This essay discusses Goethe's inaccurate definition of a soul and how a new definition makes Hamlet a "soul unfit" for revenge

Essay by TDevil6University, Bachelor'sA, March 2003

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship explores Shakespeare's Hamlet through analyses of its characters, but most of all through an examination of the main character and his soul. Goethe inaccurately defines a person's soul as their underlying nature, which one infers remains static regardless of the events that occur during one's lifetime. However, when one looks at Hamlet throughout the play, his central character, which is comprised of his emotional and moral nature, is certainly not static and is affected a great deal by the events of his life. Goethe believes that comprehension of Hamlet's character and motivation comes from an analysis of what Hamlet presents as his fundamental persona prior to the beginning of the play. This investigation provides the main evidence for what Hamlet's "soul" is. Goethe argues that Hamlet's "soul" is "unfit" to perform his fated action of revenge in the play. Goethe correctly emphasizes the necessity of understanding what Hamlet's "soul" is in order to determine whether or not he is fit to perform his revenge; however, the moment that Goethe expresses his argument based on unproven information that exists only outside of the play, it becomes invalid.

When one analyzes Hamlet's character through his words and actions in the play and adds the ability for one's "soul" to change to Goethe's definition, one finds a more valid argument that Hamlet is a "soul unfit" for revenge than Goethe provides.

The definition of "soul" that Goethe describes is the core of a person that determines how they act and think. To Goethe this central part of a human being is evidently constant throughout a person's lifetime and does not change. Goethe expresses these claims through the character of Wilhelm. Wilhelm explains to his fellow players that in order to understand a character completely one must...