context

Question 1

role of religion

Answer 1

• Stephen Greenblatt who’s there? article
  = catholics believed in purgatory and that it could be decreased by prayer and repent, protestants rejected it

Question 2

Freudian psychology

Answer 2

• created idea of oedipal feelings based on greek myth of oedipus who killed his dad and married his mother
  = innate hatred towards father and sexual impulse towards mother= natural desire shown by hamlet

Question 3

play within the play

Answer 3

• Thomas Kyd was first to create this device in his 1587 ‘The Spanish Tragedy’= inspiration for Shakespeare= play is staged to unmask the murderer
• renaissance fascination with mimesis= engaged with contemporary theatrical and philosophical debates
• puritans argued theatre was deceptive and morally corrupting as it leads audience to sinful thoughts

Question 4

natural order

Answer 4

• divine right of kings= god given right to kingship
• great change of being means that when king is killed, dangerous disorder is inevitable to ensue
• once the source of evil is removed, purity and order will be restored= country will be cleansed

Question 5

film portrayal

Answer 5

• Kenneth brannaugh 1998
  = film acts as visual media= presents rich and dark colours to symbolise ominous atmosphere in Denmark
  = mirrors used in to be or not to be scene= reflect his self reflection and internal conflict

Question 6

revenge conventions

Answer 6

• ghosts as a victim of a crime= death must be avenged
• play within a play= used to expose the truth by mimicking circumstances of a murder= forced to admit guilt= serves as a way to confront and seek justice
• blurs line between wats real and staged= appearance vs reality
• reinforces meta-threatrical nature of revenge tragedies= play is filled with masks and deceptions like real life

Question 7

women

Answer 7

• Cameron Hunt refers polonius biblical allusion of Jephthah who kills his daughter in order to win battle and advance political relationships
• protestant reformation views marriage as a pact binding families together to advance wealth and property

Question 8

guilt

Answer 8

• claudius ‘eldest curse’ refers to book of genesis where Cain killed his brother Abel due to jealousy= ignored god’s warning
  = placed a curse on all of mankind