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Applying Marxist Literary Theory To Hamlet

This Marxist analysis summarizes how power and social class impacted the characters in Act 4 Scene 4 of Hamlet. [1] Claudius hesitates to punish Hamlet due to fears of losing popular support. [2] Hamlet questions the strict social hierarchy of the time and sees corruption resulting from the pursuit of power and money. [3] The Elizabethan era is shown to privilege the ruling class while oppressing the poor, demonstrating the class struggles that motivated some of the characters' actions.

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261 views3 pages

Applying Marxist Literary Theory To Hamlet

This Marxist analysis summarizes how power and social class impacted the characters in Act 4 Scene 4 of Hamlet. [1] Claudius hesitates to punish Hamlet due to fears of losing popular support. [2] Hamlet questions the strict social hierarchy of the time and sees corruption resulting from the pursuit of power and money. [3] The Elizabethan era is shown to privilege the ruling class while oppressing the poor, demonstrating the class struggles that motivated some of the characters' actions.

Uploaded by

uyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Truong 1

Zoe Truong

Ms Christy Chiu

ENG4UE

17 August 2021

Applying Marxist Literary Theory to Hamlet

A Marxist analysis of act four, scene 4 of Hamlet shows how power is defined in the

Elizabethan era and how the idea of social class affects each character in the play. The

Elizabethan era was a strictly structured society where everyone was expected to know their

own place given to them by God ("Elizabethan Society | Tutor2u"). This social class was so

extreme that it had been described as “philistine hypocrisy instead of universal freedom”

(Smirnov). Clearly, this system decides what kind of job a person could have, the way to

dress and the place to live ("Social Structure / Overview Of Elizabeth I / Historical

Association"). This hierarchy is also called “The Great Chain of Being”, which is the cause of

most events in Hamlet. Act four, scene 4 starts when Claudius hesitates to punish Hamlet for

killing Polonius; he says

“Yet must not we put the strong law on him.

He’s loved of the distracted multitude,

Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes”


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.This shows that he is afraid that putting Hamlet in jail could make him look bad in the

people’s eyes since he is scared that it will position as King in jeopardy. Claudius is a perfect

example of the Bourgeoisie trying to move his way up the hierarchy; thirsty for power.

Hamlet, on the other hand, as a member of the royalty, has a different mindset. He

seems to not believe in the meaning of the great chain of being, shown when he tries to

compare the beggars to the king: “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and

eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”. Through this, he is saying that a king is no

superior to a beggar. When he describes the advisors and hangers-on as “politic worms”, it

demonstrates class struggle. During a conversation he has with Claudius, Hamlet refers to the

idea of rotting, which all starts when Claudius murders his father, and then marries his

mother. To him, it is all a result of manipulation, cheating and crime. Throughout the play,

there is a distinction between the classes and how their personalities are portrayed: the

servants, Ophelia, Hamlet are examples of members of the peasantry, Bourgeoisie,

Pre-industrial class respectively. The Elizabethan era was the cause of the suffering of

countless poor people, who were mostly enslaved. Furthermore, this Great Chain of Being

made families of the Bourgeoisie class tear apart to an extent where money and power are the

only priorities, shown through the character of Claudius. Therefore, the idea of power and

class and how corrupted the Elizabethan society is are shown clearly in this play when

analyzed from a Marxist perspective.


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Works Cited

Smirnov, Aleksandr. A. Shakespeare. Critics Group, 1936.

"Elizabethan Society | Tutor2u". Tutor2u,

https://www.tutor2u.net/history/reference/elizabethan-society.

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation Of Dreams. 1900, p. 86.

"Social Structure / Overview Of Elizabeth I / Historical Association". History.Org.Uk,

https://www.history.org.uk/student/module/4536/overview-of-elizabeth-i/4543/social-

structure.

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