Give context about the play’s origin.
King Amleth is original, Danish legend, in which Claudius, Gertrude and Hamlet’s foundations are the same, but Shakespeare opted for the philosophical, centring his Hamlet around questions of morality and mortality
- this reflects Renaissance - cultural movement, concerned with the revival of classicism
Contextually, how does Hamlet fare with religion and morality?
In Protestant theology, ghosts are evil spirits sent by the devil, while catholic theology is where purgatory exists
Wittenberg was where protestantism was founded, Denmark was Catholic
God ordains the line of succession
The portrayal of madness, ghosts, deception, play within play and death of avenger are all conventions of revenge tragedies
How does Hamlet fare with the contrast between Renaissance and Medieval themes?
- The Renaissance was concerned with humanism, particularly the human capacity for understanding and reason; ‘what a piece of work is man’ in Act 2 Scene 2: influenced by Oration on the Dignity of Man (book by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola - Italian humanist)
- Medieval thinkers - Laertes, Fortinbras; honour action, decisive black and white traditional morality
- Renaissance morality was more nuanced and reason based - complexities
How does Hamlet fare with themes of succession and certainty?
Hamlet drops reason by the time he agrees to duel Laertes and leaves it to fate
- This echoes Michel de Montaigne’s idea that reason is limited (later humanist thinker)
- This underscores an uncertainty of human experience between what is real and fake, which pervades the play (when the audience is left wondering when Hamlet is feigning madness, when he is sincere and whether he has truly gone mad)
- This reflects the uncertainty of England’s political future after the peace of Elizabeth’s reign
- The death of various members of royal family and end of royal line, playing on problem of succession
Contextually, how does Hamlet fare with women?
Men were expected to be strong, brave and more stoic and assertive than Hamlet, while women were to be seen not heard
- Ophelia’s beauty and objectification as a property, with virginity being her selling point
- Ophelia is emblematic of the powerlessness of Renaissance women
What does rosemary mean and who does Ophelia give it to?
Remembrance; Laertes to symbolise their shared grief, as the children of Polonius, but also perhaps to foreshadow her own death. This would suggest her death was indeed a suicide and was her first true act of agency.
What do pansies mean and who does Ophelia give them to?
Thought - Laertes; same thinking as remembrance (rosemary)
What does fennel mean and who does Ophelia give it to?
Possibly Claudius, to expose how he is flattered but is not truly adored or admired; corruption and degradation in Demark
What do columbines mean and who does Ophelia give them to?
Possibly Gertrude because they signify infidelity; exposes how the family that is meant to be ordained by God to maintain the natural order has failed Denmark
What does rue mean and who does Ophelia give it to?
Gertrude because it signifies sorrow; perhaps suggests that she was indeed a maternal figure to Ophelia
What do daisies mean and who does Ophelia give them to? What else does she give in conjunction with this?
Possibly Laertes; they signify several meanings (innocence, love and untruthfulness) perhaps to allude to how Laertes is not true to his own morals (tells Ophelia to value virginity and reputation, which carries significant religious connotations, but is in an impulsive, blind rage, in the pursuit of revenge)
She also gives violets (faithfulness), so alternatively, perhaps it is because it was only his love for her that persists to be true and with her
What do themes of surveillance tie to within Hamlet?
Elizabeth I had an intricate spy network, dedicated to foiling any attempts at treason, ran by Sir Francis Walsingham
