Hamlet and Macbeth by Freud and Lacan

Abstract

Both Freud and in Lacan make extensive, albeit different, use of art and literature in their theories. This can be better observed when they focus on the same work, such as Hamlet and, in Freud’s case, Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Thus, this article analysed Freud’s readings of these two Shakespearean tragedies, as well as Lacan’s analysis of Hamlet, investigating some particularities about their relations with art and literature. Despite differences in interpretation, these works bring together important elements valuable as a paradigmatic example of psychoanalytic reflections.

Keywords: psychoanalysis; Freud; Lacan; Hamlet; Macbeth