by Megan Shaw

Created on: May 15, 2009   Last Updated: May 18, 2009

Hamlet: A look Into Religion and Morality

A young man mourns his father's death while his mother is getting married. One could think this would lead to insanity, but it only leads Hamlet to vengeance. After having been visited by the spirit of his father, Hamlet vows to avenge his father's murder. The murderer is his uncle who is now his mother's new husband. A family that is led by incest, murder, and royalty, can only make for an interesting story. The story however, is more than interesting. It gives you a look into the past. It shows you the struggles of religion and moral values in the late 1500's early 1600's. Although this may have been centuries ago, the thoughts and religious practices of the past had a major impact on the modern day world. The play shows how the Catholic, humanism, and Greek religions impacted the century.

The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, gives us a glance into the religion of the 1500's. This was a key time in religion because it was a time where the Catholic Church was going through reformation. According to Marty, writer of The Christian World: A Global History, the churches in the west were splitting. The Roman Catholic Church was splitting from the other Christians, and the non-Catholic Christians were going against each other. This is where Christianity starts to see its church splitting off into denominations. Most people who stayed in Europe followed the Roman Catholic Church, which is now simply known as Catholicism. There are many lines in the play that show us that Catholicism is present in the play. The first that one can notice Catholicism in the play is where the ghost of the king comes to Hamlet.

"I am thy father's spirit,

Doom'd for a certain term to the night,

And for the day confin'd to fast in fires,

Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature

Are burnt and purg'd away..." (Hamlet lines 10-14).

These lines show a direct reference to time spent in purgatory. In the Catholic Church in order to receive justification one must spend time in purgatory. The ghost also proclaims that he dies without his last rites. Last rites are a tradition in the Catholic Church. They are also known as anointing the sick. Chrysostom, writer of the article, Anointing the Sick, states, "The anointing of the sick is administered to bring spiritual and even physical strength during an illness, especially near the time of death. It is most likely one of the last sacraments one will receive. A sacrament

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