The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is one of the most famous tragedies William Shakespeare has ever written. Found throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy are many religious references. According to Peter Milward, the author of Shakespeare's Christianity: The Protestant and Catholic Poetics of Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet, “From a purely religious point of view, which is more than just biblical, Hamlet is rich in homiletic material of all kinds, reflecting almost every aspect of the religious situation in a deeply religious age” (Milward 9). These pieces of religious literature are crucial to the plot of Hamlet. The religious elements found in this tragedy provide the plot, allusions, and foreshadowing. One of the very first pieces of Christian evidence provided to the audience in Hamlet is the idea of purgatory. The Ghost, in act one scene two, says that he is neither in Heaven nor Hell, and that during the night he is able to leave, but during the day he is stuck in purgatory until he has paid for his sins (Shakespeare 1.5.10-13). Purgatory, part of the doctrine of the Catholic Church, is believed to be the place where souls go after the body is dead. In purgatory the soul is able to compensate for its sins it had not confessed and earn its way into Heaven. At first this idea of purgatory may not seem crucial to the play, but a closer analysis proves to contradict this thought. The whole idea of purgatory being neither Heaven nor Hell allows for the Ghost to return as a spirit. In his return to the real world, the Ghost, informs his son that he did not pass away from natural causes that Claudius, the Ghost’s brother, murdered him. If the Ghost did not make an appearance to Hamlet then he never would have found... ... middle of paper ... ... in Kierkegaard. Milwaukee: Marquette UP, 1998. Questia. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. Ferber, Michael. A Dictionary of Literary Symbols. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 1999. Questia. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. Milward, Peter. "Chapter 1: Meta-Drama in Hamlet and Macbeth." Shakespeare's Christianity: The Protestant and Catholic Poetics of Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Ed. Beatrice Batsona. Waco, TX: Baylor UP, 2006. 1-18. Questia. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. New Living Translation Bible. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2004. Print. Shaheen, Naseeb. Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays. Newark, DE: University of Delaware, 1999. Questia. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 5th Compact ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 1010-1107. Print.
In the Shakespearian era they gave credence in the order of the great beings also known as the Theocentrictheocentric religion. Religion has been present for over 10 000 years B.C. and teaches societies different morals and beliefs. Like all of William Shakespeare’s plays, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark could have been partly catholic and partly protestant, but most theories prove that Hamlet himself was protestant. Hamlet the protagonist faces many conflicts that he must solve hastily. King Claudius ascended to the throne by murdering Hamlet’s father. Hamlet, who is the rightful heir to the throne, plots to take revenge against his uncle. In this play, Hamlet’s religion influences his action and decisions. Religion brought him to maketake decisions on the meaning of life, take action on an incest relationship and on an incorporeal being. actions on an incest relationship and a decision on an incorporeal being.
According to Christian doctrine, spirits that were not God originated from Hell, and ghosts were classified under demonology (Bath & Newton, 3). This fact explains why Marcellus warns Hamlet not to follow the ghost saying that “It waves you to a more removed ground./But do not go with it”(I. iv. 59-60). Hamlet displays his own recklessness and departure from a good Christian by asserting that “I do not set my life at a pin’s fee,/ And for my soul, what can it do that,/ Being a thing immortal as itself?/ It waves me forth again. I’ll follow it” ( I. iv. 65-68). His friends are still very skeptical of the ghost’s intentions and only back off when Hamlet threatens them with “By heaven, I’ll make a ghost of him that let me.”(I.iv.85) Immediately after, Marcellus utters his famous line: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”(I.iv. 90). At this time period, ghosts were things that were not even meant to exist, but it is important to note how different characters respond to it. While Horati...
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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...
William Shakespeare, a great playwright, authored a number of works consisting of sonnets, comedies, and tragedies. The story of Prince Hamlet utilizes its original audience’s primarily Christian demography and the religious strife of the time to tie actions within the play to Christian ideologies and spiritual anxieties of the 16th century. Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a revenge theater play, is laden with references to religious identities and ideologies. In the play, Hamlet feels betrayal and distrust from the people around him, namely his uncle Claudius and mother Gertrude, who marry shortly after Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet’s, ominous death. Originally contemplating suicide, Hamlet dissuades himself from following through on the basis that it was a sin. Hamlet’s kindling flames of internal indignation soon ensue into an externalized raging fire of discontent, as he feels an immense responsibility to avenge his father’s “foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v, p.57) by killing Claudius. He embarks on an existential quest to find moral integrity in Denmark’s royalty, but ultimately pays a great price to achieve his goal. Themes of jealousy, murder, and revenge that are present in the play draw many parallels between Hamlet and not only the story of Cain and Abel, but also various other parts of the Bible. Thus, religious undertones throughout the play provide a lens through which Hamlet can be viewed.
At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his dead father and vows to avenge his death. “Christianity forbids followers to seek out spirits for advice or communication” (Ja) Hamlet has his faith tested because he is unsure about what his father is telling him. If the truth is that Claudius is the one who murdered Hamlet’s father then Hamlet will need to commit murder himself in order to fulfill his promise to his father’s ghost. “Hamlet, after the shock of his discoveries, becomes virtually another person and re-evaluates the situation in accordance with his religious views. Perhaps the ghost is just an illusion or mental disorder making him imagine this tale, and the murder of his father is illusory because he is not able to accept this kind of marriage and he wants to justify his crimes.” (****) Hamlet wrestles with his feelings and decides he must arrange for Claudius to admit to the murder instead of murdering Claudius himself. He is aware of the moral dilemma he finds himself in, if he kills Claudius then he, Hamlet may go to hell. If he refuses to kill Claudius then his father may be sent to hell. Hamlet knows from his religious background that murd...
A common motif in Shakespeare’s many plays is the supernatural element, to which Hamlet , with the presence of a ghost, is no exception. The story of Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is one of tragedy, revenge, deception, and ghosts. Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural element helps give a definition to the play by being the catalyst of the tragedy that brings upon Hamlet’s untimely demise. The ghost that appears at the beginning of the play could possibly be a satanic figure that causes Hamlet to engage in the terrible acts and endanger his soul. The supernatural element incorporated into the play is used as an instigator, a mentor, as well as mediation for the actions of the protagonist that ultimately end in tragedy, with the loss of multiple lives, as well as suscept Hamlet’s soul to hell. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the ghostly apparition causes a reader to question whether the ghost is a demonic force on the basis of its diction, conduct towards others as well as Hamlet, and it’s motive to kill.