Religion In Hamlet

Words: 952
Pages: 4

In the duration of the sixteenth century, much of Europe had begun to have extreme changes in their way of worship. In the beginning of the century, the German monk Martin Luther began the division from the Roman Catholic system. As many religious followers began the transition into the Protestant belief, many became conflicted as to their beliefs and the effects on their afterlife. Through the use of religious context, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows the religious and moral changes occurring in the sixteenth century. With the use of a moral dilemma, Shakespeare shows the transition of Roman Catholic to Protestant occurring in Europe. With the use of the character of the ghost, Shakespeare is able to show a major belief difference between …show more content…
During the play, Hamlet contemplates between seeking revenge as he is destined to do due to his position of royalty in Demark and the religious belief of divine justice. As Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to him and proclaims his murder, the ghost exclaims that Hamlet “art thou to revenge” (Shakespeare 1.5.12). Due to Hamlet’s position of the prince of Demark, traditionally Hamlet is forced to seek revenge for the murder of his father. Although it is traditional for Hamlet to avenge his father’s murder, both Roman Catholic and Protestant religious views go against the act of revenge. Through the royal tradition, Hamlet must “Revenge [the kings] foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.25). Alternatively, if Hamlet gets revenge for his father’s murder, Hamlet would be going directly against his religious views. As learned through religious teachings, Hamlet would have been taught that revenge is not for humans to take. Rather, God will deliver the recompense and divine justice will be used. In the duration of the play, Hamlet is constantly torn between the tradition of seeking revenge for his father and the religious belief that god will deliver …show more content…
Shakespeare’s Hamlet allows the representation of the skepticism given to contemporary religion and the idealistic view of humanism. Through Hamlet’s struggle with the transition in beliefs and the capacity for one to defy religious views and to make one’s own decisions, contemporary audiences could appertain the religious struggles of Hamlet into their own