Wicked Uncles: Notes on Asimov on Hamlet, Part 1

The science fiction writer Issac Asimov has a two-volume work on Shakespeare, first published in two volumes in 1970, and later (as in my 1978 library copy) published in one fat book, two volumes in one.

It has a Wikipedia page whose section on "Reception" has the following probably quite accurate quote:

Fans of Asimov's science-fiction generally have little taste for door-stopper books such as Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare or The Shaping of England, and specialists are never happy to see clever outsiders make hay in their fields. — Peter Temes

The edition that combines both volumes into one book might especially be termed a "door stopper" book, as it's fat and heavy enough to fill that purpose. But it's also true that at least some Shakespeare specialists tend to prefer to quote other Shakespeare specialists, and therefore might consider Asimov as an outsider and therefore view his work on Shakespeare unfavorably.

Asimov's book (or the second volume, on the "English Plays") has a section on Hamlet that contains a variety of interesting observations and also some obvious biases (and perhaps blind spots related to those biases).

For just a few examples, he claims Gertrude is "not very bright" and "shallow" (II.91),
and finds Ophelia to be "artless" and both women not "world-wise" (II.106);
he dismisses Freudian interpretations more easily than some would like (II.95);
he dislikes productions that show Claudius as "half-drunk much of the time" (II.98);
and he seems to dismiss too easily the idea of Hamlet playing mad as something he performs reluctantly without relish (II.106), perhaps contrary to Hamlet being a kind of kindred spirit of his emotional surrogate-father figure, Yorick, described by the gravedigger as a "mad rogue" for pouring a flagon of Rhenish wine on his head.

This is just a sample. And yet there is much to like in Asimov's treatment, including some of his consideration of Hamlet's sources and historical context. Also, the author's knack for popular writing helps him to explain certain ideas in helpful ways, ideas that some might overlook or find unnecessary to explain. For this reason, those who teach Shakespeare to students who are reading the plays for the first time may find it a helpful resource, as well as others with more experience.

I have a number of projects that will be consuming some of my time in coming weeks, so I will be writing shorter posts that share some helpful passages from Asimov on Hamlet.

This first post on this topic is about Asimov on wicked uncles. Some would think Prince Hamlet, son of King Hamlet, would have become the next king upon the death of his father. The prince, who had been away at school in Wittenberg at the time of his father's death, seems to have thought so too. But instead, Uncle Claudius seems to have used fear of war with Norway's Young Fortinbras to help convince the court to support his marriage and his ascension to the throne instead of Hamlet. Asimov notes that wicked uncles were "second only" to wicked stepmothers as a common literary trope. Asimov writes (on page 87):

Asimov also observes that Hamlet is not the only play in which an evil uncle plays a key role: Perhaps the most famous of these is Richard III; among the many deaths for which Shakespeare's play makes him responsible, these include the two princes in the tower, whose deaths Richard arranges for.
Especially those of us moderns who have good relationships with our uncles: It might never occur to us that a power-hungry uncle might conspire against us.

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THIS POST IS PART OF A LARGER SERIES, reflecting on an in reaction toIsaac Asimov's treatment of Hamlet in his two-volume work, Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare.
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INDEX: NOTES ON ASIMOV ON HAMLET:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/08/index-asimov-on-hamlet.html
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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Thanks for reading!
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My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.

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https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html

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