hamlet article review

The muscipula diaboli in Hamlet is a play that Hamlet calls “the mousetrap”. In the play Hamlet reveals that he knows his uncle killed his father. In this article, John Doebler references the mousetrap many times. Christ’s death was one of these, in that the devil’s thirst for evil would seal his eternal punishment. When Jesus died Satan thought he had won. Hamlet’s uncle Claudius had thought the same thing after killing his brother and marrying the Queen. But soon enough, fate caught up with them. Doebler also references Hercules. When Hercules was at pivotal point in his life, trying to decide between vice and wisdom. Doebler actually references the mousetrap directly “The consequences of a vice are, of course, less appealing than its appearance, just as a trap holds more than cheese for a mouse” (Doebler 163). Claudius was faced with a choice when he killed his brother he could have actually thought about what he was doing and realized that killing his brother is a horrendous idea, but instead he killed him because he was jealous of his brother. Doebler again references a Biblical story in king David and Bathsheba. David got himself caught in a trap when he lusted after Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. Doebler also quotes Robert Holcot saying “’Give not the power of thy soul to a woman… turn away thy face from a woman dressed up and gaze not upon another’s beauty.’”(Doebler). Lust is probably the easiest sin for humans to fall into, King David showed that lust can cause you to do drastic things. Claudius was also tempted, not just with a woman, but also with becoming king and being the head honcho, a choice he could not pass up.

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