Hamlet's Precarious Emotional Balance By Theodore Lidz

In Theodore Lidz’s critical article “Hamlet’s Precarious Emotional Balance”, Lidz analyzes the mental state and indecision of the character Hamlet in William Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet. Lidz begins by explaining how by the second act, the audience must rely on the reports of people spying on Hamlet to learn of his current mental state. He then goes on to reason why Hamlet may have greeted Ophelia in such a disheveled fashion in act II, suggesting Hamlet may have wanted to create the idea that his madness has come about from Ophelia’s denial of his love. Once Polonius falls for this trick, Lidz claims that the entire court accepts Hamlet’s madness without question, but Claudius is still unsure if Ophelia is the catalyst for such madness. …show more content…
Hamlet’s indecision is first mentioned by Lidz when he acknowledges Hamlet’s fluctuating emotions and trust towards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as Hamlet tells them he is mad when they first meet, but later seems to confide in them. This constant indecision, Lidz postulates, has stagnated Hamlet’s action as he cannot decide whether or not to kill his uncle, until the actors arrive and provide him with a method of testing Claudius’ guilt. Lidz claims, however, that even after finding this method to test Claudius, Hamlet is still indecisive, as he cannot decide whether to kill Claudius, or kill himself. Ultimately, Lidz concludes that Hamlet concurs his indecision by criticizing his cowardice and reaffirming his