Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” and Hamlet’s speech on “What a piece of work is man!” have a curious connection. They both seem to be bound by a common fervor and rapture for the marvels of the human race. The period of Renaissance humanism, of which Pico was a major pre-cursor, also explores the same enlightenment, the splendor, the marvel and the wonder called man. Man has the power to change and modify himself based on what he learns and becomes. His form and reason are exquisite. Hamlet and Pico both echo each other when they identify man’s inherent spirit to be the shape-shifter; that although all men have certain similarities to them, yet they are different in form and spirit. Based on how they learn from the world, what they learn and how the put that learning to use, all men vary in their faculties, professions and even images that they form on the world. Pico believes that Man is a reflection of his Creator, Hamlet echoes the divine aspect of Man’s being. Man has the power to be God-like since his qualities can be strong, powerful, creative and dominating – much like in the case of his Creator. Renaissance humanism outlines man’s admirable and impressing qualities.
Hamlet, on the other hand, after accepting that Man is found to be truly great and has great significance in the world, has come to be somewhat disillusioned by this concept of Man. He departs from the philosophical belief of considering Man as perfect or as the divine impression in the world. He removes himself from the list of the enraptured who praise man and his work so highly. He is not even enchanted by the opposite sex whose charms and prowess are a great influence in Man’s life and being. The forms, the spirit, the delight of man, fail to produce the same joy and faith in mankind as have the Renaissance humanists. Hamlet creates a disconnection with the race. Despite the fact that Man is great and noble and divine in his presence to some people, Hamlet confesses that to him, he is nothing more than dust. He believes that despite all the great delights and heights that Man possesses, it is only dust to him. Dust is the basic essence of Man. Dust is what he shall turn to and to Hamlet; the reality of Man is nothing more than that. Thus he loses his sense of delight in man and his splendor. The analogy epitomizes the reduction of the greatness of man into something as insignificant and unimportant as dust. It also points out to the fact that man is born to die. Death is a critical theme in the play and Hamlet’s motives, actions and all of his words hum around the same theme. As death has changed his entire world, he does not regard man to be as great as people think – because ultimately the end Man meets is not delightful or great.
References
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. “Oration on the Dignity of Man.” Hyper-Weirdness by World Wide Web. 1999. Cosma Rohilla Shalizi. 2007. Web.
Shakespeare, William. The Play of Hamlet. London: Collins Press, 1930.