Hamlet and His Humanism What is humanism? Humanism is an ideology which originated from Renaissance cultural movement that against feudalism and church. It advocates all human-oriented, against the authority of God; it emphasizes the maintenance of human dignity, promote tolerance and against violence. Shakespeare is the most outstanding representatives of humanism. "Hamlet" is one of Shakespeare's best known tragedies, and the typical image of Hamlet has always been a focus of attention. Hamlet is a Prince of Denmark of noble birth, and he study at Wittenberg University in Germany, to accept the influence of humanism, so he became a simple kind of idealism and perfectionist. However, he begins to doubt about the world after his dad died,
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Due to the death of his father, his mother quickly remarried, his uncle usurped the throne, so these three shock waves make him became depressed and meditating. However, depression and meditation is not in Hamlet's nature. Outwardly, Hamlet’s melancholy is caused by his father's death, desertion from the mother, and the loss of love. However, his melancholy is caused by the corruption of court, courtiers’ flattery, and social malaise. In this play, Hamlet says that “Denmark is a prison” (III.ii), because he deems that the Danish Royal Family develops into a prison and Claudius’ guilt just is one kind of all crimes. The main problem is that the whole era out of ideal. Therefore, Hamlet realizes that his responsibility is not only to avenge for his father, but also to take responsibility to revive the universe, and take personal revenge combined with the transformation of society. “To be or not to be” is a question worthy of consideration. This inner monologue fully reflects his inner contemplation thinking. He knows that this is the struggle of life and death, and he is not only considering his own survival and destruction, but also thinking of the human’s survival and destruction. Thus, his melancholy character reflects one of his humanism ideal
Due to the death of his father, his mother quickly remarried, his uncle usurped the throne, so these three shock waves make him became depressed and meditating. However, depression and meditation is not in Hamlet's nature. Outwardly, Hamlet’s melancholy is caused by his father's death, desertion from the mother, and the loss of love. However, his melancholy is caused by the corruption of court, courtiers’ flattery, and social malaise. In this play, Hamlet says that “Denmark is a prison” (III.ii), because he deems that the Danish Royal Family develops into a prison and Claudius’ guilt just is one kind of all crimes. The main problem is that the whole era out of ideal. Therefore, Hamlet realizes that his responsibility is not only to avenge for his father, but also to take responsibility to revive the universe, and take personal revenge combined with the transformation of society. “To be or not to be” is a question worthy of consideration. This inner monologue fully reflects his inner contemplation thinking. He knows that this is the struggle of life and death, and he is not only considering his own survival and destruction, but also thinking of the human’s survival and destruction. Thus, his melancholy character reflects one of his humanism ideal