Hamlet by WIlliam Shakespeare

The battle between good and evil presents itself throughout William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet in numerous ways. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s struggle to follow his moral values and beliefs is evident. Hamlet can be viewed as a strong character with good intentions but had fallen vulnerable for his need to avenge his father’s death, King Hamlet. Seeking vengeance for king Hamlets death is viewed as dishonorable under the eyes of God but shows that Hamlet is as susceptible to sin as any other character in the play. Therefore, Hamlets character is caught between his Christian faith and the need to avenge his father’s death.

The background behind the play of Hamlet has Christianity throughout every scene. Beginning with Prince Hamlet encountering the ghost of his father, with this encounter comes Hamlets decision to extract revenge by swearing to kill whoever murdered his father, which is later proven to be his uncle Claudius, who is granted rule after King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet is cautious at first with the ghost because of the counteractions he would have on his moral values following the talk. “In the play, it is hamlet’s failure to revenge the murder of his father that drives the plot forward and the deaths of all the major characters all come into play with hamlet’s delay” (Jamieson). Horatio voice’s his opinion after Hamlet’s confession to him of his deceased father who has appeared to him as a ghost and is sworn to secrecy, Horatio implies that it is against the Lord by stating "I'll speak to it but though Hell itself should separate And bid me hold my peace" (Shakespeare). It was known at the time that Christianity forbade followers to communicate with the deceased, contributing to Hamlet’s struggle with his faith.

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...y disasters cause the believer to become more holy and abstinent” (Alsaif). The shock Hamlet received causes him to regard himself not just as a believer, but also as a savior.

There are many Christian ideas hidden in the play and it’s the reason why prince hamlet decides to seek revenge on king Claudius for what he did to his father. Through the aspects of the story Cain and Abel story in the Bible and the verses from the Bible all show religious backgrounds and Christianity ideas in the story. Through these examples it shows how Shakespeare use religion in his writing and how closely you have to look at his work to understand it. By dissecting words and thoughts in the play you will come to a conclusion that he is a religious person. Therefore, this is why hamlet’s character is caught between his Christian faith and whether he needs to avenge his father’s death.