Delay In Hamlet

This paper is a study of a classic mystery in literature—the delay in Hamlet. For hundreds of years the issue has been discussed almost excessively yet little consensus has been reached except the fact that the delay in Hamlet is particularly unique. Most of the previous studies focus on Hamlet's character in search of explanations for his delay. One undeniable weakness of these criticisms is that they are more based upon personal feelings rather than concrete arguments. As the emotional impacts of the play upon readers vary, great discordances inevitably occur among these criticisms.To make the study more objective, in this thesis we explore the uniqueness of delay in Hamlet from a Formalistic perspective. Generally speaking, both objective and subjective factors play a role in shaping the form of a drama. The objective ones discussed in this thesis include:rules of drama creation, stage situation, and social conventions; the subjective ones refer to dramatist's writing technique, including the manipulation of point of view, plot-construction and treatment of time and mind.As the form of a piece of work reflects the literary trend of the time and also the individual style of one author, this paper studies Hamlet in both these aspects. This thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter is a comparison between classical tragedies and Elizabethan tragedies. Because of the differences in rules of drama creation, stage condition, and social conventions (ethics, laws, and religion), the time span in Elizabethan tragedies is greater than in classical tragedies. In this sense, delay becomes universal in the former. The second chapter studies the delay in Hamlet in the setting of Elizabethan tragedies, and shows that although time in Hamlet is much more condensed than in many others, the effect of its delay is more conspicuous because of its tension and Shakespeare's manipulation of point of view. The third chapter presents a structural study of Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy, and finds that Shakespeare's plot construction and treatment of space and mind intensify the effect of delay in Hamlet.Therefore, no necessary relationship exists between the time span and the uniqueness of delay in Hamlet. The writing techniques of Shakespeare make the delay in Hamlet keenly perceived, and contribute to its uniqueness.