What Role Does Religion Play In Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a timeless play which continues to remain relevant across all generations due to its presentation of ideas that are fundamental to humanity. The play highlights aspects that relate to the society of not only Elizabethan England but also that of our modern society. Hamlet, as a character, considers ideas from outside his time and is somewhat relatable to modern day man. By drawing from ideas of archetypes and the human psyche, it reveals that Hamlet relates deeply to the elements of humanity.

In 1600 Europe had abandoned the ideas and teachings of Catholic Christianity and began having a Protestant view on the world. When Protestants changed their worldview they rejected the idea of purgatory, causing a key foundation of their new religion. The Protestant Worldview and reaction of it can be reflected in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this time of religious and spiritual changes many people are very confused which can be closely related to Prince Hamlet’s immense amount of anxiety and “madness” that causes tension, due to the lack of knowledge and the ghost of his father.

“Hamlet lacks faith in G-d and himself. Consequently he must define his existence in terms of others... He would like to become what the Greek Tragic hero is, a creature of situation. Hence his inability to act, for he can only ‘act’”, i.e., play at possibilities” (Auden, W.H)

An individual's response to conditions of internal and external conflict is explored throughout literature. In his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare delves into the themes of appearance versus reality, lies versus deceit, rejection versus self doubt and tragedy, and in doing so attacks the frivolous state of humanity in contemporary society. In order to explore these themes, however, he uses several forms of conflict to project his opinions and expand his ideas relating to the themes of the play. Internal conflict, as well as external conflict are dominant features of his works, and in Hamlet are made evident through a succession of dire events which can attack and destroy

Life is full of choices. As humans, we are given the opportunity to make our own decisions and, ultimately, pave our own path. Just as we are able to decide on a movie to watch or a restaurant to eat at, we are also given the power to choose our actions. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the characters are also given the ability to choose their actions. Some of their actions are driven by reasoning and logical thoughts, and others are fueled by pure passion. Through the play, Shakespeare shows both passion and reason while portraying the importance of balancing these two emotions.

Many of the plays written by Shakespeare in his time were performed to influence his audience and provoke thought and debate the social, cultural and economic events that were taking place at that time. Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in particular, was a reflection of the events happening during the Elizabethan era. In this essay, the focus is mainly on Act IV scene IV and the speech of Hamlet and the essay focuses on answering the question of the effect Hamlet had on the audience in the Elizabethan era, specifically culturally, socially, and economically. It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate that due to the religious turmoil of the Elizabethan era, Hamlet’s reference to God in Act IV was significant to show that

Since the mental state of the characters in Hamlet is constantly changing, each character's view on themselves and others also change. Sometimes, when a person’s mental state changes, such as in Hamlet’s case, “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer… And, by opposing, end them”

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.

Over the course of the play Hamlet has a number of ongoing conflicts within himself. These conflicts, in my opinion, serve as Hamlet’s greatest

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, religion is a key theme in the play. Throughout the play Hamlet struggles with trying to avenge his fathers death, and how that would impact his and other’s standing with God. The relationship Hamlet has with God plays into the way he responds to certain things. Hamlets actions are impacted by religion, and Hamlet stops and thinks about his actions and thoughts and how that would impact his stance in heaven. In Hamlet religion plays a vital role in Hamlet’s actions and thought process.

William Shakespeare’s dramatic presentation of disillusionment within Hamlet, to a great measure presents the notion that the quality of a leader is derived from one’s possession of integrity. Hamlet’s disillusionment which emerges from the discovery of Claudius’ regicide and the usurpation of his father’s divine position, produces a plethora of human dilemmas, such as the moral struggle between renaissance and medieval ideologies, the paralysing effect of uncertainty and the defining nature of mortality. Thus by exploring the universal complexity of human condition and its ability withhold integrity, Shakespeare connects to audiences of various historical contexts.

thinking. “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in

A literary critic of Hamlet, Patrick Cruttwell, explores in his writing titled The morality of Hamlet- ‘Sweet Prince or ‘Arrant Knave’? the purpose of religion during Elizabethan times to set moral value sets that often conflicted with man’s nature. Additionally, Cruttwell states the actions in the play aggressively clash with the religious values of the time period. Shakespeare illustrates throughout the play that not abiding by the only moral structure of the time period, religion, man is doomed to self destruction by giving into his chaotic Dionysian nature.

Hamlet and Laertes contemplate religious consequences in different ways. Throughout the play Hamlet worries about the religious consequence of his actions, while Laertes does not worry himself with the issue. In the beginning of the play during a soliloquy in which Hamlet is criticizing his miserable situation, he exclaims that “ O that this too too solid flesh would met,/ Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,/ Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter. O God! O God!”(1.2.131-134). Although Hamlet has these suicidal thoughts, he recognizes that to act on them would be an act against God, and therefore he cannot act against them due to his moral code. Shakespeare uses this recognition to exemplify Hamlet’s

Religion is the fighting force which all characters look to when planning actions. The play Hamlet, as stated by Omar Alsaif at King Saud University, has “A context of religious beliefs, and the consideration of religion is very important in understanding the characters’ motives”(“Religion in Hamlet” 1). This is seen throughout the play as all characters struggle with actions that may be against God. Religion proves to be the main driving force behind people’s actions during the play. In Act 1 the Ghost, later discovered as King Hamlet, appears to his son and exposes the new king as his murderer. King Hamlet asks his son to avenge his murder to which Hamlet answers, “Thy commandment all alone shall live, Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by