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Raeya Maswood
Professor Sarah Jacobs
English 150 W
16 March 2011
Hamlet’s Trauma
Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been subject to much analysis and interpretation by not only
Shakespearean and literary scholars, but scholars of fields including psychology, history and
medicine. Hamlet’s story had not only shown depth in one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters,
but also revealed the complexities of human nature. Hamlet’s behavior, oddities and the nature of
his madness have captured the attention of generations of readers and scholars. It is important
however to see Hamlet’s behavior in different perspectives. From the beginning of the play
Hamlet’s melancholic behavior is apparent; this behavior nowadays would most likely be
diagnosed as depression (Kirsch 17-36). Explained using trauma theory, we see how Hamlet’s
behavior, relationships, irritability, fear and anger show strong evidence of trauma (Simon 707720). Through evidence from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and both Bennett Simon’s article “Hamlet
and the Trauma Doctors: An Essay at Interpretation” and “Hamlet’s Grief” by Arthur Kirsch we
see that Hamlet meets the criterion for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder according to the
Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Illness IV (DSM IV).
Arthur Kirsch gives detailed examples explaining Hamlet’s melancholy and the causes of
his depression and traumatic experience using Freudian psychology. Kirsch firstly mentions that
even though some of Hamlet’s decisions and actions may be heroic, by considering the
circumstances in Hamlet’s life we must realize and see that there is underlying unconscious pain,
sorrow and suffering within him. Kirsch states that these lines from the play show Hamlet’s
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“early stages of grief, of its shock, of its inner and still hidden sense of loss, and trying to
describe what is not fully describable- the literally inexpressible wound whose immediate
consequence is the dislocation, if not transvaluation, of our customary perceptions and feelings
and attachments to life” (Kirsch 19).
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These, indeed, seem;
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passes show –
These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (I.2.85)
Kirsch also states there had been a “profound impact” by the ghost- a traumatic
experience. These lines from the play show Hamlet trying to balance remaining intellectual and
rational with his plan, but is overwhelmed by his emotions and sorrow (Kirsch 18). Kirsch then
states that immediately after seeing the ghost Hamlet is in fear- it is out of fear that Hamlet says
he will feign madness. The traumatic event of encountering the ghost of his father had created
great sorrow and fear in Hamlet. Kirsch continues to state that Hamlet’s sorrow worsens because
he is not given sympathy from others especially his mother. Kirsch introduces Freud’s
psychoanalysis by suggesting that evidence of Hamlet’s “Oedipal anxiety is real” (Kirsch 21).
He explains that Hamlet’s mother’s actions most particularly gave him pain (Kirsch 21-2).
Gertrude seemed careless and is “oblivious to the whole realm of human experience through
which her son travels” especially his grief (Kirsch 28). It was suggested that Ophelia and
Hamlet was to be married, but after Hamlet’s encounter with the ghost he instead told her to go
to a convent, and not sin and marry. Any previous feelings of affection toward Ophelia are
unobservable. Simon states that Gertrude’s behavior caused Hamlet’s misogyny towards Ophelia
which we could see when he verbally attacks all women:
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I have heard of your paintings too, well enough.
God has given you one face and you make yourselves another.
You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures
and make your wantonness your ignorance.
Go to, I’ll no more on ’t. It hath made me mad.
I say, we will have no more marriages.
Those that are married already, all but one, shall live.
The rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go. (III.1.42)
Kirsch suggests that all these occurrences worsen Hamlet’s pain and grief especially
since he is still mourning the death of his father. Kirsch states that according to this evidence
and the works of Freud, Hamlet’s behavior would be considered in contemporary society as
depression. Kirsch explains that according to Freud, depression and mourning can be explained
through the loss of something conscious, which in Hamlet’s case is the death of his father, and
the loss of something unconscious, Hamlet’s loss of his mother. According to Kirsch, “‘more in
sorrow than in anger’ (I.2.231), binds Hamlet to a course of grief which is deeper and wider than
any in our literature” (Kirsch 31). Kirsch suggests that the ghost of the king’s visit to Hamlet
certainly had been a horrific, fearful traumatic event which even led Hamlet to think the ghost
was a demon. It had caused Hamlet’s fear, irritability, irrational behavior and anger as seen
through his behavior with Ophelia. Kirsch’s analysis of Hamlet meets the criteria of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
In his article, Bennett Simon also uses trauma theory to explain Hamlet’s erratic,
abnormal and irrational behavior, and suggests that these actions and behaviors are responses to
all the recent traumatic occurrences in his life (Simon 708). Simon gives background about
trauma theory and its salient concepts. The evidence of trauma is shown when: the assumptions
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that one can trust “those nearest and dearest”, that one can depend on the stability in one’s life
and “ground beneath ones feet” (metaphorically and literally i.e. natural disasters) is diminished.
The “interpretation of events become more constricted or chaotic or both”; and in extreme cases
it is even difficult to distinguish reality from the fear of the worst happening- after the traumatic
event one becomes fearful and distraught wondering if the event had actually occurred, because
it possibly couldn’t since it would mean all past believed assumptions and beliefs have been
proven false and thus, “a profound mistrust in the world sets in” (Simon712).
Not only is Hamlet’s loss of his father traumatic for him, we see evidence of Hamlet’s
trauma when he speaks of his mother. Hamlet is shocked by Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius; he
calls it disgusting and incestuous:
Let me not think on ’t. Frailty, thy name is woman!—
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body,
Like Niobe, all tears. Why she, even she—
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer!—married with my uncle,
My father’s brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her gallèd eyes,
She married. O most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good,
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But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. (I.2.146-159)
Just as Kirsch had suggested, Simon also agrees that Hamlet had been severely impacted
by this marriage- it had diminished all the respect Hamlet had for his mother, all previously held
beliefs (Simon 717). This marriage was considered by Hamlet as unconventional, incestuous- it
had diminished the stability in his life, it had changed his beliefs of right and wrong, appropriate
and inappropriate (Simon 717). This, Simon states also caused his irrational outbursts, peculiar
behavior towards Ophelia and his anger and impulsiveness such as when Hamlet killed Polonius
(Simon 717).
Simon strongly emphasizes that a sense of unreality is the most profound response to
trauma. Simon states that Hamlet had been traumatized by the ghost’s visit which leaves him
uncertain about the ghost’s message and plea until he hears Claudius confess (Simon 715).
Simon suggests that Gertrude’s marriage to Hamlet’s uncle, who the ghost of father says is his
murderer, puts Hamlet in a state of uncertainty (Simon 715). But not only is Hamlet shocked by
his mother’s marriage, it impacts his cognitive skills in determining the certainty of the message
of the ghost and also the certainty in life itself (Simon 717). These lines from Hamlet’s “To be or
not to be” soliloquy show Hamlet’s uncertainty in life and the afterlife:
To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life. (III.1.64-70)
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Unlike other literary scholars, Simon does not doubt Hamlet’s sanity beforehand. Simon
suggests that Hamlet only decides to feign his madness after his traumatic experience with the
ghost. This does not suggest that that Hamlet is sane but instead suggests that what Hamlet
considers is feigned, his decision to feign, is actually a response to not only this particular
traumatic experience with the ghost, but all the other circumstances in his life at the time. These
events and circumstances identified by Simon as trauma adhere to what the Diagnostic Statistical
Manual IV considers as trauma and the effects of trauma in the criterion for Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder.
According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV (DSM IV), the most significant feature
of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the development of specific symptoms after
experience or exposure to a traumatic event. Hamlet meets the criterion according to the DSM IV
diagnosis of PTSD. Criterion A states:
A. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were
present:
1. the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that
involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity
of self or others.
2. the person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. (DSM IV)
Hamlet had experienced a death in the family, and had witnessed and been confronted with
the ghost of his father which had evoked fear, and horror within him. Hamlet meets the criteria:
“irritability or outbursts of anger”- for instance when he speaks to Ophelia, and when he kills
Polonius; “hypervigilance”- Hamlet’s efforts to find out the truth about Claudius and setting up
the entire, elaborate play just to see Claudius’ reaction; “feeling of detachment or estrangement
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from others”- Hamlet’s depression; “restricted range of affect”- inability to love or profess his
love for Ophelia, and a “sense of foreshortened future”- Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy
about suicide and questioning the reason for living. The DSM IV also states that “the disturbance
causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important
areas of functioning”- Hamlet is perceived mad and his relationship with Ophelia, Claudius,
Polonius and especially Gertrude are definitely not the same as before and is certainly not
functional or healthy (DSM IV).
Although this conclusion on Hamlet may be considered merely as an assertion, the examples
in support are evident. Hamlet surely does meet the criteria of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
according to the DSM IV- a source widely used by psychologists, psychiatrists and those
working in the mental illness field. Hamlet’s story, although seeming inconceivable in ordinary
life, shows the essence of human nature. Kirsch states that based on all the events in Hamlet’s
life it can be concluded that Hamlet has depression. Simon explains that Hamlet not only
couldn’t properly mourn the death of father, but then was also faced with horrific, fearful events
causing him to become traumatized. Analysis and conclusions on Hamlet suggests that he wasn’t
merely a fictional character of one of the greatest works of literature. Hamlet’s thoughts, mental
state and behavior perhaps reflect the natural reactions of an ordinary and average person when
faced with similar events. With this perspective, it might be easier to analyze Hamlet’s behaviors
and empathize.
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Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. “Clinical & Research News: DSM-IV Criteria for PTSD.”
Psychiatric News., 18 Oct. 2002. Web. 4 March 2011.
Kirsch, Arthur. “Hamlet’s Grief.” ELH 48.1 (1981): 17-36. JSTOR. Web. 4 March. 2011.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Burton Raffel. New Haven, London: Yale University Press,
2003. Print.
Simon, Bennett. “Hamlet and the Trauma Doctors: An Essay at Interpretation.” American Imago
58.3 (2001): 707-722. Project MUSE. Web. March 7, 2011.