context Flashcards
what is it about hamlets melancholy and how it would have been perceived by physicians?
Elizabethans believed the human body was made up of four basic elements, called humors: phlegm, blood, yellow bile, and black bile. Hamlet seems to be suffering from what Elizabethans referred to as “melancholy,” which was associated with too much “black bile” in the body.
how was the play influenced by the actors in the original production?
shakespeare wrote his plays with the actors of his companies strengths in mind
what were hamlet’s origin stories? (3)
- Thomas Kyd’s ur-Hamlet (possibly)
- Saxo Grammaticus’s “legend of Amleth: Gesta Danorum”
- ## Belleforest’s Histoires tragiques
what were the key elements of Seneca’s revenge tragedies? (6)
- Principle character trying to get revenge on someone, avenging an event or a death.
- A ghost will reveal its gruesome death
- Calls on a hero to take revenge
- Vengeance is delayed
- Hero pretends to be mad
- Before revenge, the protagonist (avenger) will die.
Elizabethan monarchy (4)
- mary queen of Scots executed
- 5 years after Hamlet, plot to blow up the monarchy
- there would be no heir to Elizabeths throne
- she is succeeded by foreign prince
first performed in…
1602
what was denmark like at the time
The main action of Hamlet takes place in Denmark, a largely Protestant nation at the time of the play’s composition.
why does the ghost pose a religious problem for Hamlet
Protestantism didn’t believe in purgatory. Hamlet is hesitant to accept the ghost’s claims that he is tormented until his life’s crimes are “purged” away.
what tragedy did Hamlet suffer?
his father and his son died
cain and abel?
Stories based on the idea of fratricide—the killing of one’s brother—for personal gain easily bring to mind the biblical tale of Cain and Abel: these themes have been incorporated into tales for thousands of years. Shakespeare, however, masterfully captured these universal tales and put his unique spin on them.
what is the relevance of Wittenburg?
The German city of Wittenberg was the
birthplace of the Reformation – the
Protestant movement for the reform of the
Catholic church.
how did mary queen of scot’s marriage reflect Hamlet?
Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary Queen
of Scots, was murdered at Kirk o’ Field,
Edinburgh in 1567. Shockingly soon
afterwards, Mary married Lord Bothwell,
the chief suspect in the murder. This was
part of the reason for Mary’s deposition
from the Scottish throne and the accession
of her one-year old son James V (Gertrude)
henry VIII and catherine of aragon
she married Henry after marrying his brother and therefore he got a divorce
who was the character of Polonious’s arguably based on?
Lord Burghley, the queens chief minister who often spied on his children
how long was the officail mourning period for a king?
1 year
who was Machiavelli?
14th century politician and writer, wrote The Prince on how to keep order in power. is often seen as the cunning villian
what was the monarchy like in Denmark?
it was not successive, however to a British audience the succession of Claudius would have been unusual and suspicious.
what was the dual meaning of the therm nunnery?
could be religious training for nuns or a brothel
what was the opinions on women who had had sex?
that hysteria would be bought on due to their knowledge of sex, like Ophelia
what was government surveillance like in Elizabethan britain
Queen Elizabeth had her own “Watchers,” organised by walshingham, a network of agents who intercepted letters, cracked codes, and captured possible dissenters to protect the crown in secret. The queen’s network of spies formed the original surveillance state in the U.K.
what was titus andronicus like in comparison?
much more savage and brutal as an earlier revenge tradgedy, where the character has little inner thought and is unlikely to be relatable
what is Classic antiquity?
common feature of renaissance ideologies - references to classical Greek and Roman stories, such as the hyperion to a satyr line or hecuba
what is humanism and how is humanism included in Hamlet?
humanism is believing in the endless possibilities of man and the human mind, for example Hamlet’s line “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties…”
what is the renaissance idea against religion, ie the man is the meaning of all things?
A statement by the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras. It is usually interpreted to mean that the individual human being, rather than a god or an unchanging moral law, is the ultimate source of value.
how was honor interpreted in elizabethan england?
- Male honour depended on physical courage, bravery and a propensity for violence
- Female honour depended on chastity, fidelity and motherhood
what is interesting about the conversation between polonius and Hamlet on polonius acting in universtiy
it can be classed as metadramatic or intertextual, as they talk about Polonius playing Julius Caesar, which was performed a few years earlier, liekly by the same actors - this reference would have been comical
