Discuss Hamlets attitude to death and the afterlife Essay Example for Free

Discuss crossroadss attitude to dying and the futurity Es guessDiscuss critical points attitude to death and the afterlife, giving an indication as to how both contemporary auditory modality and newfangled audiences might view it. Hamlet deals with situations, which require a single-minded response. However, by the end of the ordinal century a large percentage of people were unfamiliar with church worship and words of the bible, which makes redbrick interpretation of it untold more difficult which Elizabethan and Jacobean audience of Shakespeares time on the separate hand had strong beliefs in religion, includes specific on the wholey the afterlife. Hamlet shares the views of the contemporary audience and we must therefore filter to understand his religious perspectives in the way that contemporary audiences would have done. To the modern audience the religious ideas and beliefs of Hamlet may seem strange 1 There is never an ideal production of Hamlet both interpretati on must limit. For our decade I think the play will be about the disillusion which produces apathy of the will so deep that commitment to politics, to religion or to life is impossible Hamlet is always on the brink of action, but something inside him stops the final committed action.It is an emotion which smoke encounter in the youth today. I agree with this statement but I think that it is Hamlets sense of right and wrong that holds him back from killing Claudius rather than mere disillusionment. For the Shakespearean audience, a religious theme would have been establish at the very beginning of Hamlet when the ghost fades on the crowing of the clock and Marcellus says Some say that ever gainst that season comes Wherin our Saviors birth is celebrated, This bird of dawning singeth all night long And then, they say, no nerve dare stir abroad.The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallowd and so gracious is that time N o spirits are allowed to walk the earth in the day. The bluster of the cock could also be a religious reference to St Peters denial of Christ before the crucifixion, all of which would have been readily understood by a less secular audience than a modern one. When Laertes discovers that Hamlet killed his father, Polonius, his reaction is in complete contrast to Hamlets when he discovers what happened to his father.Laertes is prepared to go to Hell to avenge his fathers death and is more concerned about getting his visit than what happens to him. The final result of Laertes decisiveness is the death of Hamlet. Laertes gets his vindicate, but at great cost. In a traditional revenge tragedy the search for revenge would predominantly lie with the hero of the play. However, Shakespeare makes Hamlet very aware of the consequences of his actions, which is why this is not the typical revenge tragedy that Jacobean audiences were familiar with.This is because Shakespeare wanted to show th at Hamlet has a morality that rises above vengeance. Laertes takes on the role of the character who demands vengeance regardless of the consequences. Hamlet, as I have already suggested, is very much a thinker and considers the consequences of his actions. He procrastinates about taking revenge throughout the play and ironically it is Claudius who suggests the enclose match and the poisoned wine, which ultimately allows Hamlet to honour the Ghosts wishes and kill Claudius.When Hamlets fathers ghost first appears to him, he wonders whether or not to accept it at face value. This is because Shakespeare has acknowledged the church belief that no soul could ever elapse from the grave so all in reality were evil spirits or devils who are attempting to comprehend mortals into their power. On first seeing the ghost Hamlet says Angels and ministers of grace defend us Be gravitational constant a spirit of health or goblin damnd, Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, Be th y intents wicked or charitable, Thou comst in such questionable shape That I will lecture to thee. Ill call thee Hamlet