Academic Article and Summary

Specters of Horatio- Hamlet and Marxist Literary Theory

Article Summary:

This article focuses on Horatio as a just character and as s trustworthy storyteller by examining Horatio’s social status. By concentrating directly on class and the dynamics of social status, this article uses Marxist literary theory to provide a close reading of Hamlet. The Author discusses how Horatio is the middle ground between more common people like Marcellus, a guard, or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are servants to the crown, and the noble class, who command him. Horatio is a bit of a mystery and not much is known about his background except that he is Hamlet’s peer from Wittenberg and that he is potentially a scholar of sorts, but it is suggested that Horatio would not hold the position he does if not for Hamlet favoring and trusting him. Thus Horatio is in the odd position of being on the periphery of both the servant class and the noble class, and this position lets him be a disinterested observer of the tragedy that unfolds, and he is lucky enough to not become a victim of it, unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. This position becomes very important at the end of the play, where Hamlet delegates Horatio with recounting the tragedy to the rest of the world, and it is heavily implied that Horatio does this by holding a play in the town center. The author’s main point is that Horatio’s unique social status within the palace makes him the most just and least biased character in the play.

Besides the main argument about Horatio, the author uses a Marxist lens to point out other interesting happenings in the play, such as Ophelia’s burial. It is explicitly stated within this scene that if Ophelia had not been born of nobility, she would not have received  a proper christian burial, and would not have had the opportunity to go to heaven.