Hamlet Group

Question:

mano789
mano789
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Evaluate the political influences of the historical period that shaped the characters, plots, and settings of "Hamlet."

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Posted by mano789 on Saturday May 31, 2008 at 12:23 AM and tagged with characters, hamlet, historical context, plot, setting.

Answers:


  1. hosni Student
    College - Senior

    Shakespeare's plays indeed are influenced by the political events of the time but there is a limit to that influence. To answer your question, with respect to characters, there is clearly a reference to the Earl of Essex and the taming of the rebellion in Ireland. The Earl of Essex being a national hero greatly admired by Shakespeare himself but who was nevertheless put to death. This macabre event caused a feeling of immense disillusionment in England. A feeling against which the Bard was not immuned. However, you will have noticed that while in reality the Earl of Essex failed, the taming of the rebellion succeeded in the play and was followed by the assignement of a new and equitable monarch. Another influence yet not political, Shakespeare parodied the bombastic style of Marlowe in Hamlet. For the setting and most of the other details, Shakespeare as you may already know drew his materials from Grammaticus's Historia Danica.

    Concerning Ophelia, there is one detail that I think is noteworthy. Before writing Hamlet, there was a girl in Shakespeare's mileu who died like Ophelia for unknown reasons.

    I advise you however to have a look at Book4&5 of Historia Danica. There you will find the raw materials used by Shakespeare. Try to pinpoint the differences between what the real story is and what is in the play. The discrepencies certainly refer to details added by Shakespeare for one reason or another.

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    Posted by hosni on Thursday August 28, 2008 at 8:20 AM