Frankenstein Hamlet and His Problems
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In T.S Elliots essay Hamlet and His Problems he criticizes many different points and aspects of Hamlet. There are two major aspects of Elliots essay I would like to talk about and explain. One being he believes Hamlet the play is an artistic failure Elliot says: “So far from being Shakespeares masterpiece, the play is most certainly an artistic failure. In several ways the play is puzzling, and disquieting, as is none of the others (Elliot 5).” The second point is the objective correlative and how it affects the central emotion of Hamlet the character. T.S. Eliot describes the objective correlative by saying: “The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an objective correlative; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion (Elliot 7).” The objective correlative influences the readers response to the work of art. It is the emotion of the reader that derives the objective correlative not that of the writers.
Elliot believes Hamlet is an artistic failure even though Shakespeare is arguably one of the most successful and artistically credited play writers of his time. The arguments posted by Eliot are simply personal opinions of what he believes to be true about the play, and his arguments are entirely restricted to his opinions. I believe the criticism that Eliot produces in his essay is mostly biased, opinionated, and entirely uncertain. The artistic failure that Eliot uses to describe Hamlet is that it was a very uninteresting and boring piece of art due to the lack of events leading to the emotions produced. T.S. Eliot compares Hamlet the play to that of Leonardo Da Vincis Mona Lisa by saying “It is the Mona Lisa of literature (Elliot 5).” He attempts to relate the complexity of the painting to the storyline of the play. This comparison that Eliot produces is very weak and difficult to prove. The allusion to one of the greatest pieces of art can imply that confusion is a good trait, and that the confusion and mystery is what the audience enjoys and seeks in the art. This confusion that is created makes the reader or audience think, and gets them interested in the work. Whether or not if they agree with the confusion that is created, the audience is going to have to use their imagination and knowledge to derive meaning. These mysteries, which great artists produce, are the key to acquiring the attention of the audience, especially in a play where the audience needs to forget they are watching people act. This confusion, which Elliot refers to, is the reaction and emotions of the characters in the play, and how it doesnt relate to the storyline. The emotions in which the characters demonstrate are possibly the interesting factors, which make the audience to enjoy the play and lets them be completely focused. This is essential to creating great works of art, not artistic failures.
T.S. Eliot continually refers to and uses the objective correlative of the play to back up and prove his arguments, especially the past argument, that Hamlet is an artistic failure. When really finding this objective correlative Eliot is entirely dependent on the reader rather than the writer. It is the readers responsibility to determine what the writer was trying to demonstrate or represent in his work. This can be proven by the different emotions and reactions in which are created from the same work of art. The deep and confusing emotions in which the characters in Hamlet create are the factors of the play, which allow the audience to think, and try to figure out why the characters feel and act the way