Abstract

Almost two centuries before the foundation of the aesthetics, Hamlet combines theatre and philosophy, symbol and argument, logic of reason and logic of heart. Shakespeare weaves existential questions in dramaturgical form and offers a sophisticated network of clues and suggestions in order to proceed towards self-knowledge. The essay proposes to retrace Shakespeare’s masterpiece as a «spiritual exercise». By reactivating a direct and personal dialogue with the text and by letting argumentative transparency feed on the imagination and love embodied by Ophelia, it will be possible to rediscover the initiatic scheme of the play and to taste its transformative potential.