The Link Between Hamlet and Renaissance Ideals

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Shakespeare was one of England’s most accomplished playwrights (Fiero 27). Shakespeare has always been able to transform the most controversial of characters and make the audience feel deep sympathy and compassion towards them. He does this for example in his play Hamlet (Oakes 68). Hamlet displays the ideals of the Renaissance through his indecisiveness and uncertainty much like the Catholics who questioned their religious beliefs.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a true depiction of the indistinctiveness of beliefs after the Reformation. After the murder of his father, King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet sees his father’s ghost. His father’s ghost tells Hamlet he must avenge his death (Fiero 27). He also reveals to Hamlet that it was his Uncle Claudius that committed the crime against him. He explains to Hamlet that he must in deed inflict the same crime upon Claudius. After Claudius murdered King Hamlet he became heir to the throne and married Prince Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Fiero 27).

Hamlet is unsure of the reality of seeing his father’s ghost. After the Reformation the existence of a Purgatory was in question. This is displayed through Hamlets attempt to grasp the idea of seeing his father’s ghost. He was hesitant about avenging his father’s death because he wasn’t sure if the ghost was actually his father in Purgatory or the devil playing tricks with his mind (Oakes 62).

Edward T. Oakes discusses Hamlet’s confusion between Catholicism and Lutheran practices. Hamlet was taught to believe that Purgatory is nonexistent. However, the ghost enables Hamlet’s confusion and reveals to him that Purgatory does in fact exist (Oakes 63). The ghost comes to Hamlet and exclaims :

“I am thy father’s spirit, doom’d for a certain term...

... middle of paper ...

...licted person. Shakespeare used Hamlet as an inside look at the ideals of the Protestant Reformation. For example the Reformation brought about questions and changes of how people viewed the afterlife and salvation. Shakespeare used a character such as Hamlet to invite people in to understand the struggles someone as troubled as him to keep from passing judgment based on an outside view alone.

Works Cited

Fiero, Gloria. The Humanistic Tradition: The Early Modern World To Present. Vol 2, 6th ed.

New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Oakes, Edward T. "Hamlet and the Reformation." Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought &

Culture 13.1 (2010): 53-78. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.

Petition, By Laboursome. "Hamlet: Entire Play." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .

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