Context

Question 1

Theatre as a form of Justice

Shakespeare treating the stage like a law court

Answer 1

The Elizabethan state was trying to take control of justice which was unpopular.
Replaced the medieval system based around honour and revenge, with more modern ideas of social justice.
The old form of justice, a feud could only be settled once vengeance had been taken.

Question 2

Revenge and Justice in Religion

Answer 2

Conflict between the modern Christian idea of forgiveness and the old testament ideal of revenge, an eye for an eye.

Question 3

The Globe

Answer 3

The Glode, geographically, is very close to the inns of court which was, and still is, integral to justice.

Question 4

Biblical context

Answer 4

Hamlet is often referred to as ‘the most Christian of plays’

Hamlet’s intellect is underpinned by his morality that comes from his Christian mindset.

Question 5

Cain and Abel

Answer 5

In Genesis 4:8
“Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”
“whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.”
- God condoning revenge.
- The revenge crime out surpassing the original crime.

Question 6

The Great chain of being

Answer 6

Every creature had its ordained position on a ladder descending from God
This justified the belief that failure to apply reason reduced humans to the animal state.

Question 7

Divine Right of Kings

Answer 7

A king was believed to have a divine right to rule (appointed by God and superior to normal mortals)
Killing or usurping a king was considered a grave offence which attracted devastating consequences for the whole country.

Question 8

Microcosm and Macrocosm

Answer 8

Stated that the king, ruled by reason, was the body of the country.
If he gave way to passion or misjudgement the consequences would ripple outwards.

Question 9

Appearance vs Reality

Answer 9

External appearance were believed to be an indicator of what lay within
If appearances are deceptive, the character is unreliable.
e.g. The ghost- “one may smile, and smile, and be a villain”.

Question 10

Reason

Answer 10

The failure of reason was believed to be the cause of the Fall of Man (Adam and Eve).
Elizabethans, therefore, believed it was dangerous to let reason be dominated by passion.

Question 11

Melancholy

Answer 11

One of the four humours thought to define the character in Elizabethan England.
It was associated with refined male intellect.
Thomas Bright’s Treatise of Melancholy (1586) suggests sufferers are distracted by apparitions.

Question 12

Purgatory

Answer 12

Catholic doctrine- A place where the souls of those who are not wholly bad or good are sent after death, to receive purification.
Protestants- did not believe in the existence of purgatory.
Sudden death was feared as the soul would not be in a state of grace for passage to heaven.

Question 13

Catholic Ghosts

Answer 13

Restless human souls that remained in Purgatory.

Spirits of the departed, who returned to disclose a crime, and that it was a religious duty to help them find rest.

Question 14

Protestant Ghosts

Answer 14

Rejected the idea of Purgatory, believed they came from Hell.
Made dangerous requests and corrupt a human soul from the pathway of righteousness.
Ghosts could be delusions experienced by those suffering from melancholy or madness.

Question 15

Social role of Women

Answer 15

The security of society was dependent upon women’s virginity before marriage.
The literary stereotype of the faithless female was founded on the premise that Eve betrayed her husband and all mankind.
Virginity and chastity were linked to the Virgin Mary and was regarded as an ideal state for women.

Question 16

Elizabeth I

Answer 16

Queen Elizabeth I died childless in 1603, soon after Hamlet was written.
Her reign was hailed as a golden age.
The obsession with death and mourning, ‘Hamlet’ anticipates this momentous death.
Questions raised about Claudius’ legitimacy reflects uncertainty over the royal succession.

Question 17

Female mental illness

Answer 17

Ophelia is presented as suffering from ‘erotomania’, or love-madness, caused by unrequited love and repressed sexual desire.
Explored in Edward Jorden’s treatise on hysteria.

Question 18

Marriage

Answer 18

The Book of Common Prayer (1549) stated that ‘A woman may not marry with her…husband’s brother’.
Ignored by Henry VIII who married Katherine of Aragon, his brother’s widow.
They failed to produce an heir.

Question 19

Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy (c. 1582–1592)

Answer 19

Inspired Shakespeare when he was writing Hamlet.
Begins with a ghost killed in battle.
The mother is driven mad and commits suicide.
A play within the play acts as a law court, enacting the crime that has taken place.
Was the most popular tragedy on stage at the time.

Question 20

Francis Bacon ‘Of Revenge’ (1625)

Answer 20

This essay describes revenge as ‘a kind of wild Justice’ which is not legally defensible.
He says that by taking revenge, you become as bad as your enemy.

Question 21

Seneca

Answer 21

Roman tragic playwright, popular in the 16th century.
He introduced many tropes of revenge tragedy.
He saw anger as the most hideous and dangerous emotion.
Revenge Tragedy tropes introduced by these plays included…
• Ghost
• Spectacle violence
• Play within a play as a form of justice
• Revenge which surpasses the original crime

Question 22

Heightened violence

Answer 22

The horrific, macabre, theatrical spectacles of violence in plays like Titus Andronicus was popular- 1 in 2 men in London saw this play.
Allowed audiences to question their own desire for justice which could perpetuate a downward spiral of violence.

Question 23

Saxo Grammaticus

Answer 23

Saxo was a Danish historian and author.

Many plot elements and characters of Hamlet came from his play, Historiae Danicae.

Question 24

Niccolo Machiavelli

Answer 24

Argued that a country required a ruler who could ensure the safety of his people.
If corruption and crime were needed to secure this, it would not make them an evil person.