During my final year of earning my college degree, I took a class on theater literature and really enjoyed learning the various ways to evaluate and understand various classic plays. One of our final projects was to assess a play through a viewpoint such as feminism, socialism, marxism, etc... Having always had a fascination with Shakespeare's Hamlet and the many unknowns that the audience is left with, I took this opportunity to explore the iconic piece through the lens of Karl Marx. It proved to be a very interesting project, especially since I hadn't really taken much time to understand what exactly Marxism entails. It's certainly not the most high-quality paper I've ever written, due to having been thrown alongside a number of other finals projects, but oh well... I still passed the class :)
Is Hamlet Marxist
When looking at Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare in 1601, there are several literary theories that can be used to analyze and understand it. One of these theories is Marxism, which shows up in quite a few ways throughout this famous play. However, before we can analyze Hamlet via the Marxist perspective, we must first understand what exactly Marxism is.
Karl Marx, a German philosopher, formed the Marxist theory in the 19th century. Essentially, Marxism says that capitalism breaks the people into two separate classes and the ideal society is ‘classless.’ The two capitalist classes are the proletariat, or working class, and the bourgeoisies, or the wealthy class. It also theorizes that eventually the proletariat will rise up against the bourgeoisies, seeking to overthrow them and make everyone equal. This concept shows up several times throughout Hamlet, whose society is definitely not Marxist and classless. Instead it boasts of both a bourgeoisies class (Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet, etc…) and a proletariat class (servants, guards, etc…) Both the separation between classes and subversion of someone of higher power by a lesser individual becomes clear right from the beginning of Hamlet.
In the first scene, we are introduced to three guards: Barnardo, Francisco, and Marcellus. These three men would be considered proletariats who have no power to make decisions. Instead, they are required to follow other’s orders and be ruled by the bourgeoisie. In this first scene, we are also introduced to Horatio, a scholar whom Hamlet went to school with at Wittenberg. Despite the fact that he is just as educated as Hamlet, Horatio is still a proletariat. This is shown in several ways. First, the way he addresses Hamlet: ‘your lordship,’ ‘my lord’ ‘my honored lord’, etc… and second, by how he refers to himself, namely ‘your servant.’ In fact, in scene 1.2 alone, Horatio calls Hamlet by one of the above titles eleven times in his twenty-two lines.
We are also reminded of the class differences between Horatio and Hamlet in Act Three, scene two. Hamlet essentially compliments Horatio, saying he is the only man he can truly talk to, but when Horatio tries to wave away Hamlet’s compliment, Hamlet emphasizes the class difference between them. He more or less tells Horatio he is not flattering him, because there is nothing for him to gain by flattering someone as poor as Horatio. He goes on to say that he only chose Horatio because of his character qualities, which is almost making him into a commodity for Hamlet’s benefit. This would be in keeping with the Marxist theory that the bourgeoisie will always control and exploit those of the proletariat class for their own benefit.
“The lower class members of the society serve the royal family. The treatment and addressing of the lower class indicate evidence of oppression of the lower class in the society. The upper class commodifies the lower class and treat them as tools, objects, and means of satisfying individual goals. Based on the society ideologies, the lower class were regarded as objects to serve the upper class in the society. The ideologies adopted by the upper class proved beneficial to their interests and disregarded the interests of the lower class” (ProEssays)
We also see this Marxist idea of oppression and use of the lower class in the relationship between Claudius and the two courtiers, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. While these two characters would be considered bourgeoisie, they are still of a lower class than Claudius. This allows him to use and manipulate them into carrying out his orders, even though it would have led to the death of their childhood friend had Claudius’ plot gone as planned.
The Marxist theory also states that in a society separated by classes, the oppressed class will eventually rise up and attempt to overthrow the upper-class. “He [Marx] believed that this conflict [between classes] would ultimately lead to a revolution in which the working class would overthrow the capitalist class and seize control of the economy.” (Investopedia) This concept appears several times throughout the entire play with the most obvious instance involving Laertes.
In Act Three, scene four, Hamlet stabs Laertes and Ophelia’s father, Polonius through a curtain, thinking it is Claudius. As soon as Laertes hears the news, he returns from France to overthrow Claudius, whom he thinks is the murderer. On his way to the palace, he gathers a mob of the proletariat, who begin calling for Laertes to become king instead of Claudius. They arrive at the palace and overcome the guards. Laertes orders the mob to keep the gate and wait outside. They obey and he goes in to threaten Claudius, who asks why he is rebelling. Laertes demands his father, but Claudius explains that Hamlet has killed him. Ophelia enters and Laertes witnesses her loss of sanity due to the loss of her father and her breakup with Hamlet. This only fuels his anger and he turns from plotting against Claudius to plotting against Hamlet…which would also be considered revolt against the bourgeoisie according to the Marxist theory, because Laertes – while not a proletariat – is still of a lower ranking than Hamlet.
We also see the overthrow of someone of a higher-class hinted at in the beginning of Hamlet and confirmed later on. Claudius is not the rightful king, instead he murdered Old Hamlet and married Gertrude, thereby also cheating young Hamlet of his throne. As the play progresses, Hamlet begins to plot the overthrow of Claudius. Individuals of the proletariat class such as Horatio and the Players get caught up in his plot, some knowingly, others unwittingly. This is all in line with the Marxist school of thought when considering what happens when a society has separate classes.
Marxism proposes a ‘classless’ society, which cannot be achieved in Hamlet. Regardless of who overthrows whom, a new king will arise; whether that be Hamlet, Laertes, or the nearby ruler Fortinbras, it doesn’t matter. Shakespeare could not have written this popular play without the use of distinct classes, thereby making Hamlet what Karl Marx would call a capitalist-style society with the ruling class oppressing the workers. Needless to say, Karl Marx wouldn't have been happy with Shakespeare.
Works Cited
Investopedia. Marxism: What It Is and Comparison to Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism. 28 09 22. 09 10 22 <https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp#toc-what-kind-of-philosophy-is-marxism>.
ProEssays. Marxist Theory on Hamlet: Research Paper. 12 02 2022. 09 10 22 <https://proessays.net/essays/marxist-theory-on-hamlet>.
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