Information about The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Author's Full Name: William Shakespeare

Date of Birth: 1564

Place of Birth: Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Date of Death: 1616

Brief background: Shakespeare’s father was a glove-maker, and Shakespeare received no more than a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His theater troupe was adopted by King James as the King’s Men in 1603. Shakespeare retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613, and died three years later.

Key Facts:

Genre: Tragic drama; Revenge tragedy

Setting: Denmark during the late middle ages (circa 1200), though characters in the play occasionally reference things or events from the Elizabethan Age (circa 1500).

Climax: The climax of Hamlet is a subject of debate. Some say it occurs when Hamlet kills Claudius, others when Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius while Claudius is praying, others when Hamlet kills Polonius, and still others when Hamlet vows to focus on revenge at the end of Act 4.

Protagonist: Hamlet

Antagonists: Claudius

Historical and Literary Context

When Written: Between 1599-1601

Where Written: England

When Published: 1603 (First Quarto), 1604 (Second Quarto).

Literary Period: The Renaissance (1500-1660)

Related Literary Works: Hamlet falls into the tradition of revenge tragedy, in which the central character’s quest for revenge usually results in general tragedy. This tradition existed from Roman times (the Roman playwright Seneca was well known for writing revenge tragedies). The most famous revenge tragedy of Shakespeare’s day before Hamlet was Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy and some believe that Kyd wrote an earlier play of Hamlet, now lost, which scholars call the Ur-Hamlet. The story of Hamlet is based on a Danish revenge story first recorded by Saxo Grammaticus in the 1100s. In these stories, a Danish prince fakes madness in order to take revenge on his uncle, who had killed the prince’s father and married his mother. But Shakespeare modified this rather straightforward story and filled it with dread and uncertainty—Hamlet doesn’t just feign madness; he seems at times to actually be crazy.

Related Historical Events: Hamlet is in many ways a product of the Reformation, in which Protestants broke away from the until-then dominant Catholic Church, as well as the skeptical humanism of late Renaissance Northern Europe, which held that there were limits on human knowledge. Hamlet’s constant anxiety about the difference between appearance and reality, as well as his concerns about and difficulties with religion (the sinfulness of suicide, the unfairness that killing a murderer while the murderer is praying would result in sending the murder to heaven) can be seen as directly emerging from the breaks in religion and thought brought on by the Reformation and Renaissance humanist thought.

 

                                         Important Characters:

 

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark The crown prince of Denmark who returns from the university in Wittenberg, Germany, to find his father dead, his mother married to the king's brother (his uncle-now new step-father) Claudius, and Claudius newly self-crowned King.

Claudius, King of Denmark Dead King Hamlet's brother who has usurped the throne and married his sister-in-law. Young Hamlet's former uncle, now step-father.

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark Prince Hamlet's mother, King Hamlet's widow, King Claudius' new wife.

The Ghost Spirit of the late King Hamlet, condemned to walk the earth until his soul is cleansed of its sins.

Polonius The elderly Lord Chamberlain, chief counselor to Claudius.  The father of Laertes and Ophelia

Laertes A student in Paris, Laertes is Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother; he returns from school because of King Hamlet's death, leaves to go back to Paris, and then returns again after his own father's murder.

Ophelia Daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, Ophelia is the beloved of Hamlet.

Horatio A commoner, Horatio went to school with Hamlet and remains his loyal best friend. He is smart and well-respected

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Classmates- not true friends of Hamlet's in Wittenberg. Claudius summons them to Elsinore to spy on Prince Hamlet. 

King Fortinbras  King of Norway. He loses his land and life to King Hamlet.

Prince Fortinbras prince of Norway, bound to avenge his father's death by the Danes' hands.  Think Foil.

Osric Affected courtier who plays a minor role as the King's messenger and as umpire of the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.

Voltimand and Cornelius Danish courtiers who are sent as ambassadors to the Court of Norway.

Marcellus and Barnardo Danish officers on guard at the castle of Elsinore.

Francisco Danish soldier on guard at the castle of Elsinore.

Reynaldo Young man whom Polonius instructs and sends to Paris to observe and report on Laertes' conduct.

Two Clowns (the Gravediggers) Two rustics (identified as clowns) who dig Ophelia's grave. Think comic relief for what is an otherwise dark time in the play.