Marxist Theory on Hamlet: Research Paper

Introduction

Karl Marx, a German theorist in political, economic and philosophical ideas, focused on the determination of the cause of the capitalist system which he views as oppressive and exploitative. Theories of Marx have contributed immensely in the world history with its wide known criticism to the modern world capitalism. His focus was on literary texts along different historical lines. Marx came up with the society lens on which he based on highlighting the disparities in social class, class struggles and oppressive ideologies (Grady 100). Based on the materialistic conception of world history, Marx along with Friedrich Engels came up with a Marxist theory which provided a comprehensive review of the capitalist system. In efforts to determine the forces that contributed to the exploitation, oppression and social injustices characterized by the modern capitalist system in the society, he pointed out that the material forces motivated the dialectic of history. Marx reviewed different historical literature with the aim of unfolding the truth about society struggles, oppression and social classes (Grady 99). Marx engaged in a detailed analysis of French politics, the rise of Louis Bonaparte and detailed reading of William Shakespeare's literature. Marx referred to Shakespeare's plays in deducing his own philosophy and criticism to capitalism and its false ideologies through commodification. Among the common themes in Shakespeare's Hamlet, class struggle, power struggle, and oppression of the weak in the society clearly stand out. Therefore, use of historical literature can be based on Shakespeare's literature since Shakespeare, and Karl Marx lived in two different eras, but the social disparities, class conflict, and the surge in materialistic tendencies can be traced back to Shakespearean society. In that light, Shakespeare is widely known as a godfather to the communist manifesto. The representation of Marxism in Shakespeare's Hamlet will be analyzed with a focus on its portrayal of conflict, class oppression, and social inequality.

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The Relevance of Historical Literature in Analyzing Social Struggles

Hamlet shows stints of class struggle as well as discrepancies in the social class. The different characters used in the play exhibit diverse social status and indicate evidence in the class struggle (Grady 103). The lower class in the play is characterized by Barnado, Horatio, Marcellus, Rosencrantz, and Guidestern. On the other hand, Hamlet and his aristocratic royal family represent the upper class in the society. 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 (Grady 99). The lower class people in the play such as Reynaldo, Bernardo, Marcellus, and Francisco undergo oppression in the hands of the higher class subjected to forced commands and authority. Their voices are marginalized, and their role disregarded by the upper class which distinctly highlights the class oppression.

In reference to Claudius, he was a king who held an upper class in the society; he held a higher position in the society than Hamlet. He, therefore, tried using his position in the society to suppress his rivals such as Hamlet. In addition to power, Claudius used his wealth and men to fend off opposition from Hamlet. All his effort were aimed at making Hamlet obedient which fell on defy ears. On realizing that Hamlet was not backing down, he attempted to kill him which also failed. Relating the experience of Claudius and Hamlet in Marxism perception, Hamlet is portrayed as a rebel to the capitalist form of life. According to the actions of Hamlet, it can be deducted that Hamlet was against Claudius rule and therefore opted to subvert the rule as well as overcome the oppressive rule which was particularly aimed at him (Royanian et al. 188). Additionally, resist the ruling class due to the corruption associated with the ruling class. Consequently, he separates himself and resolves to resist the oppressive ideology of the ruling class.

Claudius: Power, Wealth, and Commodification

Commodification is also exhibited by Claudius who is presented as powerful and wealth and achieves his goals through the use of resources and power. In this case, Claudius refers to all things and people as commodities which can be acquired through the use of money and power. Gertrude is brought out as a victim of commodification which Claudius uses to take the throne from Hamlet. After the death of the previous king, marriage to Gertrude had a strong political implication to taking over the thrown. Therefore, Claudius married Gertrude to help him obtain the throne. Marrying Gertrude came with improved social status, and therefore, Claudius married her for the social status conferred by her ownership (Royanian et al. 195). He targeted her image strength and the social standing and the stability. Claudius further commodifies Hamlet through using him as prey to convincing the Laertes that guilt and faults were caused by him. Claudius baited the Laertes to believing that they had a common enemy in Hamlet. Claudius not only commodified Gertrude and Hamlet but also everything around him. According to , capitalism is for the idea that "you are what you own." This implies that as greatness in human beings is based on material possession. For Claudius to maintain power over other people, he commodified the things around him. Rozencrantz and Guildenstern were both commodified by Claudius and made them spy on Hamlet. In reaction, Hamlet knew Claudius in using the two, and he told them they were being kept like an apple in the corner of the jaw. This implied that Claudius was using them when he needed them, but after he is done with them, they will have no value to him. Claudius managed to commodify Laertes and used them to kill Hamlet who was resisting his ways of ruling. In the Claudius, manipulation, use of political powers, wealth, class oppression, and class struggle are highlighted clearly. Claudius resists change while Hamlet is determined to change the society structure and the corruption rooted in the royal family. Hamlet resists the ruling of Claudius and highlights the ideologies of Claudius in using Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on spying on him (Grady 104). At some particular Marxism is illuminated in Hamlet's struggle to conquer the manipulation of the weak in the society by the royal family. According to Marxism, Aristocracy promotes social classes, social struggles, and oppression of the subjects. The ruling family which entails King Hamlet, Gertrude, Hamlet, Claudius, and Fortinbras promotes aristocracy in the society. The wealthy middle class (bourgeoisie) are represented by those who adhere to the aristocratic demands. Hamlet brings out Rosencrantz, Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Guildenstern and Horatio as the middle class who are used by Claudius to fulfill his wishes (Royanian et al. 192). It is cited in the play Guildenstern admitting their work is to protect Denmark as well as the ruling class. The proletariat who are the working class with no ways of impacting on the society other than just revolting (Schroeder et al.). They serve as grave diggers, guards and servants. The gap between the royals and the proletariat can be pointed out in the conversation between Hamlet and Polonius (Royanian et al. 187). Polonius asks Hamlet if he knows him and Hamlet responds by telling him he is a fishmonger. In this particular point, it exhibits how the upper class mocks the lower class by calling them names as well as testing their limits (Schroeder et al.). Some of the dirty works executed by Claudius are performed by the lower class.

The death of Polonius attracts confrontation from Laertes to Claudius which is summed up with the proletariat seeking to overthrow of Claudius for a more just leader dedicated to serving his people. The proletariat complains of the tyrannical monarch which neglects the welfare of its people. In a fight for the deeply rooted aristocracy in the society, Laertes also goes ahead to confront the murder committed citing the aristocracy going overboard (Grady 103).

Carnival and Masking: Challenging Social Ranks

In most cases, the carnival is associated with lower class, as well as rowdy people who wear masks - various glimpses of eating, drinking, and sex which paint the lower class negatively. The negative social behaviors are assumed to cause civil commotion and violence. The lower class people in society are associated with immorality, violence and substance abuse (Royanian et al. 187). Applying Marxism on the use of masks during carnival disguises the class difference. Use of masks equals everyone and allows everyone an equal opportunity to do what the society does not allow them to do. The carnival provides an equal opportunity to all people across all social ranks. As Hamlet and Laertes strive to overturn the aristocratic ruling of Claudius, they aim a society with equal rights and position in the society eliminating social ranks, social struggles, and oppression (Royanian et al. 189). The proletariats call for the overthrowing of Claudius due to his neglect and self-serving interests in the ruling. The case of commodification is also prevalent in Gertrude's marriage to Claudius as she accepts to marry Claudius with the aim of retaining her position as the Queen of Denmark. With reference to Marxism, this can be termed as social class struggles as she is targeting the Queen position and to retain her social class in the society, Gertrude decides to marry Claudius who takes over as the next after the death of King Hamlet. Class struggle can be associated with Ophelia's case, when Gertrude wanted to know if she was the reason for Hamlet's madness, they convinced her to affirm their desires. However, on Ophelia going mad, neither Gertrude nor Claudius shows interests indicating they only wanted her when she was of use to them. Ophelia's father, Polonius, commodifies his daughter with an attempt to prove to the King and the Queen that Hamlet's madness was associated with his love to Ophelia. Just as highlighted in Marxism, the low class are made to serve the high ranked class in the society. In that light, the low ranked, in this case, refers to Polonius who manipulates his daughter and uses her as his possession trying to appease the queen with the assurance that her son's madness is entirely due to his love for Ophelia. There are several social injustices in the society ranging from family struggles as evident in the royal family as well as the in the proletariats such as witnessed in Polonius case with his daughter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the structure of the society and the interaction of the different classes in Hamlet serve as the driving force for the events in the play. The discrepancies in social classes, social struggles and oppression are brought out in the play Hamlet by Shakespeare. The use of power and money to suppress radical members of the society is witnessed in Claudius handling Hamlet resisting his aristocratic ways. The grave diggers are not entitled to be heard but just serve the royal class and the middle class. The use of class, oppression and social discrepancies in Shakespeare's works can be explained using the Marxist lens which points out class divisions, oppression, social classes, and social struggles. On the other hand, Hamlet seems to be fighting for the rights of the oppressed in the society.