let Essay: Targeting the Audience
The Elizabethan era was a period of major change and uncertainty. This era was the time period of Queen Elizabeth I 's reign, also called the 'Golden Era '. She was the queen of England from 1558 to 1603. One of the changes during this era was the revolution of a new industry. Prior to her reign, most of the population lived in rural districts. The new development in the industry caused an increase in population and created jobs. "A distinct and prosperous middle class developed for the first time in English history" (Morgan, 2016). During her reign, she developed new laws to arise peace amongst the people. One law she decided to enforce, involved people to not seek revenge," Quote proving " This allowed
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In order to purge their sins, a soul that encompasses a living body must help them to crossover. (Anonymous source from 'the Elizabethan Age '). Purgatory is apparent in Shakespeare 's play Hamlet, when the king 's ghost is using purgatory to convince Hamlet to seek revenge. "I constantly hold that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful" (Shakespeare, Act 1, scene 5). This concept of Hamlet purging the king 's ghosts sins targets the audience in the Elizabethan era. Seeking revenge was an illegal act in England; "The law was absolute: murder, as such, was never justified. Even if a man 's entire family had been brutally massacred by the most vicious criminal, even if the magistrates themselves were so corrupt that they knowingly would let the guilty go free -- even then, the man who planned and executed the death of the murderer would be equally a murderer in the eyes of the law. English law allowed only one exception. Instant retaliation for an injury was adjudged manslaughter, on the grounds that it was unpremeditated, and in the Elizabethan period might be forgiven by royal pardon." (Prosser, Pg 18, 1967). For hundreds of years, people have enjoyed watching or reading about crime. Harold Schechter states "That crime is inseparable from civilization" (Schechter, 2015). Revenge being the main theme in Hamlet targets the …show more content…
Hamlet does not consider that by seeking revenge, he is committing a crime. He feels that seeking revenge is seeking justice for his father, and that it is the right thing to do. This relates to the historical practice of revenge in Denmark.
During the Elizabethan era, ghosts were extremely prevalent in society. Society was fascinated by ghosts due to the numerous ghost hauntings in this time period."quote about number of ghost hauntings" "A ghost is defined as the soul of a dead person who is said to appear to the living in bodily likeness at a place associated with his life" (Linda Alchin). Since ghosts are souls that are unable to crossover, the ghosts usually died in horrible and violent tragedies. Hamlet 's father, the old king of Denmark claimed he was unable to crossover because he has not purged. This provides insight that he had died in a violent way.
"Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison house" (Shakespeare, Act 1 scene
The Elizabethan era was a time of literary discoveries, military victories, and religious developments. History tends to focus on the military achievements of the time, such as the successful defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, or the religious developments of the time, such as the overthrow of the Catholic Church in England and the implementation of the Protestant Church. Literature historians focus on the emergence of Elizabethan authors like Shakespeare and Marlowe. Ian Mortimer, the author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, focuses on the social history of the era. He explains the lives of the people of England in the 1600s.
From the beginning of the play Hamlet has only been thinking of extracting revenge without acting on it. He wants to take action and is angry he has yet to be fully invested in his own plan.
Each person goes through life questioning the whys and what ifs, but seldom do people act on those revengeful feelings unless they reach a point of action. Hamlet reaches such a point in life where wordplay no longer suffices, and he must act not out of necessity but out of filial duty and honor. In this soliloquy, Hamlet sheds his attachment for words and begins to act on his deeply held feelings of revenge/
The theme of revenge is expanded and created by the ghost of King Hamlet because not only does he instruct others to seek revenge but he has such a powerful reach that characters, mainly Prince Hamlet, become driven by this want for revenge. Prince Hamlet shows his eagerness for revenge by saying that “Hast me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift / As meditation or the thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge” (34). As the text progresses the message or theme of revengeance fully surfaces when those who are driven by revenge, Laertes and Prince Hamlet, lure themselves to their own demise and this showcases the evil in chasing revenge. In addition, Shakespeare not only uses the theme of revenge but also uses the almost opposite theme of patience to show what mankind “should be and what not to be”. The following shows the outcome of Fortinbras’s patience, “I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, / Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me” (177). In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the ghost of King Hamlet as a representation and establisher of the theme of revenge and by the end of the tragedy shows how the characters, Prince Hamlet and Laertes, who followed this path lead themselves to their deaths; however, Shakespeare uses Fortinbras to represent the theme of patience and how not seeking revenge or acting upon impulses, like Hamlet and Laertes, led him to the throne of Denmark. Moreover, even though the King Hamlet’s ghost appears in the text for a limited time he plays a significant role in the development of other
The introduction of the supernatural in the Elizabethan-Jacobean mind as human beings, we tend to perceive concepts like “supernatural” as a sort of phenomena beyond scientific explanation, a notion largely identified with religion and belief. It might be portrayed as events or occurrences introduced by powers outside nature. These obscure powers have been, since the start of mankind incorporated in every social and literary interpretation, the presence of the supernatural is for the most part acknowledged as an unavoidable truth by the masses, and even by the best researchers and scholars, in the Elizabethan and Jacobean times. Throughout the Elizabethan Era, and with the development of science, started the superstitions. The roots of the supernatural can be directly traced from the Celtic tribes of the Bronze Age, the convention of making medicines was given over to women, and hence the old women of this period were distinguished as witches and their medical prescriptions as magic potions.
“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” Ghandi said, in an attempt to show how revenge will not end once it has begun. Throughout Hamlet this theme is addressed, extremely clearly, and the conclusion, the death of so many characters, many due to revenge, shows how a world filled with extensive revenge cannot exist as a world at all. Hamlet is a deep philosophical story, however, the theme of revenge lies just below the surface, if you look at all of the deaths, you may see that there was a high degree of hatred, bitterness, and anger throughout Denmark.
In retrospect, the concept of revenge in “Hamlet” is quite the eye-opener for those in the dark of what revenge can and will do to one's self and those around him. It is plain to see the agonizing and degenerate condition that it brings upon the body and soul. Moreover, can the disease revenge inflicts rest easily upon the mind? I think not. By no effort can a man avoid the pain and suffering associated with engaging in a personal vendetta. For a man is a flawed being, without any form of perfection within him, save the perfect condition of imperfection present in all mankind. May all the world forget its vengeful spirit as to avoid the cataclysm of such distasteful undoing.
Revenge is a major theme throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. This theme provides motivation for characters to murder each other throughout the play, whether or not characters seek revenge for themselves. Because Laertes and Hamlet are so absorbed with wanting to exact revenge upon certain people, they ultimately cause the deaths of all of the main characters in the play. Revenge is the main root of evil in this play.
In Hamlet, William Shakespeare presents the main character Hamlet as a man who is fixated on death. Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlet's desire for revenge and his need for assurance. In the process, Shakespeare directs Hamlet to reflect on basic principles such as justice and truth by offering many examples of Hamlet's compulsive behavior; as thoughts of death are never far from his mind. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his father's death. When Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, their conversation raises all kinds of unthinkable questions, for example murder by a brother, unfaithful mother, that triggers Hamlet's obsession. He feels compelled to determine the reliability of the ghost's statements so that he can determine how he must act. Ultimately, it is his obsession with death that leads to Hamlet avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius.
I personally disagree with the author W.W. Greg’s interpretation of Hamlet’s ghost, and believe that his assumption that Hamlet is simply hallucinating his father’s ghost is without merit. Many of W.W. Greg’s claims relate Hamlet to other plays that were written by Shakespeare, claiming that due to how Shakespeare portrayed ghosts in his previous works, it would follow that Hamlet also fits into the same mold as these past writings. W.W. Greg even states, “I should like to be told what Shakespeare's views were of ghosts in general ... I am forced to turn to Shakespeare's other plays for suggestions as to how he represented these phenomena” (Greg 395). W.W. Greg is simply claiming that trends in Shakespeare’s writings in the past logically must take the same form in the character of Hamlet’s ghost. This method of thinking simply does not hold up when examined critically, mainly due to the fact that there were multiple witnesses to the ghost, a...
Revenge is a recurring theme in Hamlet. Although Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, he is afraid of what would result from this. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet’s unwillingness to revenge appears throughout the text; Shakespeare exhibits this through Hamlet’s realization that revenge is not the right option, Hamlet‘s realization that revenge is the same as the crime which was already committed, and his understanding that to revenge is to become a “beast” and to not revenge is as well (Kastan 1).
Hamlet lives in a country of different worlds. At the time, Denmark was in a state of transition between three metaphysical worlds; the heroic world, where a man's honour was foremost, killing was not accepted but expected, might was power, the Machiavellian world, an amoral world where politics and mind games were employed ruthlessly, the ends justified the means, and the Christian world of love and forgiveness. Hamlet was a Christian living in a dying Heroic world which was succumbing to the Machiavellian world. Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, belonged to the heroic world, and so for him revenge was of the utmost importance, shown by the fact that "but two months" (1:2, 136) after his death he returned to instruct Hamlet to avenge his murder. Hamlet's disgust at his mother's marriage to his uncle before "the salt of most unrighteous tea...
Death threads its way through the entirety of Hamlet, from the opening scene’s confrontation with a dead man’s ghost to the blood bath of the final scene, which occurs as a result of the disruption of the natural order of Denmark. Hamlet is a man with suicidal tendencies which goes against his Christian beliefs as he is focused on the past rather than the future, which causes him to fall into the trap of inaction on his path of revenge. Hamlet’s moral dilemma stems from the ghost’s appearance as “a spirit of health or a goblin damned”, making Hamlet decide whether it brings with...
“Those who plot the destruction of others often fall for themselves” (Phaedrus). This quote was said by a Roman fabulist and it depicts the entire concept of revenge in Hamlet. The nature of revenge causes someone to act upon anger rather than reason. Hamlet takes place in Denmark and is about Hamlet’s uncle who kills his dad to gain power in Denmark. After the killing, Hamlet seeks revenge on his uncle.
Throughout Hamlet, each character’s course of revenge surrounds them with corruption, obsession, and fatality. Shakespeare shows that revenge proves to be extremely problematic. Revenge causes corruption by changing an individual’s persona and nature. Obsession to revenge brings forth difficulties such as destroyed relationships. Finally, revenge can be the foundation to the ultimate sacrifice of fatality. Hamlet goes to show that revenge is never the correct route to follow, and it is always the route with a dead