Alright people, question of the night for all the wondering souls out there, “Why did Shakespeare write Hamlet?”
Rather unfortunately, I was not able to get an answer directly from the writer himself because they wouldn’t let me in through the gates of Heaven. But, I did the research and here are the findings I have to share with you all.
Inspiration Behind the Writing of Hamlet
Hamlet, like Romeo & Juliet, also carries a tragic tonality with it. And for those of you who did not know this before, Hamlet is also referred to as “The Tragedy of Hamlet; Prince of Denmark”.
Also, as is the case with most of Shakespeare’s prominent works, the exact timing for Hamlet’s inking is not known but the common consensus says it was sometime amid 1599 & 1601; right at the turn of the 17th century. And quite similar to the way that the date is disputed, so are the reasons that influenced Shakespeare to write Hamlet.
Various Reasons Behind Hamlet’s Penning
Some are of the opinion that Shakespeare used Hamlet as a metaphor to highlight the tensions that existed and arose during the “English Reformation” that delved in to whether Catholics were legitimate or the Protestants. Shakespeare, quite outstandingly, brings both beliefs together in the play.
Others say that Shakespeare simply copied and plagiarized another play which went under the title of ‘Ur-Hamlet’. The original copy of this particular play is nowhere to be found and was believed to have been a work of the medieval Elizabethan days.
And lastly, there is a faction that accepts the fact that Shakespeare was driven by the demise of his eleven year old son Hamnet. Hamnet was Shakespeare’s only male off spring and his untimely passing away at such a tender age left the father in a state of despair and it is in that very moment of bereavement that he conceived the idea of writing down Hamlet.
The question is SERIOUS. The answers seem to have been produced by someone with the mind of a 10 year old child. This style of writing is annoying – VERY annoying!
We can agree to disagree Prof. O’ neil :). .. yes while you are right in saying that the question indeed is a serious one, the fact that the above passage answers it should be enough to satisfy the curious soul. If you wish to get answers beyond that, perhaps a visit to the library wouldn’t be such a bad idea :) … good luck with your endeavors in life!
I’m with Ozzy on this one. Prof O’Neil I never knew that 10 year old’s had their own style of writing??? I don’t think that 10 year olds will know words such as “bereavement” and phrasing such as “carries a tragic tonality.” Ozzy is 100% right. The passage gives the answer that people want. It certainly gave me the answer that I needed and like Ozzy suggested, if you aren’t happy with the answer then go do the research yourself. You’re a ‘professor’, so I’m sure you understand the word resarch.
The beauty of life is that we can ‘agree to disagree’. Disagreement gives room to both debate & further research that helps us for future endeavors. Good luck to both Prof O’ Neil and Jay; God bless you :)
I guess this is OK but why did Shakespeare want to write about the English reformation? Was he religious and maybe he wanted it to enter readers mind subconsciously?