The Theme of Memory in Hamlet

O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else?
And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee!

Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee!
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven! (Act 1, Scene 5)
 

Hamlet, after the revelations of his father’s ghost and his oath to avenge his death, delivers yet another soliloquy, focusing on the theme of memory. During this short analysis, I will try to highlight the absurdity of this passage. To begin with, it is worth discussing Hamlet’s vow to “wipe away all trivial fond records, all saws of books, all forms, all pressures past that youth and observation copied there”. He wants to erase everything else in his mind, all the thoughts, memories and ideas that make him who his is, and only focus on his father’s revenge. Freud would probably interpret this statement as an example of fixation. Even if this is not adopted, his decision is definitely an unattainable extreme. Hamlet’s obsession with remembrance questions the nature of the ghost. The emphasis on the psychological dimension eliminates the “physicality” of the ghost. What is left is a troubled mind (“distracted globe”), stressed about remembrance and fading of memory, but how could one forget seeing his own father’s ghost? How could he forget the shocking revelations if they indeed took place? In this passage, there is also a lot of emphasis on the brain; “Remember thee! Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat in this distracted globe”. Hamlet uses the word globe to refer to his mind, which could further support that everything is happening in his head, since, for him, his mind is equal with the whole world. The ghost becomes an illusion, while the border between the physical and the mental become blurry.