Hamlet Research Essay First Draft
“The undiscovered country, from whose bourn / No traveler returns, puzzles the will…” reads an excerpt from Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy (Hamlet 3.1.88-89.) The uncertainty surrounding the afterlife (especially the existence of purgatory) propels not only Hamlet’s theological indecision but the debate surrounding the Reformation in the late 16th and early 17th century. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s growing skepticism regarding both Protestant and Catholic religious beliefs to represent those of the average Elizabethan while also highlighting the importance of purgatory in Reformation era debates.
Edward T. Oakes describes Hamlet as a man “torn in conviction between his Catholic upbringing and Lutheran education” …show more content…
Purgatory and its existence held a prominent place in debate between Catholic and Protestant scholars, which contributed greatly to Hamlet’s indecision on the status of the ghost. Greenblatt explains the theoretical importance reformers placed on proving that purgatory didn’t exist. Purgatory was the foundation for all Catholic doctrine that Lutherans found corrupt and unsupported by scripture such as indulgences, intercession of the saints and prayers for the dead. (Oakes 61-62.) Purgatory became a “linchpin” (Oakes 62) or point of main attack for reformers who saw purgatory as a symbol for the corrupt nature of the Catholic church as a whole and a point of defense and re-affirmation for Catholics in their faith. Modern scholars still debate if the ghost came from purgatory and thus substantiates Catholic doctrine or if the ghost was a demon or a figment of Hamlet’s imagination and thus disproves doctrine. Roy Battenhouse refuses to accept the ghost in Catholic terms as King Hamlet did not haunt his Hamlet for acceptable Catholic reasons such as intercession or warning of judgment. Instead, Old Hamlet haunts his son in order to persuade him to commit the sin of vengeance (Adkins 61.) Old Hamlet’s release from purgatory to inspire more sin casts doubt on both him and doctrine. However, Dover Wilson rebuffs this critique by describing the ghost not “as fitted out to the
“The undiscovered country, from whose bourn / No traveler returns, puzzles the will…” reads an excerpt from Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy (Hamlet 3.1.88-89.) The uncertainty surrounding the afterlife (especially the existence of purgatory) propels not only Hamlet’s theological indecision but the debate surrounding the Reformation in the late 16th and early 17th century. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s growing skepticism regarding both Protestant and Catholic religious beliefs to represent those of the average Elizabethan while also highlighting the importance of purgatory in Reformation era debates.
Edward T. Oakes describes Hamlet as a man “torn in conviction between his Catholic upbringing and Lutheran education” …show more content…
Purgatory and its existence held a prominent place in debate between Catholic and Protestant scholars, which contributed greatly to Hamlet’s indecision on the status of the ghost. Greenblatt explains the theoretical importance reformers placed on proving that purgatory didn’t exist. Purgatory was the foundation for all Catholic doctrine that Lutherans found corrupt and unsupported by scripture such as indulgences, intercession of the saints and prayers for the dead. (Oakes 61-62.) Purgatory became a “linchpin” (Oakes 62) or point of main attack for reformers who saw purgatory as a symbol for the corrupt nature of the Catholic church as a whole and a point of defense and re-affirmation for Catholics in their faith. Modern scholars still debate if the ghost came from purgatory and thus substantiates Catholic doctrine or if the ghost was a demon or a figment of Hamlet’s imagination and thus disproves doctrine. Roy Battenhouse refuses to accept the ghost in Catholic terms as King Hamlet did not haunt his Hamlet for acceptable Catholic reasons such as intercession or warning of judgment. Instead, Old Hamlet haunts his son in order to persuade him to commit the sin of vengeance (Adkins 61.) Old Hamlet’s release from purgatory to inspire more sin casts doubt on both him and doctrine. However, Dover Wilson rebuffs this critique by describing the ghost not “as fitted out to the