Hamlet mimicking his Father -- Great Books II

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Date Posted: 13:52:35 02/19/08 Tue
Author: Joel Gehrke
Subject: Hamlet mimicking his Father

We all agree that Hamlet looks to models throughout the play.

Consider this: Hamlet, comparing his father and his uncle, said the two were like a "Hyperion to a satyr."

When he confronts his mother, he says that "Hyperion's curls" were on his father's brow.

Hyperion, in Greek mythology, is a Titan, and the father of the sun-god.

"Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature." �Diodorus Siculus (5.67.1)

I got that of wikipedia, but I'm presuming it's reliable.

The point is, Hamlet remembers his father as an intellectual, a wise man with probing mind, etc. So when he thinks and overthinks every action in the play, he is imitating his father.

A satyr, by the way, is a licentious cross between an old man and a goat. That, in Hamlet's mind, is the mythological equivalent of Claudius. So, when the prince does not restrain himself, but acts out of passion (like in both his murders) he imitates Claudius.

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