Researchers have suspected for many decades that Shakespeare used his plays to comment upon the political climate in England at the moment. During the 16th-17th centuries, government persecution was not uncommon. Also, treason charges could be brought against anyone who spoke poorly of the royals. Shakespeare had to be careful to avoid these consequences when he wrote about the monarchy. Shakespeare’s writings would need to be allegorized through different writing techniques. Hamlet clearly displays these methods. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to allegorize the political climate of his time. Shakespeare uses the Danish setting to comment on political events while also protecting him from being persecuted. Hamlet’s relevance for the monarchy of England and Europe is apparent in the entire text. It gives a clear view of the disloyal tendencies and vindictiveness that European monarchs have. Shakespeare’s political views and religious beliefs are what reveal the motives of his writing this allegorical cryptic text. In Shakespeare’s day, Queen Elizabeth outlawed Catholicism. Shakespeare confessed his Catholicism to be on his deathbed. Davies, who was an Anglican cleric, could not possibly have misrepresented this matter in private notes. And as he resided in Gloucestershire (a county adjacent to his own), he might be echoing local traditions.” Shakespeare’s contradictory religious views led him to disdain Queen Elizabeth for her criticism of Catholicism. Shakespeare’s resentment at the government for outlawing his religion would have been heightened by his forced practice of Catholicism in secret. A strict set of laws on censorship also prevented him from expressing his anger. Shakespeare could not publish anything which was explicitly critical of monarchy. Hamlet’s similarities to the political events of England at that time and their possible connection with Hamlet are unquestionable. Hamlet is about the impact that a weak, feeble king has on his royal family. Queen Gertrude’s character is shown to be one that greatly contributes the tragedy in the play. In an attempt to keep her title of Queen, she incestuously remarries the brother of her recently deceased husband. It is implied that this relationship was once adulterous. Gertrude appears to be unaware, if she is not actively assisting Claudius in his sinister scheme. Gertrude is responsible for the demise of a noble family by failing to stop Claudius and Hamlet from becoming mad. Shakespeare makes his opinions about female monarchs clear by using Gertrude. Shakespeare states his opinion about women explicitly in Hamlet. Shakespeare’s disapproval for Queen Elizabeth is implied by the character of Gertrude. Gertrude and Elizabeth were both controversial monarchs. Gertrude is struggling to keep her throne alive after the death of her husband, and this was a big factor in deciding to marry Claudius. Elizabeth also had to deal with the problem of marrying a European Prince. A civil war or a shift in religious beliefs could occur if she were to die childless. Elizabeth must remain single to maintain her power. But to protect England, she must marry. Hamlet questions Gertrude’s duty and sexuality as a queen, but Queen Elizabeth is also scrutinized. Queen Elizabeth constantly had to maintain her masculine appearance while also balancing a womanly sexuality to be taken as seriously as a ruler. Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare in 1600 was written when Elizabeth was sixty eight years old. By 1600, Queen Elizabeth’s allure had waned and her politics was being questioned. To maintain her political position, Queen Elizabeth used her sexuality as an image to enhance her femininity. Gertrude is also struggling with sexuality as she tries to hold on to the throne. Hamlet premiered three years prior to Queen Elizabeth’s demise. This parallel is striking because both political structures deal with the ageing queen who has sexual issues that affect her status in the monarchy. Shakespeare uses Gertrude as a way to express his opinions about Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare is clear that he believes Queen Elizabeth uses her sexuality as a political tool. Shakespeare would be executed if he wrote about Queen Elizabeth like this in one of his historic plays. Shakespeare had to use a fictional Queen Elizabeth in Denmark as a way to convey his opinion without any consequences. Hamlet is driven by the theme of revenge. Hamlet’s insatiable desire to avenge father justifies all of his actions. The need for revenge and his inability act on this urge led to the deaths of all characters. In a strange coincidence, revenge was also a popular theme during the reign of the monarchy. Prior to Tudor rule, “blood feigns” were common in families. Blood feuds were private acts of revenge where violence was tolerated regardless of legality or guilt. A blood feud allowed those who felt wronged the opportunity to exact revenge on others and themselves, without interference from the state. Queen Elizabeth banned blood feuds in order to assert her power as a state over such individual liberties. Blood feuds are rendered obsolete by the monarchy’s role as a judicial system. The judicial system of the time was often corrupted and ineffective, as it did not prevent violent tendencies in the people. Hamlet is full of conflict, as there’s a battle between a blood-feud, and the context that a ruling, and thus judicial, family. Hamlet technically belongs to the group of people who believe that blood feuds should be avoided and that judicial decisions should instead be made by the family. However, Hamlet believes that he can only avenge his dad through personal, passionate, revenge rather than lawful deliberation. The issues surrounding revenge in England at the time were these. Hamlet uses the theme of revenge to express that judicial justice at the state level is ineffective. Only blood feuds will be able to bring a victim to justice. Shakespeare was dissatisfied with the actions of monarchy and wanted to express his opinion. Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be a powerful and relevant piece of literature for his audience by focusing on the Danish royal family and expanding the British monarchy issues almost to a satirical level. Why would Shakespeare write such a symbolic piece? What was his intention? Shakespeare needed an outlet for his creativity in a period of intrusive government regulations and censorship. Shakespeare was not able to express his disapproval for the government in an online forum. Shakespeare was afraid of being persecuted and couldn’t say a single word against monarchs. Shakespeare was undoubtedly an intelligent man with strong opinions, and this kind of censorship could have been very frustrating for him and the rest of his countrymen. Shakespeare used the plays to show his frustration and disdain towards a government for not allowing him any other means of expressing himself. Shakespeare also had an audience in mind when he wrote. Shakespeare’s plays were based on audience reactions. Hamlet and other topics would have had a powerful effect on the audience. Audiences would have been familiar with issues like an aging queen, a corrupted regime, and revenge as they had lived under the government of Shakespeare. Hamlet’s political setting provides information to the readers that will influence how they view his writings and read them. Shakespeare’s ability to avoid and navigate the consequences of his work is obvious. He is able to communicate ideas through his clever allegory, which he could not do without. Because of the censorship we can only learn so much about this period’s British monarchy. Shakespeare was able, despite the censorship of his time, to produce works that are very significant in terms of historical attitudes. Works Cited Lavery, Hannah. OpenLearn. “Hamlet in Elizabethan England.” The Open University, December 6, 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark. 2nd ed. Ed. W.G. Clark. London: Claredon, 1889. Thurston, Herbert. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. The Robert Appleton Company of New York published this work in 1912. 5 Jan. 2016
.
