Allusions In Hamlet

In Act 5 of Hamlet, we see more and more allusions and their connotations. Previously, majority of these have been to Greek mythology and Christianity. Unsurprisingly, there’s more of these allusions in Act 5! Scene 1 of Act 5 actually starts with an allusion to Christian belief; “Is she to be buried in Christian burial, when she wilfully seeks her own salvation?” (5.1.1-2) This question by a gravedigger references the fact that probably at the time (maybe now too) Christian burial rites and traditions were denied to those who committed suicide. They’re talking about Ophelia, and afterwards they try and imply that she doesn’t deserve the Christian burial she’s getting. In lines 21-23 of this scene, the other states the connotation of the entire conversation, that if Ophelia hadn’t been a “gentlewoman” she wouldn’t be having a Christian burial. There’s another allusion to Christianity where the gravedigger references Adam and Scripture. …show more content…
There’s a lot less of them, to start with. One of them includes Hamlet’s line “Why, even in that was heaven ordinant” (5.2.48) when talking about how he sealed the deal with England. Basically he’s talking about some kind of divine intervention. This is less of an allusion but definitely has those connotations of Christian belief. There’s another Biblical allusion when Hamlet says, “There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.” (5.2.204-205) this is a reference to Matthew 10:29, something I had to look to the side notes for. Again, these lines flew me by but someone from Shakespeare’s audience would probably understand what is being said. There’s an interesting allusion to ancient Romans by Horatio, “I am more an antique Roman than a Dane.” (5.2.334) Horatio is stating that he would rather commit suicide than not be noble, like the non-Christian ancient Romans. This line shows the values of the time-honor, nobility, those types of things along with a religious tone as