I THE PURPORT OF THE GHOST CALL the play of "Hamlet" a psycholog ical drama, because, as it appears to me, the author therein seems to depict the development of a singular mind, through various stages of transformation, from that of lofty reason and intellectuality to an unbalanced and half demented condition. It seems to me that Shakespeare was conscious of the philosophical trend of this effort, and that he introduced extraordinary situations, not merely to heighten the dramatic quality of the performance, but purposely to discourse upon an arcane and most recondite psychological theme. We will, I think, the more readily recognize the force of this theory, if we examine the original source from which the author drew the data of his drama. It is admitted by all critics of note that Shakespeare appropriated for the broad outline of his play a rude tragedy, originally written in French and published in the middle of the 16th century, by Francis de Belleforest, and afterwards translated into English under the title of "The Hystorie of Hamblet." It is very |