Summary: Does Hamlet, a character in Shakespeare's historical play, have the Oedipus complex? Do we really understand the semantics of the Oedipus complex? Many reviewers had different opinions. According to Webster's online dictionary, the Oedipus complex is a “complex of men; desire to sexually possess the mother and exclude the father; is considered a source of personality disorders if left unresolved” (Webster's Online Dictionary, 2011). Another source defines the Oedipus complex as “the child's attachment to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex” (Dolloff, 2006). Some do not believe he was cursed by this complex. The Oedipus complex is a depressive emotion of an unconscious nature. The qualities of Oedipus continually emerge in the character of Hamlet. Shakespeare's Hamlet has obvious traits of the Oedipus complex. Shakespeare's play Hamlet causes much controversy. Shakespeare implemented his subconscious thoughts into the character he created as Hamlet. Time and again, critics criticize Shakespeare's thought process and question whether he himself suffered from the Oedipus complex. It was ingenious of him to create a character that we still demand, hundreds of years later, to understand his complex thought process. No work done by Shakespeare before or after this play can compare to the eminence he created in Hamlet. After reading Hamlet, one can conclude that the Oedipus complex exists either in the character of Hamlet or in the writer Shakespeare. Several of Hamlet's actions demonstrate a state of madness, complicated by repressed feelings and the Oedipus complex. Hamlet suffers...... middle of paper ......opportunities. His focus is on his mother's sexual relations when it should be on avenging his father's death. Undoubtedly, Hamlet suffered from the Oedipus complex and his madness created his unconscious to release his incestuous thoughts.Works CitedDolloff, l. (November 16, 2006). The Oedipus complex. Retrieved August 21, 2011 from http://www.uvm.edu/~jbailly/courses/tragedy/student%20second%20documents/Oedipus%20complex.htmlShakespreare, W. (2011). Hamlet. In R. S. Miola (ed.). WW Norton & Company. Stevenson, D.B. (1996). Freud's stages of psychosexual development. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from The Victorian Web: http://www.victorianweb.org/science/freud/develop.htmlWebster's Online Dictionary. (2011). Retrieved August 19, 2011 from http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/Oedipus+Complex?cx=partner-publication