Was Hamlet a Law Student?

Yes, according to Jonathan Uffelman (Georgetown Law Class of 2008) because "Hamlet questions, equivocates, and demands proof before he ultimately achieves his ends. Most importantly, he delays because, like the law, Hamlet deeply distrusts his emotions and works to suppress them." His note, Hamlet Was a Law Student: A "Dramatic" Look at Emotion's Effect on Analogical Reasoning, 96 Geo. L.J. 1725 (2008) [Westlaw] makes for interesting weekend reading.

Hopefully Uffelman will follow-up on an equally interesting topic: "Having nearly completed law school now, and having felt my own wits frayed to the breaking point, I am surprised to have found no one linking law school with Hamlet's insanity, but I, too, will leave that inquiry for another day."

From Hamlet to Lucifer in Law School. While we wait for Uffelman's next article, check out Rebecca Flanagan's Lucifer Goes to Law School: Towards Explaining and Minimizing Law Student Peer-to-Peer Harassment and Intimidation, 47 Washburn L.J. 453-469 (2008)[Westlaw]. Flanagan is the director of the Academic Success Program at Vermont Law School and co-editor of the Law School Academic Support Blog (profile). [JH]