Hamlet Contextual Points

Give the context for early stage melancholics / Earl of Essex

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\-Traditionally, early modern stage melancholics were dramatically distanced from the other characters on stage.

\-Either by the isolating effect of their condition or they were seen to lack self - awareness which would ridicule them to an audience and deem them 'hilarious'.

\-Hamlet, uniquely assigns this dramatic space to the melancholic himself, seen to manipulate stage conventions and use it as a protective form of privacy from authority

\-This exaggerated form of the 'scholars disease' links Hamlet with the rebellious Elizabethan Earl of Essex; Francis Bacon.

\-Francis Bacon counselled to 'pretend to be bookish... as you ever were' to disarm Elizabeth's growing distrust.

\- Hamlet's metatheatrical representation of melancholy and it's relevance to the Essex rebellion partakes into melancholies medical conception and diffusion into literary, social and political realms.

\-It was also influential in revealing how 'afflicted' scholars were able to disguise their actions from the 'surveillance state' by purporting to have an apolitical affliction or disease.

Give the context for Madness in Ophelia + contrasting to Hamlet

\-On the stage, theatrical representation of Ophelia have shifted according to the dominant theories and image of female insanity

\-The images of Ophelia have played a major role in the construction of medical theories of insanity in young women 

\-Much later in the 19th century psychiatrists used Ophelia as a case study in hysteria and mental breakdown in sexually turbulent adolescence 

\-For the Elizabethans, Hamlet was a prototype of melancholy and male madness, associated with intellectual and imaginative genius; but Ophelia's affliction was erotomania or love - madness 

\-Ophelia was costumed in virginial white to contrast with Hamlet's scholarly black, and in her mad scene with disheveled hair 

\-She is seen giving away her flowers, symbolically deflowering herself 

\-Drowning too was a symbolically feminine death

Give the context about Elizabeth’s reign

\-There was darkness, uncertainty and tension in England during this time; the country was still recovering from invasion worries following Elizabeth's turbulent reign and lack of successor

\-This is echoed by the sudden change of monarch of Denmark (Elsinore, on the coast) planting the ideas of threat, danger and attack from sea

Give the context about the body politic

The Body Politic concept stated the health and state of the country was measured by that of the King, therefore it was essentially he was respected and honoured. Claudius' usurpation has sickened the country

Give the context about spy networks

\-The fundamental fear of Machiavellianism was related to Elizabeth's spy network, headed by Francis Walsingham, which worked covertly behind the scenes to achieve political aims.

\-This anxiety dominated the Elizabethan political scene and therefore Shakespeare's play's courts are centred around the notion of spinning webs of power with secret knowledge.

Give the context about Machivellianism

\-Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince' (1532) - for a ruler an effective truth is more important than any abstract ideal.

\-This means that in politics or government the means justifies the ends and those means can be immoral if it will result in the glory or survival of the leader.

\-Claudius is clearly a consummate politician - he shows a Machiavellian style of leadership, manipulating for public effect

\-Machiavelli suggested Medieval chivalry and Feudal rule were sometimes politically weak strategy and duplicity and depiction were necessary for strength

Give context about the Garden of Eden

\-Claudius is the symbolic manipulative serpent, responsible for the destruction of the paradise that was previously Denmark - perpetrating the fall and corrupting and manipulating all the wholesome values of the old paradise.

\-Since the death of Hamlet's father, Denmark has turned into a world of decay and corruption, like Eden after the Fall of Man.

Give context about the white sepulchre / burrying

\-Visual image of a the beautiful white tomb that looks superficially attractive, but was rotten, corrupted and decaying corpse inside.

\-The gleaming white sepulchre so familiar in Renaissance art and writing.

\-This age was well aware of and terrified of deception - Hamlet struggles constantly with a sense that what appears to be the truth may not in reality be so

Give context about Aristotole’s Golden Mean (choler)

\-The Aristotelian Golden Mean - the balance of reason and passion - was an ideal which dominated thinking as a way to maintain one's self and sanity. This age believed reason was superior to passion and therefore a godlike attribute.

\-The humours were supposed to be held in perfect balance for good physical health. Claudius deliberately popularises a view of himself as balanced and reasonable.

\-Exertion of passion and rage shows an excess of both choler and emotion. Passion came with the Fall of Man and usually leads to damnation.

\-Hamlet has imbalanced humours - too much "malcontent" bile or "hot blood" or vengeance, were all seen as poisonous and unbalanced the humours creating an excess of choler.

Give context about the Great Chain of Being

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\-This places humans closer to the throne of God and above the beasts, with the upper class morally and intellectually superior to lower class (servants, soldiers) similarly to the medieval Feudal triangle

\-Nobles were considered innately superior, more moral, righteous and intelligent. This give them the right to their place and prevented challenge from those beneath

\-Controversially and socially radical for his time, Shakespeare's Machiavellians at the top of the chain can be far more manipulative, sinful and dishonest than those at the bottom - the peasant class as the more moral, wise, honest and reflective, ordinary and real

Give context about the Harlots Cheek

\-"Harlot's cheek" is a contextual reference to syphilis, an STD contracted by prostitutes, and how they used white lead skin paint makeup to cover signs the sickness to maintain business.

\-The acidic lead eventually ate into and rotted the skin so they had to plaster on an even thicker coating (a vicious circle that Claudius gets trapped in)

\-As Machiavellianism was first becoming popular, many people believed it rotted away and corrupted the soul, dooming you to a fall to hell.

Give context about the Elizabethan Wheel of Fortune

\-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern draw on old ideas about the nature of kingship to flatter Claudius with illusions of chivalry and the divine right of kings

\-Elizabethans often used the idea of a wheel of fortune to explain the rise, gain and lose of fortune - once the "massy" wheel turns around it will strike you down (the wrath of God will bring judgement and justice)

\-The Elizabethan audience would immediately juxtapose this wheel with the wheel of the body-politic, but ironically Claudius is nailed to the wheel of fortune instead, which will inevitably turn to bring justice

Give context about the Renaissance Man

\-The Renaissance saw a rebirth of interest in and knowledge abut the ideas of classical antiquity (Greek and Roman civilisations) including their philosophical ideas

\- The idea of the true Renaissance Man was popular, largely inspired by Baldassare Castiglione, which claimed he should be both a scholar and a soldier, excelling physically, intellectually and artistically.

\-Hamlet, the Renaissance Man, could never be the old Saxon style of avenger, unless he ignored everything his education had taught him

Give context about Malcontent

\-An instantly recognisable brooding, detached cynical observer, who feels the world to be corrupt and tainted, thus providing satirical social commentary on the evils of the world.

\-Traditionally the malcontent believes himself to be untainted by the corruption around them and morally worthy to judge others.

\- Hamlet is not typical as questions his own decisions and behaviour, thus identifying the possibility of corruption in himself, which he fears.

Give the context about the Vengence Debate and Divine Justice

\-"Vengeance is Mine saith the Lord": means only God can really judge and punish mankind for his sins

\-Only a Christ figure would have that level of spiritual purity, no shred of hatred in him, to act as a divine instrument of universal justice - Hamlet is too tainted or poisoned by the fallen world. Hamlet sense this and it is why he delays.

\-Old ideas/beliefs that God would resolve and rebalance the universe are a flawed idea in the increasingly modern/sceptical world because the danger was if God didn't fix everything then bad people would go.

\-The whole vengeance debate is centred around the notion that 'to kill is to kill'. The bible states "Thou shalt not kill" as a commandment.

Give context about the Anglo Saxon Code

The idea of the blood feud or the vengeance code was traditionally associated with personal and family honour. It stretched back to Anglo Saxon ideals and was justified by the Old Testament text of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Give the context about Supernatural Posession

\-"Revenge makes men witches" - Shakespeare, 1601

\-Elizabethan's believed the night belonged to the devil, evil spirits and supernatural creatures (Ghost!) until the cock crowing at dawn banished them with the light

\-Francis Bacon sees revenge as a "wild justice" which poisons the revenge figure since "vindictive persons live the life of witches"

Give the context about melancholia and despair

\-Elizabethans would diagnose Hamlet with despair (suicidal) - the ultimate sin against the moral laws of God, linked it to the Original Sin of Pride. It was considered arrogant and selfish, believing Christ had no power to save you.

\-This morally and spiritually repugnant, rebellious, sinful act would be considered outrageous by Shakespeare's audience, making Hamlet appear immediately irrational and impulsive and massively depressed.

\-Despairing immediately puts Hamlet's soul at risk of damnation. There was a strong belief that devils looked for vulnerable souls and tempted them to damn themselves (Ghost)

Give context about Mandess in Society

\-In Elizabethan times, madness was a socially recognised disorder rather than a medical condition, so Renaissance society have a tolerance and inclusive attitude to the insane, allowing them to remain a part of the community (and the court) and offering them communion

\-Superstitious respect for mad people thought to be in touch with the spiritual world therefore closer to God - they had some kind of superior insight into the truths that the sane could not see. They were sometimes kept as prophesiers for their hallucinations and visions.

\-Those who had lost their reason and mind were protected and pitied rather than feared and locked up (as in the later Victorian age).

\-Poet and courtier Phillip Sidney (1570): "(the mad are) miserable things... which are rather to be pitied than scorned"

Give context about the Madness in Women

\-There was thought to be a gender difference in madness. Men suffered from Melancholia, whilst women suffered from a hysterical manifestation, often symbolised in songs and wailing.

\-Rejected of unsatisfied lovers were thought to be at risk of melancholy and mental unstability.

\-A woman had no choice but to obey her husband, father or brother, and Ophelia's madness shows her broken compliance in its short, resigned simplicity.

Give the context about the modern diagnoses of Hamlet’s madness

\-Modern psychiatrists diagnose Hamlet with Ganser's syndrome -- \n an extremely rare variation of a dissociative disorder and reaction to extreme stress

\-The symptoms are absurd answers to simple questions, mimicking behaviour typical of mental illness while not being strictly mentally ill themselves

Give context about Marriage

\-A woman was a marketable commodity - "honour" and reputation was (literally) priceless

\-Marriages were usually arranged, especially in higher social classes.

\-A dowry was paid to the groom, then the groom's family paid a "bride-price" - very substantial sum, to buy a virgin who would be healthy and from good breeding stock.

\-Women who were not virginial were no longer desirable and had no financial family to her family (What Ophelia is warned of)

Give context about Elizabeth I

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Give context about Female Sexuality

\-Double standards - despite sinful sex outside of marriage, men's behaviour was ignored

\-Pregnancy = nunnery, to deny the body, elevate the spirit and regain purity. They were socially shunned (ostracisation) and had no other value/purpose in society

Give context about the Femme-Fatal and Cuckolds

\-This age feared promiscuous temptresses - a classically stereotypical and misogynistic idea that blamed women (the immoral harlots, or Eve figure) for making men "monsters", which is a reference to the horns of the cuckold.

\-The Cuckold was the heart of fear of the age - the fear of female infidelity and the man raising a bastard child as his own

\-It is also the joke figure of the Middle Ages- the loathly lady or the Wife of Bath- the rapacious female portrayed by Chaucer as driven by lust and without finer feeling instilling male fear.

Give the context about Ophelia’s Death

\-Ancient pagan fertility rites -maidens were flung into the water and drowned (as were witches) to appease the wrath of unseen dark forces that had been unleashed.

\-Suicide means , by canon law, she should not be buried in consecrated ground as suicide (despair) was seen as the greatest sin, because it means you believe you are beyond the help of God and are defying God's plan for the time of your death.

Give the context about Mothers

\-10 commandments: "honour thy father and thy mother" meant there was an expectation of parental authority

\-There was important emphasise on family hierarchy in the Elizabethan era, children were expected to be obedient and respectful to their superior parents, which makes Hamlet's insulting language all the unacceptable and outrageous to an Elizabethan audience.

\-One psychoanalytical reading (AO5) sees Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude as Oedipal. The son cannot share the mother- cannot allow her sexuality to detract her attention from him. It is like her marriage betrayed him not his father.

Give the context about Elizabethan Ghosts

The Elizabethans believed in spirits. An unquiet spirit (in old ideas) meant universal displeasure, an indication or a warning that something was not right in the world. Immediate action would be needed to cleanse the wrong and restore harmony and stability.

Give the context about Protestant Evil Spirits

\-Strong Protestant belief that Ghost (evil spirits) were agents of the devil, waiting for any chance to corrupt a mortal soul.

\-Hamlet's despair (the ultimate sin against the moral laws of God, linked to the Original Sin of Pride.) puts Hamlet's soul at risk of damnation. There was a strong belief at the time that the devil looked out for such vulnerable souls and tempted them to damn themselves

Give the context about Purgatory, Protestantism and Catholicism

\-This is the outer ring of hell, where those who had not purged their sins before death could repent to try to reach heaven.

\-This is where the Ghost claims to reside, yet is it catholic, whilst Shakespeare's play exists within the new England of Protestantism. This juxtaposition of religious beliefs, old and new, demonstrates the confusion in ideas at this time generally.

\-The concept of Hell would be very real and terrifying, but Hamlet studying at Wittenberg (the birthplace of Protestantism, Martin Luther 95 thesis) suggests Denmark is protestant at this time

\-Old Hamlet's old ideas (chivalrous reign, revenge) associates him more with a time of Catholicism

Give the context about Universal Justice (microcosmic and macrocosmic)

\-This is the belief that offending universal laws meant reflection in the natural world

\-Physical events on the earth- like drought, storms, and earthquakes were seen at this time as a reflection of a disturbed universe often caused by the sinful actions of mankind.

Give the context about the Revenge Tragedy

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\-A term first used by scholar Fredson Bowers, to examine the ethical debate about vengeance

\-The hero's ambition was contextually the feared fatal flaw that causes the downfall of so many arrogant figures (Lucifer, Adam, tragic heroes) as it's the same instinct as to rebel against the divine right and laws of God.

\-"Hamlet" turned the tradition of the revenge play on its head - revenge as a form of justice was ludicrous, complicating the issue, less black and white

Give the context about Literary Techniques

\-To create dramati tension, Shakespeare's ghost would have appeared through a trapdoor on stage. Horatio lures the audience into a false sense of security, thus making the entrance more terrifying and shocking for Elizabethan audiences.

\-Shakespeare's ability to create intrigue and atmosphere for the audience through technique was impressive, considering that Shakespeare's theatre had limited special effects.

\-Shakespeare uses the common Elizabethan technique here of exposition; he explicitly gives the audience information to firstly make them aware of the backstory and plot.

\-Traditionally rhyming couplets were often used to alert the audience to the close of a scene or Act.

Give the context about Soliloquys

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\-A stylistic convention of the stage that gave the audience an unprecedented glimpse into the mind of a character.

\-The speaker is always alone on stage and audience listens to their innermost thoughts as if to a confession.

\-Unless a character is deceived about their own feelings and motives, a soliloquy tends to be the truth and the speaker is very unlikely to be lying, unless they are unaware that they are lying to themselves.

Give the conntext about Prose in the play

Used prose when being honest and reflective, because it was more ordinary and real. Lower-class peasants speak in prose, reversing contemporary ideas about the 'great chain of being', which states that those high-borns were innately better than low-borns.

Give the context about Clowns in the play

\-Hamlet (Shakespeare) admits that he hates clowns adlibing for audiences amusement, thus making the lower-class, insignificant groundlings laugh and ruining the experience for the intellectual and important upper class audience.

\-The clowns were used to give the audience time to process the more serious themes and narratives of the play, whilst giving comic relief and respite from the less intelligent groundlings who may get bored.

\-Shakespeare's clowns are nearly always profound, serious commentators. He needs his audience to listen to their words and think about their meaning alongside their laughter.

\-The clowns also represent the views of the common man for whom many critics feel Shakespeare has the most respect and admiration.