Protestant Reformation and Hamlet S Character

To Do or Not To Do? How many times does one find themselves shirking responsibilities they accepted, or avoiding promises they made? One who often finds himself in such situations, impart most samely be able to relate with William Shakespeares character, village. In hamlet, village is commanded by his fathers apparition to penalize his assassinate. Whenever Hamlet is presented with an opportunity to do so, he delays his action. Hamlets inability to act is a product of the time period during which the play was written. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet during the 1600s in Elizabethan England, during the time of the conversion and the Reformation.The Renaissance and Reformations belief in ghosts, ways of thinking, views on revenge, and doubts about the after(prenominal)life caseful Hamlets inability to act on his fathers request. The effects of the Renaissance and the Reformation on Hamlets character, are manifest even forwards he meets the ghost. Formal mourning was taken seriousl y during the Renaissance, and most had people heeded a custom (which was usually upheld by a law) which forbade a widow to remarry earlier than a year following the death of her husband.In the start of the play, following his fathers death and his m some others hasty remarriage, Hamlet enters with his suit of black, complete with mourning cloak and hood. At this point, Hamlet is already established as a Renaissance figure. Furthermore, Hamlet asks Gertrude and Claudius if he can cash in ones chips to university. Gertrude replies go not to Wittenberg (1. 2. 119). Hamlet studied at Wittenberg, a center of the Reformation. Hamlets past behavior gives evidence that he is affected by the Renaissance and the Reformation.The effect that the Renaissance and Reformation have on his actions is most apparent in his inability to avenge his fathers murder. Hamlet learns from the ghost of his father that his death had been a murder, and that the serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown (1. 5. 46-47). The ghost asks Hamlet to Avenge his foul and most unnatural murder (1. 5. 26). Hamlet is eager to undertake this responsibility, and says Haste me to knowt, that I, with wings as swift / As mediation or the thoughts of love / May sweep to my revenge (1. 5. 30-32).But in actuality, Hamlet rethinks his commitment, and procrastinates. One instance of Hamlet procrastination is when he decides that he will not kill Claudius until he has actual create of Claudiuss crime. Hamlet presents Claudius with a play. One sene of the play comes near the circumstance, (3. 2. 76) its plot is similar to Old Hamlets murder. Hamlet tells Horatio to Observe exploit uncle. If his occulted guilt / do not itself unkennel in one speech (3. 2. 79-80). Hamlet wants Horatio to detect any sign of Claudiuss remorse or guilt. Why does Hamlet suddenly begin to doubt the reality of the ghost?Hamlets uncertainty is due to his protestant upbringing. Hamlet attended Wittenberg, a Protestant s chool . . . and Protestants did not believe in ghosts (Neuman). The Reformation had given rise to a new faction of the Church, the Protestants. Hamlet was educated by Protestants, who didnt believe in ghosts, therefrom he is reluctant to accept the ghosts message. Hamlets hesitation to believe the ghost can also be related to Renaissance skepticism. Renaissance humanism and individualism, emphasized the belief in human reason, and Humanists started challenging and questioning the world around them.Hamlet is affected by Renaissance skepticism, and so is suspicious of the ghosts reality. Another obstacle that stood in the way of Hamlets revenge was the opposition of the church and state, of Renaissance English, to taking revenge. The state viewed revenge as taking the law into ones one hands and undermining the political authority of the state. They felt that the right and correct response to the original crime would be to allow the legal system to take over. The church disproved of revenge because they considered it disgraceful and a result of jealousy and hatred. In their opinion, God was the ultimate avenger.Hamlets struggles between societys opposition to revenge and his own personal desire to avenge his fathers death. The belief of the afterlife is another cause for Hamlets inaction, lies in. The Protestant Reformation caused many debates about the existence of Purgatory and the road to Heaven. Catholics believe that how we behave will determine where in the afterlife you will eventually end up (Zammit). One who dies in Gods grace and friendship and is perfectly purified, lives forever in heaven. If one dies and is still awry purified, he will undergo purification (biblehistory) in Purgatory.If one dies in a state of mortal sin, he will descend into hell (Catechism of the Catholic Church). On the other hand, Protestants believe that anyone who accepts Jesus, receives him by faith and repents will go to Heaven. Those who reject God are sent to Hell, a p lace of torment and separation from God. Purgatory is never explicitly mentioned in the bible, therefore Protestants reject the Roman Catholic teaching that there is also a transitional place or process of purification of the soal. concord to the Protestants, there is no Purgatory. Hamlet is unsure about the afterlife.At times he accepts the Catholic view, and at other times he trusts the Protestant view. Hamlet is presented with a perfect opportunity to kill Claudius. He approaches a kneeling, praying Claudius, but he is consumed with the Christian notion of the afterlife. The conception that if one died while in prayer, they would mechanically go to heaven (A Christian Excuse for Cruelty). Hamlet wants to kill Claudius when he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,/ Or in thincestuous pleasure of his bed,/ At gaming, swearing, or about some act/ That has no relish of salvation int (3. 3. 89) so that Claudius will go to Hell.Although in the pervious instance, Hamlet leans towards the Ca tholic approach, he afterward discusses his uncertainty about the afterlife. Hamlet feels that if he cannot act, he can at least kill himself to escape his situation. But, in his To be or not to be soliloquy, Hamlet dismisses his suicidal plans because of his doubts about the afterlife. As Smith points out, at one point in his soliloquy, Hamlet thinks for a moment that death may be like a deep sleep, which seems like a fairly pleasant situation. But then, Hamlet wonders, To sleep Perchance to dream ay theres the rub /For in that sleep of death what dreams may come (3. 1). Hamlet is afraid of the dreams of the after life, the pains that the afterlife might bring (Smith). Hamlet continues to discuss the dread of something after death, and comes to reject his plans of committing suicide because of his dubiousness of the afterlife. Hamlets inability to act is largely a byproduct of the time period during which he lived. Hamlet was influenced by societys views, doubts and beliefs. Even today, peoples actions are largely effected by the characteristics of the time period, and by societys pressures.