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"Stand And Unfold Yourself": The Subjectivity Of Interpretation In Hamlet, Josh Mahoney

Student Writing Awards

Critical interpretations of Hamlet are largely dependent upon the cultural zeitgeist that provides the cognitive paradigm through which critics formulate their ideas. The zeitgeist also influences which text of Hamlet to consider, since no single authoritative manuscript of the play exists. Critics must also consider Hamlet beyond a simple textual reading, since the competing documents of Q1, Q2 and F1—among later additions—only serve as the basis for theatrical representations. The inherent fluidity of performance is apparent to anyone who has ever been to the theater, even a modern one. Actors embodying characters on stage in front of an audience make …