Intentional Meaning in Hamlet: An Evolutionary Perspective

In my essay, I use Hamlet to test the proposition that evolutionary psychology can advance on the common understanding embodied in the best of traditional humanist criticism. I develop Bradley's insight into Hamlet's depression by assimilating recent research into the neurophysiology of depression. In concord with both Bradley and the Freudians, I argue that the core of symbolic meaning in Hamlet is Hamlet's corrupted emotional bond with his mother, but I replace the false Freudian concept of the Oedipal complex with Bowlby's evolutionary concept of attachment. I assimilate efforts by other literary Darwinists to illuminate Hamlet by invoking "human universals," but I also integrate human universals with an evolutionary understanding of individual differences in personality.