What Role Does Religion Play In Hamlet

Shakespeare wrote during a time when religious conflicts were plentiful between the catholics and the protestants. This idea of religion carries over to his writing of Hamlet because of how much religious aspects were important in everyday life. Religion plays an important role in the plot of Hamlet impacting the characters and their perception of morality while aso alluding to religious aspects.

One of the ways that religion impacts Shakespeare's Hamlet is by influencing characters reasoning especially in the reasoning of morality. Although most characters are believers of a higher power none of them show as much reasoning as Hamlet. In the beginning of the play he is portrayed as a pious character before he discusses his dissatisfaction of

One of the prime examples of religion's impact on character actions is King Claudius after Hamlet’s play. After seeing a recreation of what he has done he leaves immediately and becomes upset and worried. He begins to understand the immorality of his actions and hastily goes to pray so that if he dies he won't go to hell for killing his own brother. As he thinks about his sin he cries

. As Claudius kneels to pray Hamlet enters and sees his uncle confessing his sins. Having religious knowledge and knowing that if one confesses before death they will be saved, Hamlet changes his plan to kill his uncle. Hamlet knows that his father did not have the time to confess his sins and as a result ended up in purgatory. He decides that it wouldn’t be revenge if he kills Claudius after he confesses sending him straight to heaven while his father spends eternity in purgatory. Instead, he decides to kill him after he has sinned some more so that “ his heels may kick at heaven, / And that his soul may be as damned and black / As hell, whereto it goes” (169). Claudius’s main worry at this point seems to be being able to confess while keeping the things he has gained as a result of the sin. Paul Stegner in his publication of "Try what repentance can": Hamlet, Confession, and the Extraction of Interiority brings up an interesting point about conflicting viewpoints on repentance