Inconsistency in Hamlet Essay -- The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

William Shakespeare undoubtedly achieved one of his greatest characterizations when he created the role of Hamlet, in the tragic play Hamlet. Hamlet's appeal to audiences almost certainly stems from his many human weaknesses. The one for which he is best known is indecisiveness, but his inconsistency may well be an even more outstanding characteristic. T. S. Eliot, in 1932, wrote an essay on Hamlet that is still cited as a noted critique of Shakespeare's great tragedy. Eliot argued that Hamlet is an artistic failure, due to a basic weakness in the play. It was his contention that a playwright owes a duty to the audience to write dialogue appropriate to characters as they have been developed in the drama. Eliot made the point that in the "Closet Scene," when Hamlet confronts Queen Gertrude, his mother, in her bedchamber, his words demonstrate an animosity and a vindictiveness for which the audience is totally unprepared. Since Eliot's charge against Hamlet is self-evidently valid, actors and directors attempting to stage Shakespeare's tragedy have struggled with the problem Eliot's essay highlighted, both prior to and after its publication. The conventional approach in the 20th century has been to imply, on Hamlet's part, a frustrated, incestuous love for his mother, which may justify the words Hamlet speaks, but for which Shakespeare gives no background whatsoever. As a result, rather than solving the problem, this approach creates yet another inconsistency. Still, in spite of these inconsistencies, and in spite of Eliot's accusation of artistic failure, Hamlet continues to walk the stage and fascinate theatergoers. If it is justifiable to look for logic and consistency in Hamlet, as Eliot did, one can find a far gre... ... times illogical and inconsistent. All of these examples suggest, however, that the logic and consistency advocated by T. S. Eliot are not essential to a play's success, nor to its greatness and immortality. Eliot's conclusion that Hamlet is an artistic failure is based on logic even more specious than that of the indecisive Prince of Denmark. A play succeeds because of its ability to stir the feelings of the audience, to transport the members of that audience to places beyond the bounds of the theater and their daily lives. Audiences, whether those of today or of Shakespeare's era, do not judge a play by its logical perfection. Hamlet, with all of its inconsistencies, evaluated on the basis of its emotional power, the majesty of its language, and by its seemingly timeless ability to move and enthrall audiences, remains one of the theater's ultimate masterpieces.