What a piece of work is man!
How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!
In form, in moving, how express and admirable!
In action, how like an angel!
In apprehension, how like a god!
The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! (Hamlet; Act II, Scene II)
The above lines are an extract from Shakespearean play, which give the readers a moral lesson that by doing wrong with others for nothing not only may jeopardize one’s peace of mind, but also one’s life is surely ruined in the course of time sooner or later. Nature has its own criteria of taking revenge and man has to suffer a lot consequently. It is perhaps in the nature of man that he deliberately commits an offense and this wrongdoing leads him towards the way to disturbance and turmoil. All this wrongdoing takes place both in literature and real life. Same is the case with Claudius and Gertrude in Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet.
Shakespeare is not only a poet of England, but also he is the artist of all people and all ages. He was neither a preacher, nor a reformer; yet his universality seeks no bounds. Being the literary giant and superman of the playwrights, Shakespeare’s works not only throw light on his individual thinking as well as personal glimpses about life, but also have the thorough analyses of the prevailing cultural traits and the cult observed and followed by him and the people of his times. His plays depict political turmoil and governmental changes taking place in the England of his era. This is the most wonderful and superb quality and distinguishing feature of the asset of the ages and the laureate of the centuries i.e. William Shakespeare. His magnificent tragedy Hamlet reveals many aspects of not only human nature, psychology and dignity, but also unveils inner thoughtfulness and vision of the unparalleled poet. The same is the case with his play Hamlet, which begins and goes on in a state of mystery, where dialogues, soliloquies, actions and conspiracies have been presented in an extremely well-knitted format. The murder of the King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s madness, appearance of the King’s ghost, Ophelia’s suspicious death in mysterious circumstances, play within the play (frame narrative) Hamlet’s unexpected return from the voyage and bout between Laureates and Hamlet—all depict mystery and obscurity in them on the one hand, and Shakespeare’s command over events and incidents on the other.
Soliloquies maintain significant place in the play Hamlet, which start with the beginning of the play, and chase the protagonist almost near the close of the end of the play. Since Hamlet does not expose the real cause of his self-imposed madness, his views, intentions, liking and disliking, ideas and ambitions can only be assessed and estimated through these soliloquies. These soliloquies are dramatic and ironical, Harold Wilson submits, with an irony that is implicit and eloquent in the extravagances of Hamlet’s rhetoric.
Hamlet’s inner conflict and lack of decision power also decide the fate of the whole royal family on the one hand, and give serious blow to Hamlet’s plans and determination to take revenge of the murder of his father on the other. Hamlet is eager to kill Claudius to take revenge for the murder of his father. As he finds him praying, Hamlet alters his plan fearing killing while praying may lead Claudius’s soul to heavens. The concepts of heaven and hell have also been extracted from theology prevailing both in Catholic and Protestant England of Shakespeare’s era. Despite the compromise of the 1559 settlement, there was the doubtful loyalty of the English Roman Catholics or ‘recusants’. The Northern rising took place in 1569, the Pope Bull excommunicating and deposing Elizabeth I, while absolving Catholics from their allegiance was also issued in 1570. Shakespeare’s image is fully mirrored in his work. Shaw has claimed that we know more of him than Dickens and of Thackeray. No writer can wholly disguise himself as Shakespeare does, yet many of the aspects of his vision on socio-political changes appear in his words and plays. (Ivor Brown, 1973)
Shakespeare’s religious background can be witnessed by studying and interpreting his Hamlet. Being a Christian, Shakespeare learnt many mythological and theological terms and theories from home, church, peer-group and society. The heaven, prayer, good, evil and others are found in abundance in his play. The concepts and appearance of ghost and Satan are the central notions, basic symbol and supreme source of mystery, evil and iniquity according to the teachings and mythology of all the three Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Holy Scriptures of these religions emphatically declares Satan as the transgressor and God’s nemesis who refused to comply with the commands of the Creator—Almighty God the Omnipotent. In the same way, soul of a person killed or died in a miserable circumstances and unjust way, become ghost, which appear time and again in order to provoke members of his family for revenge from the culprit and responsible for his death. Since Shakespeare belonged to Christian faith, the notion ghost has been described in Torah and Bible. The ghost has been described in the Book of Saul in these words: “Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, [there is] a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.” (Book I, Chapter 28 Verse VII) The same has been described in the play Hamlet:
I am thy father’s spirit,
Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confin’d to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purg’d away. (Act I, Scene V)
Clothed in radiant armor, and authorized by titles sure and manifold, as a poet, Shakespeare came forward to demand the throne of fame, as the dramatic poet of England. His excellencies compelled even his contemporaries to seat him on that throne, although there were giants in those days contending for the same honor. Hereafter I would fain endeavor to make out the title of the English drama as created by, and existing in, Shakespeare, and its right to the supremacy of dramatic excellence in general. (Coleridge, 1818) He conceals his personal ideas in such a way that his words look like universal and the voice of the whole community even while depicting his religious and political views. Political background of Shakespearean England can also be found in the play Hamlet. There was a challenge for England from outside countries and foreign invasion. In the late 1560s when Spanish forces were in the Netherlands, the commercial and mercantile challenge raised in the country, which continued through many years of religious, cultural and commercial hostility to Spain. Hawkins had been defeated at San Juan De Ulua in 1568, and Drake’s treasures raids at Nombre De Dios took place in 1572. The internal and external tensions began rising in England, though Shakespearean era is thought to be very peaceful. The ray of conspiracies and the role of the Queen’s counsel appears in the person of Polonius as a main conspirator playing negative but intellectual role in the court.
References
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S. T. Coleridge Shakespeare as a Poet 1818.
William Shakespeare. The Tragedy of Mac Beth New York: Dover Publications, 1993.
Updike, John. “A & P.” Life Studies. Ed. David Cavitch. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2001.352-57.
Vitello, Paul. “Alcohol, a Car and a Fatality. Is it Murder? ” New York Times. 2006: 4.1. Proquest Newspapers. Montgomery College, Rockville Campus. Web.