The psychology of Hamlet : read at the meeting of the Psychological Society of Great Britain, May 1, 1879 / by Mr. Serjeant Cox.
- Edward William Cox
- Date:
- [1878]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The psychology of Hamlet : read at the meeting of the Psychological Society of Great Britain, May 1, 1879 / by Mr. Serjeant Cox. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![spirit, or was it a demon pretending to be bis father ? He did not doubt for a moment that it was a spirit be bad seen, be bad no thought that bis senses bad been deluded. This was the other side of the question which bis hesitating mind presented to him. He believed in the potency of evil spirits. He believed implicitly that they could take any shape and profess any personality for the purpose of entrapping human Souls. It is not difficult to imagine what was the course of reasoning in his hesitating mind and how with him it paralysed action. This, then, is the keynote of the entire drama from the moment of his interview with the Grhost. A clear con- ception must be formed of his natural temperament, as I have ventured to describe it—reflective but irresolute— thoughtful but inactive,—shocked at first by the shameless marriage of his mother, afterwards learning that she was not merely a wanton, but a murderess, a supernatural reve- lation enforcing him to vengeance, but his lifted arm paralysed by doubt if the communication was from above or from below. Thus contemplated, his whole conduct seems to me not only perfectly intelligible but perfectly natural. With this necessary introduction, let us proceed to the examination of the drama itself and endeavour to trace in it the revelations of the character we have sketched. Let us see how this view of the psychological character of Hamlet is sustained by the play. He is, as already noted, first introduced to us labouring under a fit of melancholy. He is shocked at the marriage of his mother following so hard upon his father's funeral. He has a shadowy suspicion of foul play. “ Oh, my pro- phetic soul, my uncle. In this mood he is startled by the intelligence of the appearance of his father's spirit in arms. He expresses no doubt of the fact, for he feels noue. Belief [209]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22443988_0009.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
