What Role Does Religion Play In Hamlet

The significance of religion in Hamlet influences characters motives and decisions. There is a range of different types of literary theories investigates the role of religion from the characters in Hamlet and their actions. William Shakespeare allows religion to come between decisions in order for the reader to understand the characters motives.

In the time of Hamlet, religion plays a crucial role. According Alsaif Omar, Hamlet contemplates the possibility of suicide in his soliloquy “ To be or not to be.” It shows that Hamlet wanted to commit suicide, he was trying to figure out whether or not he wanted to die. At the end of his speech, he stops himself from suicide, realizing committing suicide as a Christian is a huge sin. Making

Horatio, Before my own God, I might not this believe, without the sensible and true avouch, of my eyes.” at this moment according to Alsaif Omar believes that at this moment in Hamlet there is a sense of belief of existence of the ghost. They wouldn’t have believed the ghost was true until they witnesses seeing it with their own eyes. Believing in the existence of the ghost goes against religion beliefs. However seeing the ghost confirmed it was real, which led them to think still in the religious idea that it's a ghost from hell and it’s stuck down there due to its sins. Even though the ghost was seen, strong religion beliefs managed to still affect how the situation was perceived. Because of this newly raised questions of

Hamlet makes references of christian ideas in the early modern period. One of the religious questions is where the ghost of Hamlet’s father comes from. Hamlet doesn't know whether the ghost is a spirit of demon. “I am thy father's spirit, doomed for a certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature are burnt and purged away.” This shows that Hamlet's father is stuck in a religious ideal. Heaven for the good, Hell for the sinful, purgatory for those with unfinished business. He knows purification achieves holiness to enter Heaven, but the ghost request contradicts his religion., According to Richard Baxter, the ghost appears to not come from Heaven or Hell but from purgatory saying “I am your father’s spirit doomed from a certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires. Purgatory was a place where sins could be atoned after death. However According to Richard Baxter, Hamlet’s ideas of heaven are flawed and his refusal to murder Claudius during prayer because that would send Claudius soul to heaven. Having a better understanding of why Hamlet didn’t murder Claudius right then in there, grew an even bigger understanding of God and religion in Hamlet Shakespeare to the reader. Hamlet would of killed Claudius but religion played a leading role which impacted him from doing that. Hamlet knows if he murdered