Hamlet by Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hamlet by Shakespeare - Essay Example the period from the 14th up to the 17th centuries, but also a series of works of literature and art with specific characteristics. The Renaissance literature in the west is discussed in this paper. Particular emphasis is given on Shakespeare tragedy and Elizabethan drama. It is proved that Renaissance literature is differentiated from the works of literature of other periods, probably under the influence of the social and cultural trends of the specific period. In any case, it is made clear that the expansion of Renaissance, as a social and political movement, has been strongly supported by the literature of the particular period, as proved through the analysis of the ideas and the trends promoted through the Shakespeare tragedy, the Elizabethan drama and other works of literature that were aligned with the principles of Renaissance. In order to understand the nature and the role of Renaissance literature, it would be valuable to refer to specific works of literature of the specific period. Shakespeare tragedy and Elizabethan drama represent the principles of Renaissance as they have been aligned with the political and social ethics of Britain in the particular period of time. At first level, the following issue should be made clear: western literature has been strongly affected by Renaissance literature as these two types of literature have been developed within the same geographical area. For this reason, Renaissance has managed to influence western literature more than other types of literature developed internationally, for instance the Japanese literature. This phenomenon is highlighted in the study of Moore and Moody (187) and seems to be quite logical, also in terms of the common political and social traditions of western countries. In accordance with Keenan, the Renaissance literature had to faced an important problem: most of the works of literature developed during the particular period proved as ‘not timeless’ (Keenan 38), as initially t hought. It is noted that since the 17th century, the reputation of Renaissance authors, like Shakespeare, started to fell (Keenan 38), a phenomenon that has lasted up to the late 19th century (Keenan 38). Then, the interest for the Renaissance literature and works of literature, like Hamlet, increased significantly. Regarding specifically Hamlet, the specific work of literature was considered as ideal for identifying information related to Elizabethan England of the Renaissance period (Keenan 38). Hamlet, a play that performed for first time approximately at 1600-1601, has been based on the Danish history, a tale initially developed by Grammaticus (Keenan 92). It is explained that Shakespeare has alternated the tale and added a series of events, such as the appearance of the ghost of Hamlet for increasing the elements of tragedy related to the particular story (Keenan 92). These events and dialogues have been considered as necessary in order for tragedy to be increased; at the same time, the response of Hamlet to the events showed the role of revenge, as a tool for enforcing justice, even if this tool is not legally and socially justified. However, given the fact of the development of court corruption in that particular period, as presented through Hamlet, the use of revenge for enforcing justice seems to be appropriate, as this support is reflected in the response of the audience, which tends to support Hamlet. Hamlet, like the other works of Shakespeare, emphasized on tragedy, a fact that has made