T.S. Eliot and the Objective Correlative in Hamlet

The Objective Correlative in T.S. Eliot's Criticism

The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an “objective correlative”; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, or a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion. Such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked.

If you examine any of Shakespeare’s more successful tragedies, you will find this exact equivalence. You will find that the state of mind of Lady Macbeth walking in her sleep has been communicated to you by a skillful accumulation of imagined sensory impressions. The words of Macbeth on hearing of his wife's death strike us as if, given the sequence of events, these words were automatically released by the last event in the series.

The artistic “inevitability” lies in this complete adequacy of the external to the emotion; and this is precisely what is deficient in Hamlet. Hamlet (the man) is dominated by an emotion which is inexpressible because it is in excess of the facts as they appear. The supposed identity of Hamlet with his author is genuine to this point: Hamlet's bafflement at the absence of an objective equivalent to his feelings is a prolongation of the bafflement of his creator in the face of his artistic problem.

Hamlet is up against the difficulty that his disgust is occasioned by his mother, but his mother is not an adequate equivalent for it; his disgust envelops and exceeds her. It is a feeling he cannot understand or objectify; it remains to poison life and obstruct action. None of the possible actions can satisfy it, and nothing Shakespeare does with the plot can express Hamlet for him. The very nature of the données of the problem precludes objective equivalence.

T. S. Eliot, “Hamlet and Its Problems”

1. Translation and Interpretation

The objective correlative is something perceived by our senses. It refers to a material object that serves as the representation of an emotion within a text—an objective equivalent of an experience.

2. The Meaning of the Passage

The passage discusses the representation of emotion in a literary work. You can convey emotions through an objective correlative, which consists of placing an object within the poem to evoke the reader's emotions and objectify feelings. Shakespeare was confused regarding Hamlet because he did not know how to resolve it, leading to the addition of unnecessary material. This creates a sense of bafflement. Hamlet is often considered Shakespeare's most autobiographical work.

3. The Parallel Between Shakespeare and Hamlet

The bafflement that Shakespeare felt while writing this tragedy is transferred to the work itself. We see this clearly in Hamlet's character, reflecting the author's own creative struggle.