The Three Main Characters in Hamlet Who Display the Freudians Psychoanalytical Are Claudius

The three main characters in Hamlet who display the Freudians Psychoanalytical are Claudius, Hamlet, and Old King Hamlet. Each of these characters represent the id, ego, or superego; or possibly everyone of them.

Claudius displays the Id throughout the entire book. Claudius his extremely selfish and goes to great lengths to achieve what he wants. Claudius has inner desires that cannot be repressed. He yearns for the throne and also for the Queen. This desire for power and sex reveals his selfish ego in action. He should have remorse for killing his brother, but his Id overrides this remorse for his desires of flesh and power. Although Claudius mainly portrays the Id, he also displays some characteristics of the super ego. He is self-conscious of what people think of him. He doesn’t want the kingdom or Gertrude to know of the awful acts he had done to put him in a position of power. He even constructs a plan with Laertes to kill Hamlet, and has a backup plan with poison.

As for Hamlet it is apparent that he is a very complex character which makes his unconscious also very complex. Hamlet shows repression when his father tells him to immediately kill Claudius. Repression is a psychological attempt by an individual to repel one's own desires and impulses towards pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one's consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious. Hamlet takes his time preparing and waiting to kill him. The process of repression is when the conscious mind acts as a censor as it suppressed thoughts and instincts that are seen as unacceptable. When Hamlet first thinks of killing Claudius he has second thoughts, and this is an example of his repression. Hamlet has a sway of emotions throughout the book especially concerning killing Claudius. Freud would render that this is the exact function of the ego. This sway of emotions is apparent as Hamlet is passive and emotional at the beginning of the book and at the end he is angry and raging for vengeance.

Although the ghost of King Hamlet is very brief in the play, he displays the superego. The superego is the part of the mind that is constantly concerned with societal norms and the perceptions others have of oneself. It is a part of the conscious that sometimes demands justice. King Hamlet presents thoughts of justice in Hamlet’s mind. The king expresses his anger for what his brother has done. King Hamlet does not want Hamlet to hurt Gertrude though, because he feels that only God can judge her actions. King Hamlet is the superego that wants revenge but is cautionary of going too far.