The Importance Of Elizabethan Revenge In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

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Hamlet is a dramatic play written by William Shakespeare. It’s about how Prince Hamlet takes revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet, Claudius 's own brother and Prince Hamlet 's father. Shakespeare’s main objective was to impress his Elizabethan audience because entertainment through theater was very important to everyone in that era. This essay will explain how an Elizabethan audience was targeted by Hamlet’s speech (act 4, lines 32-66). This speech effectively targeted Elizabethan audience because its format, revenge, and exciting nature caused the audience to sympathize with Hamlet’s decisions and feelings, and become involved in the play.

The format of this speech is a key factor, which explains why the Elizabethan audience …show more content…

The Elizabethan audience would have understood Hamlet’s careful thought process and procrastination on the topic of revenge because in this era “Church, state and the regular morals of people did not accept revenge” ("Elizabethan Revenge in Hamlet"). Revenge was considered a sinful act and was not tolerated under any circumstance, no matter how unjust the original action. "It is repugnant on theological grounds, since Christian orthodoxy posits a world ordered by Divine Providence, in which revenge is a sin and a blasphemy, endangering the soul of the revenger" ("Elizabethan Revenge in Hamlet"). An Elizabethan audience would have sympathized with Hamlet because they recognized that revenge is going directly against cultural, political and religious morals of the era. This explains why Hamlet took so long to act on his desire for revenge. The Elizabethan audience would have also felt fearful for Hamlet because they understood that revenge is an illegal action with several serious consequences. It was believed that eternal punishment in hell awaited those who disobeyed ("Oh Vengeance!"). The play’s audience would have clearly understood the reasoning behind Hamlet’s hesitation to commit murder but also would have been engaged and amused by his decision to rebel against the

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