LITERATURE QUESTIONS
INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STUDIES
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Hamlet desires his mother, not Ophelia.
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Hamlet desires revenge, not Ophelia.
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Hamlet desires Ophelia, but only when she is unattainable.
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Hamlet desires attaining the throne of Denmark, of which Ophelia is a symbol.
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Detailed explanation-1: -In his 1958 écrit “The Signification of the Phallus, ” Lacan provides a succinct formula for defining “desire” in relation to both need and demand. He stipulates that desire is what remains after need is subtracted from demand.
Detailed explanation-2: -According to Lacan, Hamlet desires as an obsessional neurotic in so far he can only desire at the very crossroads of imminent life and death, right in the premises of impossibility.
Detailed explanation-3: -Her character in the play represents femininity and fragility. She also seems to serves as a way for Hamlet to express the aggression, which he feels toward his mother. Ophelia is an important character in Hamlet because she shows the audience a frail heart.
Detailed explanation-4: -To Hamlet, she is a sexual object, a corrupt and deceitful lover. With no mother to guide her, she has no way of deciphering the contradictory expectations. Just like Hamlet, the medieval precept that the father’s word is unquestionable governs Ophelia. But her Renaissance sense of romantic love also rules her.