Two Centuries of Thought Richard Burton - 1964 Two centuries
later, Hamlet still muses; Hamlet still broods; and most critics
still base their thinking on the vision of Hamlet created by the
Romantics. He is a poet or philosopher by nature, and his
reflections lead to internal conflict that inhibits actions. The
following excerpt from the writing of Yale University professor,
Harold Bloom, serves as a good representative of the
preservation, and continuing development of this line of
thought. The largest mistake we can make about the play, Hamlet,
is to think that it is the tragedy of a man who could not make
up his mind because (presumably) he thinks too much.... The
fundamental fact about Hamlet is not that he thinks too much,
but that he thinks too well. His is simply the most intelligent
role ever written for the Western stage; indeed, he may be the
most intelligent figure in all the world of literature, West or
East. Unable to rest in illusions of any kind, he thinks his way
through to the truth, which m