Shakespeare, William. Hamlet—With a Psychoanalytic Study by Ernest Jones. [London: Vision. New York:  Funk & Wagnalls. Pp.  180. Illustrated. 1947. $2.50.]

The “Problem of Hamlet and the Oedipus Complex” by Ernest Jones constitutes the “Introduction” to this famous classic and elucidates the central mystery in the play which deals with Hamlet's plans to obtain revenge for his father's assassination. This introduction is apparently an abbreviated form of the study published in 1923 by Jones in his “Essays in

Applied Psychoanalysis.” He reveals Shakespeare's understanding of obsessional mechanisms, the symptoms, the symbolic expressions and the working through of a neurotic situation. He illustrates the reason for Hamlet's peculiar behavior, his hesitation and indecision in pursuing the objectives that had been established in his conscious mind.

The illustrations are remarkable drawings by F. Roberts Johnson. They portray the symbolism of hands. Hands that kill, that have to do with early sexual motives and interests, hands that express neurotic mechanisms. We would advise all those interested in Shakespeare's Hamlet to read carefully what Jones has said about it, and then read the play again.