Hamlet Context Flashcards
(11 cards)
The tragic genre
Shakespeare hugely inspired by Seneca (ancient Roman playwright) who developed genre of tragedy
His own tragedies evolved over time from him first ones e.g titus andronicus which were violent like senecas however evolved becoming more subtle e.g Romeo and Juliet - tragedy evoking pity as well as horror. Hamlet provided as foundation for his future plays e.g Macbeth which were also on individual suffering
Revenge tragedy , sub genre of tragedy that became popular around renaissance era - hamlet heavily borrows from Thomas kyd’s play ‘the Spanish tragedy’ which was performed 10 years before hamlet This features a ghost who has asked for his death to be avenged,
madness and a character called Horatio
Black magic and supernatural
In Shakespeare’s society, black magic and fear of the supernatural was a real concern m. Witch trials were performed and the belief in witchcraft was so real that the parliament passed ‘The Witchcraft Act’ in 1542 which made it a crime punishable by death
Elizabeth I’s successor James I wrote a pamphlet called daemonologie which warns about dangers of black magic
Hamlet’s opening being related to a ghost was effective to engage the audience as they were both fearful and fascinated by magic and supernatural at the time
Fears surrounding succession
Hamlet was written during a time around political uncertainty and fear , play was performed around 1601 when queen Elizabeth I was 67 with no kids and no idea who would inherit her crown when she dies . She could’ve put an end to the uncertainty by naming an heir but she refused to do so causing anxiety and unease
Elizabeth had ruled for 40+ yrs this long reign was a time of peace
after chaos by her father Henry VIII, who broke away from the Catholic
church.
By setting the play in Denmark, Shakespeare can explore these
controversial issues w/o worrying about ‘The Bishop’s Ban’ 1599,
an act of censorship to ban plays that were blasphemous or dangerous.
Mary queen of Scots
Some have suggested that Gertrude was influenced by Mary Queen of Scots, who was the cousin of Elizabeth I. Mary, like Gertrude, failed to observe a proper period of mourning following the death of her husband, and went on to marry the man thought to have murdered her husband.
Elizabeth I and contemporary ideas of femininity
As a female monarch in a patriarchal society, Elizabeth I’s femininity and sexuality were important elements in the control of her image. She conducted her relationships at court in the style of a Petrarchan lover: a stereotypical romantic love relationship, in which the woman is an untouchable and perfect beauty, maintained her political sway by professing her ‘masculinity’: ‘I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too’ (speech to
the troops facing the Spanish Armada, 1588). That she needed to construct herself in this way suggests the deeply rooted misogyny she faced as a female
figure of authority in a patriarchal system. She could not be a strong, politically smart woman; she had to be a man in head and heart, but play up to her physical female role.
Hamnet & Hamlet
In 1596, approximately five years before Hamlet was first performed,
Shakespeare’s only son (Hamnet) died, aged 11. Shakespeare spent most of his time in London with his theatre company, meaning he abandoned Hamnet in his infancy to pursue career as an actor and playwright. However,
Hamnet’s death affected Shakespeare deeply and its suggested that Hamlet as a play is strongly shaped by the death of his son. critic greenblatt suggested that during this period Hamlet and Hamnet were actually considered to be the same name, making clear how Shakespeare’s tragic loss may have influenced the play.
Elizabeth’s spy network and ideas of surveillance
In 1570, Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V and labelled a heretic for making England a Protestant nation. This meant that she was an enemy of the Catholic state, and a target for Catholics practising their faith secretly in England. To combat this hidden threat, Elizabeth created a spy network, which was the first of its kind. Led by Sir Francis Walsingham, one of Elizabeth’s most loyal ministers. They discovered a series of plots to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots.
The renaissance & humanism
Hamlet’s
soliloquy might have been influenced by the social
context of the time. The Renaissance was a rebirth
of questioning and curiosity, and this was specifically embodied by the rise of ‘Humanism’, a
philosophy that placed ‘man as the measure of all things’. This was a direct contrast to the previous
Medieval Era, which was characterised by the study
of religious doctrine and traditional faith.
The great chain of being
Elizabethans believed that God set out an order for everything in the universe. This was known as The Great Chain of Being. On Earth, God created a social order for everybody, which essentially meant that the king or queen was there because they had been chosen by God. Therefore, disobeying or betraying the monarch was not just a crime on earth, but a sin against God. An Elizabethan audience would understand that Claudius has not just committed regicide, but
is guilty of blasphemy and disrupting the natural order put in place by God.
Revenge and blood feuds
Private revenge acts were understood at that time to be actions taken by an
individual in response to a wrong committed on themselves or their family. Often these ‘blood feuds’ would be settled by a duel or other violent retributive action. However, a blood feud was entirely subjective: the person being avenged could have been right or wrong, and yet violent revenge would
still be justified. This is because it is the external threat to a family’s honour and reputation, not the ethical significance of an individual’s actions, which is in question.
Machiavelli and the prince
The presentation of Claudius as a scheming and manipulative
character in this scene could have been influenced by the
writing of Niccolò Machiavelli, an influential political thinker of
the time. In his text ‘The Prince’, Machiavelli suggested that
rulers must sometimes act ignobly to achieve their goals,
commenting,
‘everyone sees what you appear to be, few
experience what you really are.’
