“With wings as swift/ as meditation or the thoughts of love/ may sweep to my revenge (1.5. 35-37).” That is Hamlet’s immediate response to his father’s ghost when the ghost urges Hamlet to fulfil this filial duty of slaying Claudius for vengeance. The famous philosopher, Sigmund Freud, developed the psychoanalytic personality theory–the human personality is divided into three parts–and Shakespeare verifies his idea through Hamlet’s actions. In his melodramatic play, Hamlet, Shakespeare creates an internal struggle that causes Hamlet to contradict his actions, which makes prevents him from having a strong sense of integrity. Throughout the play, Hamlet is depicted as a scholar who does a lot of planning, but takes a few actions. Hamlet’s cautious nature cannot settle the battle between his mind’s id and superego, which keeps Hamlet from successfully taking revenge on Claudius. Although Hamlet thinks the best way to take his revenge on Claudius is to wait for the right opportunity, Hamlet’s mind, according to Freud’s theories, is actually split between the id and the superego. With this, the id is the focus around Hamlet’s desires and pleasures, while the superego, when stronger than the id, is the part of the mind that puts restraints to prevent Hamlet from freely doing what he pleases.
