, and it is decided that there will be a moment when I will travel around the world at night./I can only be burned to death with an empty stomach during the day,/until all the sins I committed before my death are completely burned out" (1.5.3805-19; Bian translation). After describing the plot of Keraudy's murder, the ghost lamented: "I was deprived of my life, crown and queen by a brother in my sleep!" " /I died of a serious sin,/I didn't have time to hold communion, repent and apply ointment,/I didn't have time to settle my accounts,/I don't care if my head is full of dirty red dust "(1.5.82-87; Bian translation). This is by no means a manifestation of divine virtue, but an ordinary person struggling with desire and sin, who is bitten and tortured by the desire for revenge even after death. Now his father's image has been subverted, Hamlet's spiritual building has collapsed, and revenge has lost its meaning. "Chaotic Times: an abominable fate,/I must play the hero of reorganizing order! "(1.5.211-12) reveals the great influence of ghosts on his spirit most profoundly. From this moment on, he was between two opposite psychological forces: on the one hand, he tried his best to protect the initial illusion like the last fire, so as to give revenge a certain degree of legitimacy and finally fulfill his promise to the ghost; On the other hand, the invisible pressure and direct urging of ghosts forced him to face the second image, which strengthened his world-weariness and rebellious psychology and made him even more reluctant to take action. In this delay, he repeatedly questioned the world and tortured the soul.
Second, the unknown world
When Hamlet looked around with cold and sober eyes, he saw an unpredictable world. As Levi said, "unknowable" is a theme that runs through the whole play (Levi 192). Express doubts (such as "who is there?" [ 1. 1.3]; "What does this mean" [3.3. 134]) and unknown (for example, "I don't know" [1.3.12]; "So I don't know" [2.2.250]; "We don't know" [3.1.92]; The words "nothing is certain" [4.5. 16] abound, and almost all the characters in the play are in a state of hesitation, doubt and anxiety.
In people's world, unknowability mainly comes from mutual deception and concealment. Deception is the keynote of the kingdom of Denmark. Claudius concealed the truth of the murder from Hamlet and his subjects, and also concealed his hostility to Hamlet from the Queen. Hamlet hides his true intentions by pretending to be crazy and disturbs Claudius' sight; Bolenas sent spies to learn about his son's life in Paris by deception (2. 1. 1-74). In this country, cheating is not only a sword to hurt others, but also a shield to protect yourself. In Bolenas' view, it is even an essential tool to get the truth ("fishing' real' carp with' fake' bait"; 2. 1.69)。 Correspondingly, the world in the play is full of suspicion, and there are intrigues between countries, kings and ministers, ministers and ministers, and everyone is treading on thin ice.
The contrast between uncle's "smiling face" and his "villain" behavior (1.5.114-16), the contrast between his mother's chaste image and the fact of incest, let Hamlet deeply understand the unpredictable truth. But his doubts about the world are not limited to personnel. He is aware of the abyss between human cognitive ability and the nature of the world. The unknowable world is due to the innate limitation of human cognitive ability, and many things are destined to be "beyond the reach of non-human souls" (1.4.62). Although he hates Claudius very much, he still admits that people can't make a final judgment on his behavior. "Who but God knows how to settle his account?" (3.3.89)。 Hamlet firmly believes that the living can't know the destination after death. This is an "undeveloped country" because "no travelers come back from there" (3. 1.89-90). Interestingly, Hamlet has seen ghosts, but he doesn't regard him (it) as a "traveler" returning from national subjugation, so he doesn't really believe his (it) description of the world. Hamlet's doubts about death can be attributed to the fact that he has never experienced death himself.
Therefore, the understanding of the world will eventually return to the examination of one's own experience and thoughts, just as Descartes' doubts about the world will begin with his doubts about "I". From this perspective, the first two sentences of Hamlet are quite symbolic: when we ask the world, "Who is there?" We want to see the truth of the world; The world refused, and in turn ordered us, "Stop, identify yourself first." (1. 1.3-4) The world is presented to us on the premise that we know ourselves first. However, even facing himself, Hamlet is full of confusion. He repeatedly condemned himself and tortured himself, but he didn't understand what was holding him back and making him unable to act (2.2.438+0-422; 4.4.37-7 1)。 The "knowledge" of "unknowable" and "unknowable" makes "God-like rationality" (4.4.43) a tragic gift of human beings, and also makes the laurel of "the spirit of all things" (2.2.250) stained with irony.
Complete "knowledge" is impossible, even partial "knowledge" is dangerous. "Knowledge" is not simply to expand the visual threshold of the cognitive subject, it contains great risks, which may shake the original ethical framework and even subvert the original self-knowledge. Comparing the ghost's warning to Hamlet (1.5.2 1-28) and the description of the poison effect (1.5.75438+0-8 1) before revealing the truth of the murder, it is not difficult to find the similarities between poison and knowledge. Ignorant subject is like a sleeping king, just as poison spreads in the king and destroys the function of life, knowledge can also erode the original belief system and make people completely collapse in the face of the sudden cruel truth. Hamlet had a deep understanding of the pain brought by knowledge, so he repeatedly told himself, "Don't make me think" (1. 1. 150). For him, pretending to be crazy is also a psychological protection way to avoid rational torture.
However, Hamlet could not restrain his strong impulse for knowledge. As Mike said, "In Hamlet's world, the most obvious feature is questioning" (Mike 504). Knowing the truth, the world and yourself is directly related to the meaning of his existence, just like bread. He would rather suffer than think and explore. He insisted on talking to ghosts despite his friends' obstruction, risking his life and madness, which is a typical example (1.4.67-97). Rejecting ignorance and ignorant happiness, knowing that he can't get the last "knowledge" but still clinging, is Hamlet's dilemma.
Trilingual maze
When Bolenus asked Hamlet, "Your Highness, what are you reading?" He replied, "words, words, words." (2.2. 199-200) Sensitivity to words and concern for the essence of language are important aspects of Hamlet's thought, and his cognitive dilemma is also reflected in the conflict between the dual characteristics of language: in the process of understanding himself and the world, language is both the most important way and the most unreliable way.
Hamlet is probably the most language-conscious among the drama works before the 20th century. Words such as "speech", "silence" and "tongue" appear repeatedly in the play, words and images echo back and forth, and various speech acts (verification, declaration, sarcasm, exhortation, prayer, disguise, etc. ) and the feeling of language itself are intertwined, which together constitute a virtual language world. The importance of language to "knowledge" was fully reflected in the first act. Horatio issued ten "talk" commands to ghosts (1.1.63-66; 146- 157); When Hamlet heard about the ghost, his first reaction was to ask Horatio, "What didn't you say to him?" (1.2.224) Obviously, they all believe that language communication can eliminate or reduce the gap in understanding and minimize the uncertainty of cognition, so they are eager to talk to ghosts. Without words and deeds, there is no value in meeting ghosts, and it can only increase people's fears and doubts in vain. Language is not only very important in communication with the outside world, but also the communication between self and self-meditation-must be carried out through language. The March, twists and turns of thoughts can be found in the flow, jumping and association of language. Wright found that the figure of speech "hendiys"1appeared 62 times in Hamlet. The duality of the metaphor of "Er Ru Me" and "Being Two" reflects Hamlet's confusion, hesitation and fierce ideological struggle in the face of a series of contradictory thoughts (Wright 168-93).
However, language often distorts or even covers up the truth, and even makes people lost in the illusory world. First of all, the motivation of the speaker is very complicated. They may deliberately hide it, or they may deceive and hurt others with lies. In Hamlet, language is compared to "plague". 4.4.60) and "dagger" (dagger; ; 3.2.285), its role in the play is indeed true, becoming a weapon for people to hurt each other and calculate each other, and becoming a negative force to disintegrate social organisms (Mustazza 5- 14). Secondly, due to the differences in motivation, intelligence and thinking habits between the two sides, language is likely to fail to achieve the speaker's expected purpose. When Rosen kranz said that he didn't understand what he said, Hamlet commented that "malicious words only fall asleep in the ears of fools" (4.2.6438+08; Bian's translation shows the understanding gap between the speaker and the listener.
The most dangerous thing about language is that as a naming system, it lacks essential identity with the named reality, thus becoming an independent maze, trapping people's thoughts in the game of words. In the dialogue between Hamlet and Bolenas, whether he compares the same cloud to a camel, a weasel or a whale, Bolenas agrees (3.2.268-73). Aside from Bolenas' motives, this conversation is quite philosophical. Reality in people's eyes is like that cloud, which has no fixed shape, so the language of naming reality will naturally have a guiding influence on people's thinking; Moreover, when people are thinking, they are often not exposed to reality, but to words. This is what Hamlet, who is obsessed with language, didn't realize.
Hamlet played four word games after his first appearance: he used the double meaning of "kindness" (family/kindness) to express his anger at Claudius; Use puns of "Sun" and "Zi" to ridicule the special relationship between king and queen; Condemn the mother's behavior with the double meaning of "common" (common/despicable); The verb "seem" is used flexibly as a noun (superficial article), and the title is used to express my sincere mourning for my father, which is different from the disguise of people around me (1.2.68-90). Puns and ambiguities abound in the whole dialogue. The word "double track" reflects Hamlet's unique anti-world strategy. He had to use the language of the world he hated, but he established his own lonely boundary with puns and ambiguities. However, it is thought-provoking, because his word games are beyond the understanding of the people around him, and their subversive effects cannot be reflected, so they are only played in his own imagination space, not in the real space.
Accordingly, in his long monologues, metaphors (such as "overgrown garden" [1.2.133-41] and "sleep" [3. 1.70-98]) and comparisons (such as his relationship with. Hamlet's famous monologue "To be or not to be" is bound to go another way if death is not described by the trite metaphor "sleep" which is contrary to the Christian spirit. These metaphors originated from his world-weariness tendency, which in turn strengthened his world-weariness tendency. The effect of contrast is similar, except that they provide an excuse for Hamlet to condemn himself in a tone close to self-abuse and balance his conscience, but they do not sharpen his will to act. On the contrary, the contrast highlights the difference between him and all sentient beings, which makes him fall deeper into his own ideological world. The rhetorical magic of language and the intellectual happiness of thought (though full of pain) made Hamlet unable to extricate himself. He can't walk out of the maze of words unless some external force forces him to stop playing with words.
Justice postponed forever.
Although ghosts, like the embodiment of ethical norms, urged Hamlet to take action, they lacked the necessary motivation in his mind. What really prompted him to respond passively was Claudius' provocative behavior. If Claudius doesn't get rid of him first, Hamlet will probably drag on forever.
From an ethical point of view, the most crucial reason is that Hamlet believes that the universal evil in the world undermines the justice of revenge. The evil of human nature extends in time to the beginning of creation. In the second dialogue between Claudius and Hamlet in the first act, the hidden text of the Old Testament gives a strong symbolic meaning to the death of the king. Claudius advised Hamlet not to indulge in excessive mourning, pointing out that "your father once lost his father,/his father once lost his own father" (1.2.93-94), and called losing his father "from the first class"; 1.2. 109) The theme that reason must face. The pun "of course" is very important. In English at that time, it was both a "course" and a "corpse", so the "first course" can be understood as both the "first example" of losing a father and the "first corpse" (Hirschfeld 436). Claudius's consolation is just the opposite: for Hamlet immersed in Christian culture, this historical trace of death will undoubtedly arouse the memories of Adam (the ancestor) and Abel (the first corpse). Cain's brother's murder just confirmed his suspicion that Claudius murdered the king. Adam violated God's prohibition and was expelled from the Garden of Eden. In medieval theology, it was the beginning of human depravity and death. In the next monologue, Hamlet compared the world to a "garden overgrown with weeds", which should not be accidental; His repeated use of the image of copulation strengthened the idea that sin extends in time through family pedigree, and his hatred of carnal desire also originated from this to a great extent. In space, the evil of human nature also shows the trend of infinite diffusion, and the corresponding image is poison that gradually permeates the blood and body. Surrounded by evil, Hamlet regards the world as a prison and calls Denmark the "worst prison" (2.2.228-30). More importantly, as a human being and a descendant of Adam, he himself can't escape the original sin. The ghost's picture of himself suffering for his deep sins in purgatory makes him more introspective: a great father like Hercules (1.2. 157) is still like this, let alone an ordinary person. In his monologues, Hamlet almost used up negative words to describe himself, which shows that he also clearly realized his evil.
In such a world full of evil, it is impossible to achieve the so-called justice, even if it is only justice in the secular sense. Although he knows that out of honor and ethics, he must take revenge; Repeated ghosts don't allow him to delay indefinitely, but he never associates killing Claudius with justice in his heart, and even fears the mission of revenge (Command of Dreams). 3.4. 124) and disgust ("cursed resentment"; 1.5.2 1 1)。 He is also confused about justice in the religious sense. Although he mentioned immortality of the soul (1.4.75-76), providence (5.2. 147), heaven (3.3.8 1) and doomsday judgment (2. 1.226) in his thoughts. The return of Jesus will bring ultimate and permanent justice. His true impression of the world is his unwashed sin and eternal rotting body. He is extremely pessimistic about the future because he can't find a solid belief in justice to support himself. However, before he died, on the one hand, he believed that the truth would be buried by time ("things just stood there and were unknown"), on the other hand, he begged his friend Horatio not to die for friendship, but to stay in the "cruel world" and "tell [his] story" (5.2.20048+0-92). This shows that he is still looking forward to future justice, but such justice without foundation can only be postponed indefinitely.
Revenge is an inevitable command, but it is meaningless. This is an ethical problem faced by Hamlet. As the embodiment of virtue in the eyes of a prince, son and people, he realized that the ghost's command had some justice to the real world, but his hatred of evil and his demand for abstract justice denied this justice. He delayed or even refused revenge, not because he lacked the ability to act, but because he lacked the will to act. In the process of killing Rosen kranz and Gilton Stein, we can see how smart, decisive and even cruel he is in real action. This not only confirms the hidden evil in his character, but also shows the realistic gap between his actions and thoughts.
Hamlet's psychology of escaping revenge was fully reflected in three assassinations. The first time was in Claudius' inner room. At this time, the king is praying and unprepared, which is an excellent opportunity to start. Hamlet gave up the action on the grounds that killing him at this time would only send him to heaven. Ironically, even Claudius knows it, because he has not given up "what made [him] move", and it is impossible to get God's pardon (3.3.58-60); Hamlet actually believed that Claudius could get away with it by praying. A more reasonable explanation is that he still needs to give himself a reason to delay action. The second time was in his mother's bedroom. He killed Bolenas by mistake. At the moment he started, he took Bernas as Claudius. But his words dispelled the nature of revenge: "What? Is it a mouse? You are dead, go to hell! " (3.4.30)。 A sober purpose and the satisfaction of a sense of justice (even a distorted one-sided sense of justice) are the basic elements of revenge, but Hamlet shirked the burden of conscience with crazy hallucinations, making it an accidental act in an abnormal state. In the duel scene at the end of the play, although Claudius finally died at the hands of Hamlet, Hamlet's assassination was not so much revenge on his father as anger and despair. At this time, Ophelia was dead, and his mother was dead, and Claudius was plotting against him. It is the most natural thing for Hamlet to answer blows with blows before he dies.
Although revenge is a theme of the whole play, it has never been realized, and the "justice" that ghosts expect has never come. All the important people are dead, and Denmark is still a chaotic country. The prince of Norway, the old enemy, solemnly demanded to seize power (5.2.338-40), and a new round of struggle will begin again ... Death ended Hamlet's hesitation and broke through his desperate situation, but at the cost of leaving many bodies on the stage. This is indeed Shakespeare's most thorough tragedy.
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Hamlet is desperate at all levels. Despair is despair, not because there is really "no way out", but because every road is denied by thought in advance. Hamlet refused to compromise and establish a cheap spiritual balance on the basis of the existing belief system, so he was always bumping in the inner storm. The biggest difference between Hamlet and classical tragedy is that it does not provide a stable value frame of reference, whether it is the eternal cosmic order believed by ancient Greeks or the kindness and justice of God believed by Christianity. Stevenson pointed out that Hamlet embodies strong "two characteristics" (Stevenson 458). If "one" symbolizes harmony, stability and authority, "two" symbolizes opposition, conflict and change. Exploring the tragedy of life in the fierce conflict and disdaining to imprison the infinitely complex world in abstract ethical principles are the qualities that Shakespeare can surpass the times. Hamlet in the works can become the most inexhaustible image in the history of literature, which also benefits from this "state of confusion, mystery and doubt" (Keats 43), without resorting to some illusory "ultimate answer".