Hamlet Theme of Religion

Hamlet is not necessarily a play about "religion" but it does register many of religious ideologies and spiritual anxieties of the 16th century. Here we're talking about the effects of the Protestant Reformation, and Christian ideas about "Mortality" and the afterlife, all of which have major implications for the play's portrayal of the ghost. Hamlet is also interesting for the way it weaves together Christian attitudes toward murder, suicide, and revenge, which don't necessarily square with the basic tenets we typically find in the "Genre" of Revenge Tragedy.

1. Why are the castle guards afraid of the Ghost? What is it? Where does it claim to come from?
2. How do Hamlet's ideas about religion and spirituality shape the way he sees and reacts to the world? Do his attitudes shift throughout the play?
3. What kind of burial is Ophelia given? Why?
4. What does Hamlet mean when he says "we defy augury" at 5.2.37?
5. What kinds of biblical allusions do we find in the play? How do they affect the story?

Hamlet is a play that dramatizes the spiritual uncertainty and religious confusion of sixteenth century Europe.

Shakespeare's play weaves together Christian attitudes toward murder with the classic tenets of revenge tragedy, which can't always be reconciled; this makes the play all the more dramatic and complex.