AN HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR HAMLET TABLE OF CONTENTS

AN HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR HAMLET

TABLE OF CONTENTS a Introduction to History and the Tudor saga a Culture a Theater a Customs specific to Shakespeare

Introduction to the Elizabethan Renaissance • Early 16 th century into the early 17 th century • Time of “rebirth” and new ideas • writing poetry and drama • composing music • painting • experimenting in monarch’s name • Exploration became vital in this era. • This was the first time people in England had excess wealth to spend. • This was one of the factors that created theater

The Beginning of the Renaissance: The Arrogant King Henry VIII • The Renaissance really begins with Henry VIII. • Inherits peaceful kingdom • Second son, very educated (much like Hamlet) • First marriage: Katherine of Aragon is arranged, loveless • Only a daughter, heirless • Anne Boelyn Elizabeth I • Denied divorce • Creates the church of England • Centralizes all power under his rule • Has many wives • Finally has a son, dies young

Bloody Mary • Edward dies • Mary inherits throne • Catholic • Converts country quite violently • Tyrannical rule • Childless • Imprisons Elizabeth

Return of Protestantism: Queen Elizabeth • • • Not accepted due to birth, gender First real female ruler Refuses to marry; leaves no heir Returns the country to Protestantism Tolerant Loved theater and the arts Defeated the Spanish armada, then is accepted and grows to be liked Survives several assassination attempts Dies in 1603 Throne goes to her nephew, James Stewart Ends the Tudor Dynasty

King James 1: The New Era • King James takes the throne • Scottish • Hamlet spans this transition • Private • Still supports theater, in particular Shakespeare’s company • Commissions the Bible in English • Interested in the occult and unknown • Not as much pomp and circumstance (or drama) • Shakespeare dies when he is king

Shakespeare’s World: THE CULTURE

London: Cultural Epicenter • Major trade center • Population hits 100, 000 • Rise of a new middle class of tradesmen, or merchants • Zero Sanitation • Disease is high, plague closed down theaters • High infant and female death rate • Rise of theater (on the other side of themes, technically not London)

• Women were treated as property and could own nothing (unless they were widowed) • Only options for women: Brothel, Nunnery, marriage • Husbands could beat wives. No real divorce options for women. • Laws were in place that determined what a person could wear, where they could live, what they could eat; all based on social standing and class • Marriages are arranged. The upper class, courtier marriages, had to be approved by the monarch. Esp. under Elizabeth Life and Laws

Unintended Results of Rejection of Catholicism • Henry VIII’s break from the church allowed several other advancements that were originally outlawed. These include: Medicine (new ideas and experiments) Astronomy and science Mathematics Exploration (the newest and coveted thing in Elizabeth’s court was tobacco) • A consolidation of power and a very powerful monarch • • • The printing press and quartos • New exchanges of ideas with other noncatholic countries • First time translations of Greek and Roman texts into English– Mythology was like pop culture • Still much experimentation with English • The Puritans

The Elizabethan Theater • • • The theater was for the uneducated masses. Considered a “low” profession No women on stage. Young boys only. Buying in to a company would insure financial stability Puritans hated theater and tried to close them Open to the elements Few set pieces, costumes came from rich patrons The Groundlings No “fourth wall” audience interacted with actors. Shakespeare would have played some of the parts. Most could not read. The color of the flag that flew above theater indicated what type of play was being performed.

More Theater a. Before a play could appear on the Elizabethan stage, it first had to be approved by the Master of the Revels a. Parts were often written for certain actors. Most likely the part of Hamlet was written for lead actor Richard Burbage, for example. a. Only the property master has complete script. a. Actors have their lines only and lines before entrances and exits a. Rhymed Couplets a. Quartos

Shakespeare’s Globe • Shakespeare’s theater was not the first, but one of the most famous. • It was built on in the seedy area outside of London proper. • An almost exact replica was created in London in the mid 1980’s. Only additions were safety features and speakers. It is built right next to the original Globe site. • Shakespeare's plays are intentionally ambiguous in places Globe virtual tour

Hamlet CULTURAL CONTEXT AND CUSTOMS

A Few Notes on Customs…. Marriage and Women • Marriages are arranged • Members of the royal family are “subject to their birth” • Virginity is valued above all else in a woman • A divorced or unmarriable woman is a disgrace to her family and has two options: nunnery or brothel. • Not permitted to be in the company of men unaccompanied The King and His Position • One must have permission from the king to leave his palace. • Mourning period for a king is 6 months to a year • Speaking against a king is considered “treason” and can be punished by death. • King may hire a traveling acting group to entertain at a party (like with a Scop and Beowulf) • Kings are often sent away to school (from about age 13)

More Customs… • Children were excepted to avenge a parent’s murder. • Suicide is a mortal sin • Last rites • Belief in Astrology and the supernatural • Women are considered fragile and weak • Duals or playing are common entertainment in a Renaissance castle • Honor is of the utmost importance

Hamlet/Amleth Historical Context The story on which Hamlet is based was an ancient one: 1 Hamlet is part of an old tradition of revenge plays, and is based on an old oral legend about Amleth, a prince whose father was killed by his uncle, who then married his mother. Rorik was real enough, a viking who (among other things*) was King of Jutland. But Rorik's grandson, Amleth, was a figure of legend rather than history, a heroic avenger who outsmarted his rivals and ended up with two wives. Rorik's daughter, Gerutha, was given in marrriage to his favourite, Horwendil, whose son was Amleth (Hamlet). . . and the legend begins. The play centers around Hamlet’s decision whether or not to avenge the murder of his father, the King of Denmark. This weight of this decision drives all the other action and relationships in the play.

Hamlet in Modern Day…

Deeper Thematic Questions Hamlet is also a play concerned with the question “Who Am I? ” First line of the play➔ “Who’s there? ” • Is our role in life defined by fate? Family? Our own choices? Are we completely alone in the world, or are we irrevocably tied to others? Hamlet’s struggle with these “existential” questions has led critics such as Harold Bloom and Freud to suggest that Hamlet is a representation of a fully modern man • Able to look at the stupidity, falsity, difficulty and sham of everyday life, without relying on easy answers

Existentialism A term applied to the work of certain late 19 th- and 20 th -century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.

Existential Questions • Who am I? • What is mankind? • What is the meaning of life?