Hamlet Religion Essay

The singular reign of the Roman Catholic church during the time period that Hamlet takes place in controlled not only the state, but all facets of life. This theme is seen in the tragedy of Hamlet where religion created a supernatural being in the image of a traditional Catholic soul in purgatory. This predetermined fixity where the predetermined views and obligations imposed by family and church set Hamlet in his own purgatory where he felt trapped in a meaningless world with no hope of vindication. The supernatural, or in this case divine intervention, played a major role in the time that Hamlet was to take place in (14th & 15th century.) The Tragedy of Hamlet was based around the theme of betrayal, by family, friends and Hamlet’s own mind.

Sent into a downward spiral, Hamlet was dignifiedly insane about this family dilemma, he described it as “O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd, His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Hamlet 1.2.133-138). Here, Hamlet describes his wish to disappear or that suicide would not be a sin, explaining how his life is sad and pointless and how his father was a far better king and husband. Contemplating suicide and murder, the unhinged Hamlet took actions necessary to avenge his father’s murder. The end all to this tragedy began with the murder of Polonius, the father to Ophelia and Laertes, that devastated both of the children and lead to the tragic unspecified death of Ophelia. The death of Hamlet’s old flame and daughter to his victim proved that the murder of a parent is enough to make someone mad, an idea that was often denied by the friends and family of Hamlet that berated him to finish mourning. These factors piled on the young Hamlet to bring out a lunatic and lead to the tragic death of the royal