Superego In Hamlet

In “Hamlet” you can examine hamlet's unconscious words and actions through the lens of psychoanalysis by using id, ego, and superego.

Psychoanalysis have developed over time, starting out with Sigmund Freud, sometimes referred to as the father of psychoanalysis criticism. Then further developed by Carl G. Jung, Northrop Frye, and Jacques Lacan. Each person took a slightly different stance on the belief of psychoanalysis and how it impacts literature. They all believe that one's unconscious mind plays a large role in how people express themselves. Freud believes that all of the actions of the unconscious mind are driven by sexual desires. This is the most controversial belief because Freud goes on to say “ all infant males possess an erotic …show more content…
The ego is the mediator of the id and superego, and determines what is right versus what is wrong. Throughout the play hamlet's ego has to deal with many things. The death of his father, the very fast marriage of his mother to his uncle Claudius, and Ophelia's denying him love. All of his emotions put a large amount of stress on hamlet's ego almost to the point of suicide. This sends Hamlet into depression and with no one to talk about his feelings he is left alone in his greiff. “ Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,/ Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,/ Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God! /How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable /Seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Shakespeare 1.2.130-134). This quote from hamlet shows how depressed he was, it says that he would take his live if it wasn’t against God's law. This depression pushes hamlet over the edge. He becomes erational and gives into his id. He then sets up a trap for Claudius by putting on a play about the king’s death to see if he could get a reaction out of Claudius. Which he believed would prove that he was the one that kill the king. After Claudius did react Hamlet had a solid base to kill him. Due to Hamlet’s depression his ego and superego were overshadowed by his id and he lost all sense of his morals. Hamlet irrational behavior continues when he kills Polonius in his mother's bed room. …show more content…
Freud took a very sexual tone to his opinion using the Oedipus complex to drive home his point. But this was a very controversial theory, especially in more modern times. Many people would be happier if Freud’s idea was tossed out and replaced with the idea that Hamlet wanted to kill Claudius only for the reason that he killed his father. William Kerrigan liked this idea a lot, saying “ psychoanalysis is conquering everything without being improved in the process”(Kerrigan 199). He goes on to say that everyone is stuck in the past with Freud’s ideas of psychoanalysis, when we should be furthering the development to make it more modern. He wants to get rid of the the idea that a son or daughter would be sexually attracted to their parent. This is a very common want, many people in today’s world would think of that as very messed up idea, that there would be no way that that could ever be true. Even though people might want this idea over the old ways of Freud there becomes a couple challenges that are hard to get through. For example like I said earlier when I was talking about Hamlet’s id. The closet scene between Hamlet and his mother the queen, it is very clear that Hamlet is upset with his mother having sex with Claudius. He goes into very vivid extra detail that is not necessary, it is also very obvious that Hamlet has thought about it a lot. There are many more small