Hamlet's delay.

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalytic literary criticism
• Psychology of art and literature

Background:

• Freud's interpretation of Hamlet has been influential.
• Audience reception and psychological engagement with dramatic works are complex.
• The concept of the sacrificial scapegoat offers a framework for understanding group psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To offer a novel psychoanalytic perspective on Shakespeare's Hamlet.
• To explore the audience's psychological use of the play and its characters.
• To re-examine the function of tragic heroes and heroines in dramatic performance.

Main Methods:

• Psychoanalytic literary analysis of Hamlet.
• Application of scapegoating and sacrificial rite theories.
• Comparative analysis with René Girard's nonpsychoanalytic theories.

Main Results:

• Hamlet and Claudius function as sacrificial objects for the audience.
• The play enacts a sacrificial rite, fulfilling and renouncing the audience's Oedipal wishes.
• Hamlet's delay is linked to the audience's need for a sadistic and defensive sacrificial spectacle.

Conclusions:

• The audience's unconscious engagement with Hamlet transforms it into a sacrificial ritual.
• Tragic heroes and heroines are utilized through unconscious collusion between author and audience.
• Psychoanalytic and nonpsychoanalytic theories (e.g., Girard) can offer complementary insights into literary reception.