Hamlet and Arjuna: Heroes of a Feather: A Re-Reading of Hamlet in the Light of Bhagavadgita

By Dr. Salia Rex

The enigmatic psyche of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark has raised myriad critical opinions, which see him as an indecisive hero, a lunatic, misogynist and a philosopher who failed as a son, lover and prince, leading a life of incest shadowed by inferiority complex and paranoia. The result is the son becoming the bane of his family.
The book takes a fresh look at Hamlet, the hero, from a novel angle in the light of the philosophy of the Bhagavadgita, and projects him as a hero who fights many a battle in his mind against his own gunas until he gets refined as a Trigunatita.
A glance at Hamlet criticism provides a kaleidoscopic view of the extensive critical readings on Hamlet ever since the text was published. This work captivates converging and diverging elements of the two masterpieces.
In Hamlet and Arjuna: Birds of a Feather, Dr. Salia Rex analyses the psyche and actions of Hamlet, the tragic hero of William Shakespeare, and Arjuna, the mythological hero of Veda Vyasa, to unearth their converging elements and quintessential uniqueness as heroes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Nov 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543701449

Dr. Salia Rex

This book is a philosophical text based on two literary characters: Hamlet and Arjuna. The arguments are based on facts in the texts referred to and are highlighted as inferences that support my hypothesis. I have tried my best to remain objective in my perspective. I believe this book will pique the readers’ interest, since the subject and the perspective is a blend of uniqueness and novelty.

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Copyright © 2017 by Dr. Salia Rex.

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Contents

Chapter 1    The texts: Hamlet and The Bhagavadgita at a glance

Chapter 2    Hamlet: A hero of infinite variety

Chapter 3    Hamlet and Arjuna – Men of Gunas

Chapter 4    Arjuna and Hamlet – Men of Inner Action

Chapter 5    Arjuna and Hamlet – Men of Action

Chapter 6    Conclusion

Works Cited

Chapter 1

The texts: Hamlet and The Bhagavadgita at a glance

Francois Jost in Introduction to Comparative Literature rightly commented on artistic similarity that […] epoch- making doctrines rarely stems from one genius alone. They usually appear simultaneously in more than one cultural area – though often disguised in varying intellectual garb – and their complex growth furnishes fascinating material for literary inquiry" (41). Arjuna and Hamlet project certain fundamental similarities in their thought processes which prove that there exists a universality of vision and unity of human experience in spite of the cultural, racial, national, social and temperamental differences in these literary men.

The Book is a comparative study of the texts and their heroes through the textual approach and attempts to find elements of commonality in Hamlet and Bhagavad Gita. A detailed study of these texts brings to one’s mind the term ‘weltliterture’ and universal synchrony in the thought processes of literary maestros: William Shakespeare and Veda Vyasa. The finding of homogenous undercurrents in these texts written by two literary men of contrasting literary worlds, time zones and cultural milieus is an evidence for the relevance of Comparative approach in literary studies. The text tries to decode the thoughts, words and action of Hamlet and presents him as an alter ego of Arjuna as a brave and selfless tragic hero.

Hamlet presents a hero who had been venerated by all as the paragon of manly virtues, a young man who had nurtured great hopes which are sadly shattered by the unusual and unpredicted circumstances. The play shows the initial inability of Hamlet to cope with the new situations and the gradual involvement in it. Here Hamlet reflects the frigidity and rigidity of modern man towards his own endeavors, impediments and the inevitable role of providence in his life, until he is soothed by the philosophical elixir to manage his life with the right attitude. The study traces the regenerative thoughts in the disoriented and dilemma stricken mindscape of Hamlet which ultimately make him a triumphant hero who attains complete command over his opponents, domain and most importantly his own self.

The character of Hamlet is a live demonstration of the various nuances of a human mind when oppressed by life’s problems and the magnitude of his obstacles that hinder him from achieving the ultimate realization of life. The text attempts to justify the death of Hamlet attained at the summit of heroism in the light of the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita. A correlation between the intricate features of characters of prince Hamlet and prince Arjuna is traced out to justify that the Indian prince Arjuna also undergoes a similar level of degeneration of his self in the Kurukshetra battlefield until he got rejuvenated by the spiritual advice offered by Lord Krishna.

The Bhagavad Gita, a sacred dialogue on Yoga delivered by Sri Krishna inspires Arjuna to fight the Kurukshetra battle which was fought as the last resort of Pandavas to retrieve their lost kingdom from the Kauravas. Similarly a divine inspiration is attained by Hamlet, who was hitherto engaged in a battle of passion regarding the propriety and morality of taking up action against the evil ruler Claudius who snatched the kingdom of Denmark by killing the reigning king Hamlet. Interestingly the moral growth of the two heroes begins at the abyss of despair and despondency and ends at the apex of self-realization. In spite of the fact that the philosophical under current of Hamlet by William Shakespeare a Christian writer of the fifteenth century England is undoubtedly Bible and that of Arjuna of the Gita is exclusively oriental philosophy, the two heroes are compared and similarities in their moral progression are drawn in the light of the philosophy of the Bhagavadgita.

The eighteen chapters of Bhagavad Gita are included in the Bhishma parva, the sixth of the eighteen books that constitute India’s great epic poem, the Mahabharata. Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna the way to get from the phenomenal world to the transcendental realm in the verses encapsulated from the twenty fifth to the forty second chapters of the Bhishma – Canto of the Mahabharata. The timeless message of the Gita has a deeper significance in the modern context because the focus is not centered on the historical battle fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas but on the deeper layers of friction exist between the opposites: good and evil, soul and body, life and death, knowledge and ignorance, permanence and impermanence and self-control and temptation and provide solutions to maintain proper balance among these mixture of opposites. According to Ila Ahuja in Bhagavad Gita A New Perspective, Bhagavad Gita contains a message for the mankind which is aimed at all those who work and thus helps them in making wise decisions by performing Nishkama Karma for the attainment of Supreme Reality (95). The doctrine of the Gita plays a decisive role in the mental and moral transformation attained by Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The first chapter of the Gita entitled Arjuna VisadaYoga pictures the degenerative status of prince Arjuna who was once hailed as a valiant and efficient warrior among men. Even though Arjuna is aware of his responsibilities ordained on him as a prince, warrior, son, and husband he is doubtful regarding the propriety of his action against his relatives until Lord Krishna imparts him the brahmopadesha which enlightens Arjuna and sets him free for the right action. There is similarity in the moral dilemma faced by Hamlet and Arjuna who are caught in a similar tug of war between their princely duties and personal problems in life. The attempts are to re- read the character of Hamlet, his problems and his tragic flaws in the light of the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita and to observe the practical application of the principal doctrines of Bhagavad Gita in the lives of the two heroes which transform them from egoistic men into men of selfless action. It is stimulating to attempt a comparative reading of these two epic heroes who seem to suffer from very same mental and moral conflict caused by similar moral and metaphysical doubts.

The study is conducted through analysis using the tools of comparative literary criticism and theories of characterization. The comparative study focuses on Hamlet who brushes shoulders with the Indian hero, Arjuna as royal princes, men entrusted with responsibility to retrieve the lost honour. The unique nature of the hero, his tragic flaws, the reasons for his allusive behavior caused by his moral dilemma, the regeneration observed in Hamlet which leads to his death are held in comparison with the predicament of the oriental prince Arjuna.

Chapter 2

Hamlet: A hero of infinite variety

A glimpse of Hamlet criticism is imperative to realize the myriad readings of the hero over the ages. A plethora of critical texts have been written on the character of Hamlet accusing him as someone incapable of action and lacking the essence of true heroism in him. There are also Shakespearean critics who hail Hamlet as the most philosophical among the Shakespearean tragic heroes. The hero Hamlet has been the favourite character of critics from as early as seventeenth-century and the play has been analyzed from various points of view in their eagerness to solve the shroud of mystery that envelops the hero. The reason for Hamlet’s delay in fulfilling his revenge, whether his madness was feigned or real, the search to find a positive regeneration in the growth of the hero before proclaiming him as a tragic hero who brought in his own doom are the foci of Hamlet criticism. The diverse opinions of scholars through out the ages, on every aspect of the play formed a plethora of Hamlet Criticism which ensued from a variety of critical issues in Hamlet. A glance through the Hamlet criticism will bring to the forefront the areas of contention in the play which remained unabated, such as Hamlet’s delay, his feigned madness, the prayer scene, the nature of the ghost, Hamlet’s misogynistic attitude toward his mother, toward Ophelia, the dumb show, the conspicuous aspects that made Hamlet a tragic hero which have given rise to four centuries of myriad interpretations.

The intention of this over-all-analysis of Shakespeare criticism from its very beginning to the present is to provide the reader a concrete idea about the what this book discusses in the following chapters. The focus is on the positive and negative traits in Hamlet and attempts to find out Hamlet’s conscious attempts to nullify his foibles in order to be an ideal and emancipated hero. Hamlet is observed as a human being who is caught in a web of moral and ethical issues which hindered him from action. This study mainly aims to highlight the similarities in the life situations of the heroes, Arjuna and Hamlet, their problems, behavioral and thought patterns and the unique philosophical stream that propels them towards the ultimate reality.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark holds a salient position due to the universality of the plot and the humanistic portrayal of the tragic hero. Harold Bloom in Shakespeare The Invention of the Human aptly comments on Hamlet that Shakespeare’s previous tragedies only partly foreshadow it, and his later works, though they echo it, are very different from Hamlet, in spirit and in tonality (383- 384). The character of Hamlet may be traced as a solid proof to Shakespeare’s deep and accurate knowledge about the innate working of the human mind which sets the parameter in the creation of a humane tragic hero. T.S.Eliot has rightly referred to him as the Mona Lisa of the English Literature in the essay Hamlet and His Problems for his enigmatic and elf- like personality which makes him the most complex hero among all Shakespearean heroes (Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet 24). Hamlet as a play asserts its prominence and its relevance greater than all other plays of Shakespeare in the twentieth – century because more than any other Shakespearean hero, Hamlet reflects the predicament of a fully conscious and sensitive modern man.

Tridandi Swami in his Introduction to The Geeta: as a Chaitanyite reads it considers that the Gita shows a clear – cut way to reach the destination of all human life according to the inclination and aptitude of the individuals in their abnormal existence of forgetfulness and unalloyed state of devotion or Bhakti (xiii). The moral teachings of Lord Krishna in the Gita are equally applicable not only to Arjuna’s problems but also to Hamlet’s dilemmas. Both Hamlet and Gita portray the final victory attained by the heroes over their mind, body and life.

Among the characters in Hamlet, the character of Hamlet can be considered as unique since he alone decides to make a sincere attempt to modify his action with the right attitude and in the end dies with complete acceptance of the theory of the cause and effect. Therefore Hamlet achieves a realization similar to the enlightenment achieved by Arjuna through the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita. These heroes display the complete range of human emotions and peculiarities in their own unique manner of action. The play and the predicament of Hamlet present definite answers regarding the right kind of attitude and manners one should abide by while performing one’s duty.

Laurie Lanzen Harris in her compilation of Hamlet criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, observes that the Neoclassicists of the eighteenth century were the first notable commentators on Hamlet to praise the play for its emotional power and conceptual vigour, and later to criticize and find fault with its irregularity and impropriety (71). Hamlet was condemned for his lack of heroic qualities which made him unfit for a counter action. According to Harris, Thomas Sheridan foreshadowed the Romantic conception of Hamlet later developed by Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his sympathetic observation of the hero as a contemplative young man of a good heart who lacks the strength of mind to carry out the task (Shakespearean Criticism 83). Harris hails Samuel Johnson, as the foremost representative of moderate English Neoclassicism who freed Shakespeare from the strictures of the three unities is open in his accusation against the hero for his inability to act and considers Hamlet rather an instrument than an agent. Johnson fails to find an adequate cause for the