context hamlet Flashcards
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
what was denmark like at the time hamlet
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 Shakespeare suffer?
his father and his son died
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.
henry VIII and catherine of aragon hamlet
she married Henry after marrying his brother
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
how is humanism included in Hamlet?
humanism believes in the endless possibilities of man and mind
‘what a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties’
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
Killing the king is a …
Blasphemous act, going against religio he already feels he is locing
Also fratercide and regicide
Why is revenge such a probpem for hamlet
Revenge is imposed from outside by the ghost, not chosen by him
Short dramatic opening scene gives… hamlet
Sense of disruption
Shakespeare explots the value of time …
To build up illusive nature of ghosts
Shakespeares doublings (kin+kind, cousin+son)…
To emphasise a point and is a premonition of evl doubling
