Elizabethan Ambiguity In Hamlet

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The Elizabethan era was a time of great change. This resulted in an environment of speculation and uncertainty. It is during this time that Hamlet, Shakespeare‘s most famous play was being performed. This essay will argue that the ambiguity of the Shakespeare’s Hamlet was designed, at least in part as a reflection of the uncertainty of the Elizabethan world, for as Bloom stated “the text was not created in a vacuum”(7). This essay will begin with a brief explanation of how plays can be used as a tool for social and political commentary. Followed by an overview of how the factors of the religious turmoil between Protestants and Catholics, the growing influence of humanism and the erosion of the class system is reflected in the play. Furthermore, …show more content…
Essentially, humanism is the belief that emphasis should be placed on high quality education that in turn would lead to an improved society (Caspari, 2). Humanism preached that all men are noble creatures and are capable of noble acts (Cuddon, 601). It is during time that the philosophy of humanism was changing the idea of what it meant to be a gentleman (Caspari, 3). Instead of a gentlemen meaning to be of noble birth, humanist used the term to describe the ideal man, that being one of great intelligence, a thirst for Knowledge and truth, and is also governed by strong moral principles. These characteristics are demonstrated by Prince Hamlet throughout the …show more content…
The people of England were facing a future of uncertainty and were wondering what their future king would be like. James, a young and ambitious man, eager for the English throne, but held back by Elizabeth’s reluctance to name him as her heir (De Lisle, 367). This unfulfilled ambition for a crown believed to be rightfully his own is shared with Hamlet, to which Rosencrantz remarks that “your ambition makes it one [Denmark as a prison] tis’ too narrow for your mind” (2.2.252-253). Arguably, Shakespeare is using the play to speculate over what would happen when James arrived in England from his ‘prison’ in Scotland. Considering that this tragedy play ends in violence, at the cost of the young, ambitious and indecisive Hamlet, it’s safe to say that Shakespeare’s prediction wasn’t optimistic. Consequently the turmoil that would follow James and his successors would indicate that Shakespeare’s prediction did have its merits (De Lisle, 408).
To conclude, the plot of Hamlet is enriched in reflections on the changes of religion, class, education the rise of humanism and the politics surrounding Queen Elizabeth and her successor. From the inconsistences and conflict of these themes that are presented, it can be argued that Shakespeare has deliberately made the nature of the play ambiguous. In order to demonstrate the uncertainty of the Elizabethan world,

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