Infinite Summer

Please forgive me for revealing my ignorance, but I don't see too many overwhelming similarities. I picked up on the obvious ones (The Ghost, Yorick, the similitude of Hal and Hamlet), but what am I missing? Is there a lot more that I didn't pick up on? I read that an understanding of Hamlet would enrich the IJ experience, so I read Hamlet before starting IJ again. Is there something I am missing or do I have my expectations too high searching for a very clear and rigid parallel? I've seen the similarities called "jaw dropping" elsewhere. Either I COMPLETELY missed something in Hamlet or my threshold for a falling jaw is higher than it should be.

I posted the same question elsewhere, so I'm rerouting it here. I'm in the process of rereading Hamlet right now (won't get my copy of IJ until later in the week) and would like to know what to look out for.

The thing that jumped out at me was that Hamlet's mother had taken up with his father's brother (Hamlet's uncle), and in IJ Hal's mother has a relationship with Hal's uncle (although in IJ the uncle is his mother's relative not his father's); still his mother has a kind of fishy-seeming relationship with a male relative and together they are now ruling the kingdom, so to speak -- like Hamlet's mother and uncle were.

Hi Cody.

I think there are similarities for sure and that DFW used Hamlet as a template to tell his story but there are not "jaw dropping" instances that I am aware of. You picked up on most of the obvious themes/motifs- the ghost, the relationship between Avril and Charles, the scene in the graveyard with the group digging up Incandenza's head... I don't think a PhD level understanding of Hamlet is needed at all to enjoy IJ but some knowledge of it can definitely enhance the experience.

I haven't read Hamlet since college and I don't feel like I am missing out on anything in my reading of IJ.

Does this make sense?

Thanks Cat and garbo! I appreciate the input.

I'm glad I'm not losing my sanity at the ripe old age of 27! I figured there wasn't much more to it, but they way it had been hyped up I thought there was at least a chance I had missed something.

Thanks again! May you both have an incredible summer reading IJ!

My impression of the "jaw dropped" comment (I forget who said it, or where) was not that the similarities were jaw-dropping in their breadth, but that the commenter hadn't seen any similarities at all until they were pointed out. In other words, his jaw dropped at his own obtuseness.

Matthew

I think a first time reader of IJ may have serious difficulty linking Hamlet and IJ except for a few minor associations. May I suggest you get the book "". It's a study of IJ and it seems to do a good job of revealing the similarities. For example regarding Chapter 1 it says "Hal has much in common with Hamlet. He talks to his audience. He has an uncle in position of authority over him. He has a penchant for introspection and attention to detail. He has a complex nature that is by turns passionate and reasonable. He is misunderstood and even regarded as insane by other characters. His father is dead. He participates in a graveyard scene. Hal has a significant memory of an event from his child in this chapter; Hamlet's memory of his childhood with Yorick prompts the monologue from which the novel is taken (Hamlet, V.i. 178-189)."

Note that all of the above is a quote from the book, not my own thoughts. I think the author has compiled a lot of information he has learned and accumulated from message boards, books, articles, interviews about IJ and his own study. If you are dedicated enough to read Hamlet I think you will enjoy this book as a helpful study. I did and it saved me a lot of head scratching.

It seems kind of silly to have just started IJ and already start worrying about correlations to Hamlet. It is such an entertaining and thought-provoking read on its own, turning it into some comparative literature seminar seems pointless and perhaps limiting.

I think this is strictly a second time reader type of discussion thread. I have to say that as a beginner, the reason it isn't as important to look at the Hamlet similarities is that I don't see the benefit of it.

The question to me is why would DFW want to reference it? What purpose could it serve? What themes is he trying to illuminate? What plot structure is he playing with and why would he want to play with it? He has to comment in some way about the Hamlet story, say something new about it through Infinite Jest.

So for beginners, Hamlet might be a little dangerous. It would function for us more as a "Cliffs Notes" guide to the book, i.e., we don't know what's going on, but maybe if we can connect to something in an already established piece of literature, we'll know what he's getting at.

A beginner reader like me just hasn't read enough to apply the Hamlet references in a real productive way.