What Voltaire Thought of Hamlet

As he did with most things, Voltaire apparently had some pretty strong opinions about Hamlet. I was surprised, in a way at least, to read his criticism, as I always think of Voltaire as a figure who was in support of combatting convention. Voltaire thought the play was vulgar and brutish, in line with other English plays, and that it "would not be tolerated by the vilest populace of France, or Italy." He says that the English fascination with ghosts is preposterous, and that a plot such as the one in the play could easily be attributed to a "drunken savage."

However, I suppose it makes sense that Voltaire would take on this perspective because, while he may have been somewhat of a rebel, he always maintained an air of sophistication. I think his opposition to the piece must come from its upfront boldness, whereas Voltaire is known for his sarcasm and sly wit. In his typical underhand style, Voltaire does, however, give a nod to Shakespeare, saying: "But amidst all these vulgar irregularities, which to this day make the English drama so absurd and so barbarous, there are to be found in Hamlet, by a bizarrerie still greater, some sublime passages, worthy of the greatest genius. It seems as though nature had mingled in the brain of Shakespeare the greatest conceivable strength and grandeur with whatsoever witless vulgarity can devise that is lowest and most detestable."