Historical and Biographical Approach on Hamlet
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This document provides a historical and biographical analysis of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. It discusses how the play was influenced by Shakespeare's life and the time period in which he lived. Specifically, it notes that Shakespeare lost a son named Hamnet around the same age as the character in the play. It also discusses how the setting of Elsinore Castle was based on a real castle in Denmark. Finally, it mentions that during Shakespeare's era, women were not allowed to be actresses, as reflected by the all-male cast in Hamlet.
Historical and Biographical Approach on Hamlet
- 1. Historical and Biographical Approach on Hamlet By: Ma. Cristina D. Panganoran Hamlet is one of the most popular plays Shakespeare ever created. The plots vary from comedy to tragedy. The personalities that progress from humorous to heartbreaking characters make the story come alive, the wonderful cast that the brilliant writer, William Shakespeare had created not only touched our hearts but remained in our memory until now. Not only do we remember the stories but we remember the people and sometimes even the famous lines like “This above all: To thine own self be true”. The words used in the play are spoken in old English language just like in Shakespeare’s own era. Looking back at the setting of the play, we will notice that the time when Shakespeare lived must be a place where kings and queens rule so it would most likely result to a play with settings of a castle like in Hamlet. There is a theory that Elsinore Castle in the play Hamlet has immortalized Kronborg Castle which was used as its model. It was built between 1574 and 1585 in the town of Helsingør on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand. The castle has been one of the most significant Renaissance castles in Northern Europe for centuries. Shakespeare married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. The couple may have arranged the ceremony in some haste, since the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times. Anne's pregnancy could have been the reason for this. With regards to the characters in his play, this also would be another similarity in the play Hamlet, where a hasty marriage is involved. Six months after the marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Susanna. Twins, son ‘Hamnet’ and daughter Judith followed almost two years later. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried on 11 August 1596. Shakespeare lost one of the twins and the particular twin was named Hamnet. The great bard must have wanted to name the main character in the play Hamnet but somehow it was changed to Hamlet. Since Hamlet died in the play as his son Hamnet died, maybe the play had something to do with Shakespeare real life. Maybe he used this play to cope with the death of his son or it could be that this play is dedicated for Hamnet his son who died at a young age. One particular thing I noticed with Hamlet is the part where he invited the travelling actors, it displays that only men are allowed to become actors, and this is also true in the era of Shakespeare. At his time, women weren’t allowed to be an actress. If you noticed, a man played the character of Gertrude in the movie Hamlet. To end my analysis, the play is very much in touch with the writer’s personal experience, social life and environment during his time.