Although Hamlet is a rather complex tragedy, there are certainly concepts and questions that we are confronted with today. Religion has had a very large impact on the thought processes that differ between people in the 16th century, in comparison with people in the 21st century.
Elizabethan’s most certainly had different preoccupations in comparison to present day. Queen Elizabeth I was a Protestant. She re-established the Church of England as the official church in England. Everyone had to attend their local church and there were laws about the type of religious services and the prayers which could be said, but Elizabeth did not ask about people’s real beliefs. This naturally meant that most people in the 16th century believed in the Christian concept of life after death, thus many lived by the laws of God, with the hopes of securing a place in Heaven. People in the 16th century were constantly reminded about life after death in the Elizabethan era, forcing them to consider their actions thoroughly. However, people in the 21st century are more open to the idea that there is no after-life, not even a God. New scientific discoveries and the recent revolution in technology has allowed many current minds to adjust to new concepts that fit more convincingly. Whilst Atheism was an insult in the Elizabethan era, it has become a far more accepted belief in the 21st century, creating a huge disparity in the thought processes of an Elizabethan person, in comparison to someone from the 21st century.
Hamlet shows that he has a “dread of something after death” which is something that many people nowadays still consider. What happens after death is still undiscovered, so people still fear the unknown like Hamlet did. He would not take his own life because of his uncertainty of the consequences. Hamlet cites the dreams he would suffer in this eternal sleep as another reason for his fears and uncertainty. Earlier in the play, even before the appearance of the Ghost, he wishes for an escape from his body and this world. Rather than a wish for suicide, though, it is a wish “that this too sallied flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew”. Since the Church dictates that suicide is a mortal sin, Hamlet hopes that, through no action of his own, his death will spontaneously occur. He understands the mystery of death well enough that he fears its uncertainty. Thus, death leads to his uncertainty and fear in living. People in the 21st century also fear the uncertainty of death, as it is still an idea that has not developed from technology and science.
For instance, take the idea of revenge. Presently, we all dish out a bit of revenge here and there, as it is normal for people to want to seek vengeance and act upon it. This is partially due to the fact that in current England, there are more people who are atheists, meaning that less people are tied down by the expectations of God and the consequences that their revenge will deliver. However, as Hamlet displays through his reluctance and hindrance in taking revenge; he thinks about the consequences that this could have upon him after death. Being part of the Elizabethan society, Shakespeare is inclined to portray the significant impacts that sinning has on one’s life, or rather after-life. Hamlet demonstrates this typical 16th century preoccupation by finding it very difficult to kill Claudius when he has multiple opportunities presented to him, including the moment when Claudius is praying for his life. The attitude towards revenge is distinctively different between the two time periods, as a result of Queen Elizabeth’s heavy Christian influence on society, compared with today’s scientific development.
Watching horror films is something people in the 21st century do for fun. Most, of course do not believe in ghost, mainly due to rational thinking and scientific explanations. However, Shakespeare’s England was much more superstitious than it is today. For instance, Catholics believed that after death, souls were sent to Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. If souls were sent to Purgatory they were to work off their sins until they were allowed in Heaven. To Catholics, ghostly apparitions would be the souls of the dead now wandering earth until they had access to Heaven. Protestants did not believe in the existence of Purgatory, but they did concede that ghosts existed. However, they believed that these ghostly apparitions were demons, sent from Hell to seduce people into performing crimes or unholy acts. Just as Hamlet genuinely questions the trustworthiness of the ghost, so would Shakespeare’s audience. Some truly believed there were actual ghosts walking on earth, tempting souls to do evil. In the 21st century, most no longer believe in them, thus we would most probably think we were going crazy if we saw one, let alone submit to its demands.
Hamlet shows that we have similar concerns to people in the 16th century, but different attitudes towards them as a result of the different rulers in the Time period, and also the progression of science and technology. As social structures change, so do the beliefs and normalities of the era; such as the attitudes towards revenge, ghosts and death.
Keeping up with Hamlet 