The Poisoning of Hamlet’s Temporal Subjectivity

Abstract

I. Hamlet's Sense of After being so acutely aware of nature and passage of time, Hamlet ironically seems to lose all cognition of how it relates to movements of other key characters, as well as his own, especially in Play/ Prayer/Closet scene sequence, where man who was considering what was nobler in (III.i.57) distorts his sense of outer and loses restraint with rash and bloody deed (III.iv.28) of Polonius' death. But what exactly causes this ironic breaking point? Perhaps Hamlet is right in terms of way mind can affect itself: That inward breaks, and shows no cause without why man dies (IV.iv.27-28). If so, what does that say about Hamlet's subjectivity and related sense of time? For Nietzsche, with whom Bloom agrees, Hamlet resembles Dionysian man who has looked truly into essence of things which in turn inhibits (1) More specifically, since their action could not change anything in eternal nature of things-they feel it to be ridiculous or humiliating that they should be asked to set right a world that is out of joint. (2) Thus, according to this reading, it is some esoteric knowledge that kills action. But can this be formulated more precisely? What exactly is esoteric knowledge? Could it be that in a Kantian sense Hamlet temporarily identifies with intuitive temporal form and categorical mind-set of Ghost? As will be discussed below, in examining close of Play scene, along with Prayer scene, and start of Closet scene, Hamlet's sense of self is temporarily transformed by his identification with Ghost, and its temporal and categorical construction of reality. In fact, his reference to temporality is marked by a double and triple repetition of word now in three scenes, underscoring his attempt to remain grounded in autonomous temporal form of earth, while he is, in reality, connected with Ghost's temporal form. Moreover, this directly affects his sense of time, to degree that he misperceives passage of in circumstances around him. Thus, while Deleuze aptly notes poetic formula the is out of joint is indicative of no longer being subordinate to cyclical rhythms of nature, or as Polonius asserts: Time is time (II.ii.88), but rather movement being subordinated to time, HAMLET text goes further in its pre-figuration of Kant's concept that is a mysteriously autonomous form. (3) In this respect, in contrast to Lacan's reading, which argues non-representational, and even esoteric 'position of phallus' and corresponding lack of paternal codification disables Hamlet from identifying with father, resulting in inaction, it is argued that Hamlet's temporary identification with Ghost's categorical sense of what is possible and impossible in accordance with passage of outer is what causes his inaction in Prayer-Closet scene sequence. In this regard, while Hamlet's subjectivity includes a self-reflective doubting Cartesian Cogito and a transcendental Kantian self, it transcends them in terms of Hamlet's heteronomous sense of ego and time. II The is Out of Joint For Kant, cannot be deduced from our encounters with objects or as a relation between objects, because is an a priori condition or presupposition of all of them. In this respect, is then an epistemic or objectivating condition--a condition to which objects must conform if they are to be cognizable by us (homo sapiens). Moreover, building on Leibniz' theory that is not like a stream in which we float, but rather a measure of successive relationship between events we experience, Kant asserts that everything that changes and moves, including succession, permanence, and simultaneity, are in time, which does not change or move; it is form of everything that does. Thus, it is also not an eternal form, just immutable form of change and movement. …