Some cultures look to the Quran or the Torah, while others read the Bible or the Vedas. Regardless of the religion, these holy books of worship are thought to be the guidelines to mankind’s sense of morality and justice. As Shakespeare argues in Hamlet, however, these classical texts, while thought to be teaching lessons, only expose a darker side to mankind. Despite the supposedly justified search for finality, involving murder, greed, and hypocrisy, driving the actions of characters in Hamlet, Shakespeare uses biblical allusions to highlight man’s innate attraction to sin.
Throughout the play, Hamlet is a character who seems out of place and longing for a freedom or release from the prison that is Denmark, and he seems to want to be in a “society in which revenge and suicide are considered acceptable,” (Muijden 2). Marieke van Muijden argues that Hamlet is longing to live in the “Old World,” which is similar to the Old Testament, but is stuck in the “new, Christian World” where suicide, murder, and revenge are seen as mortal sins. In Hamlet’s position, suicide is certainly an appealing option and that is why “To be or not to be,” is contemplated (III.i.64). Shakespeare makes it apparent that Hamlet is attracted toward the notion of suicide, which is, above all else in a Christian world, a mortal sin. Using Hamlet as a character that the audience can empathize with, Shakespeare is able to universalize his message that man is attracted to sin through his consideration of suicide. Hamlet’s attraction to sin is not only present through his actions, but also his observances about the sinners around him.
The story of Adam and Eve and their original sin in the Garden of Eden is an allusion that Shakespeare uses to draw attention to...
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...raction that man has for sin, Shakespeare masterfully intertwines the characters in Hamlet with the stories of the Bible and transforms the accepted meaning of the classical text through a lens that is much more critical and truly reflects the intentions of man.
Works Cited
The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
Muijden, Marieke van. Mythological and Biblical Allusions in Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Diss. University of Utrecht, 2006. Web.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
Stump, Donald V. "Hamlet, Cain and Abel, and the Pattern of Divine Providence." Renaissance Papers (1985): 27-38. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 123. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
The question asked by Hamlet “To be, or not to be?” (III.i.57.) analyzes the deeper thoughts of the young prince of Denmark. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the battle between living life or dying runs repeatedly through Hamlet’s head. In this famous soliloquy, Hamlet ponders the feelings going through his head, during his monologue, on whether he should live with the disruptions in his life or end it all at once. Hamlet’s life, both fulfilling and depressing, made him act out more when it came to interacting with other people. With all the people who admired him, he still managed to push everyone away using his sarcastic antics to degrade them intentionally. Not only does he portray this type of personality to people, but the change in so
Bradley, A.C.. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. Print.
As seen through Shakespeare’s exploration of universal themes, relatable, insightful, and knowledgeable characterization, and it’s intellectually stimulating entertainment value, Hamlet, demonstrates that it is still appropriate for students to study it today. In an era where nothing is simple and nothing is easy to understand, Shakespeare has managed to capture – 400 years earlier- the issues and people of our society today, all the while engaging us at the same time.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
Hamlet is a conflicted character. He is maddened by his father’s, the King of Denmark, murder and his mother’s, Queen Gertrude, untimely marriage to his uncle, King Claudius, who is also his father’s murderer. It is a tangled web of lies, death, and duplicity that Hamlet lives in. “Denmark [certainly] is a prison” for him (II.2.262). Hamlet becomes withdrawn in the play, no longer having an enthusiastic and playful demeanor. His relationship with his mother is destroyed, he denounces Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Ophelia, and he becomes estranged with society as he feigns insanity. He is the quintessential character for Jean Paul Sartre’s existential principle that “Hell is other people.” Ultimately, Hamlet’s nature completely changes. He states to Guildenstern that as “of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, an...
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1709-1804. Print.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the influence of Hamlet’s psychological and social states display his dread of death as well as his need to avenge his father’s death. In turn, these influences illuminate the meaning of the play by revealing Hamlet’s innermost thoughts on life, death and the effect of religion. Despite the fact that Hamlet’s first instincts were reluctance and hesitation, he knows that he must avenge his father’s death. While Hamlet is conscious of avenging his father’s death, he is contemplating all the aspects of death itself. Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father is affected by social, psychological and religious influences.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.
Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
From this play we learn of the difficulty associated with taking a life as Hamlet agonises as to how and when he should kill Claudius and furthermore whether he should take his own life. Hamlet being a logical thinker undergoes major moral dilemma as he struggles to make accurate choices. From the internal conflict that the playwright expresses to us it is evident that it can kill someone, firstly mentally then physically. The idea of tragedy is explored in great detail through conflict where the playwright’s main message is brought across to the audience; Shakespeare stresses to his audience the point that conflict be it internal or external it can bring upon the downfall of great people and in turn have them suffer a tragic fate. It is Shakespeare’s aim to show us the complexity of man and that moral decisions are not easily made.
...ith moral problems of deep import; recognition of this fact is essential to an understanding of the tragedy.” (Sister Joseph 125) Most every character in the play, whether good or evil, has Christian thought. Hamlet’s decision not to kill Claudius until he knows he will be destined to live in hell, is the main turning point of the play. His fulfillment of his father’s ghost command is the condemnation. Hamlet is a Christian prince whose sense of Christian morals drives his motives in this timeless play by William Shakespeare.
Fendt, Gene. Is Hamlet a Religious Drama? An Essay on a Question in Kierkegaard. Milwaukee: Marquette UP, 1998. Print.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.