Over the past several centuries the tragedy of Hamlet has divided both critics and readers alike. T.S. Eliot deemed it an artistic failure, while Sir Laurence Olivier called it pound for pound, the greatest play ever written. Perhaps T.S. Eliot was caught in the tunnel of his own criticism and failed to see the larger picture. Through Shakespeare’s brilliant use of language, characterization, and Hamlet’s soliloquies, Hamlet has stood as a literary masterpiece for almost four hundred years.Although William Shakespeare did not invent the pun, he certainly perfected it. He conveys much of Hamlet’s contempt toward his father’s murderer, the new king, through abstracted language. In Act I, scene ii, line 64, the King addresses Hamlet as “my son.” Hamlet wittily responds, “A little more than kin, and less than kind!” This falls on deaf ears to the disillusioned King, but the reader picks up the double meaning. He is asserting that he neither resembles Claudius in nature nor feels kindly to him. Along with the pun, Shakespeare makes abundant use of intricate, roundabout language. In Act I, scene ii, line 156, Hamlet cries, “O, most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” The language suggests more outrage and emotion than if he had said “It’s bad for my mother to be sleeping with my uncle so soon after my father’s death.” Though it may bother some that his puns and fuzzy language are not always easy to notice, that was Shakespeare’s intent. With every successive perusal of the tragedy the reader picks up on still another brilliant use of language.Much of the negative criticism Hamlet has received is in regard to vague characterization. This only helps the play. It allows the reader to make his or her own inferences about the character. Prince Hamlet is the best example of this. There is no quintessential Haml...
