Hamlet

1
Hamlet

• And the revenge tragedy tradition

2
What is a revenge tragedy?

• A Renaissance form, it begins in the Tudor period
  during the flowering of drama in the generation
  before Shakespeare arrives in London (1570s and
  80s)
• Typical revenge tragedies become tragic because
  all choices open to the protagonist are dangerous
  or sinful to choose to revenge oneself is
  always un-Christian.

3
Typical revenge tragedy plot

• Protagonist discovers that a death he had
  believed to be natural was murder but that no
  legal recourse is open to him
• No one else knows or believes it was murder
• The Murderer is himself the figure that is
  supposed to dispense Justice
• Another loved or important innocent person will
  suffer when the murder is avenged
• Loads of people die.

4
Typical Revenge tragedies dilemmas

• How does one reconcile being a good Christian
  (forgiving ones enemies) with being obliged to
  avenge murdered kin?
• What happens when doing a good thing bringing
  punishment to a murderer has unintended bad
  results (to those loved innocent people)?
• How does one learn how to judge a persons
  goodness by his outer appearance?

5
How does Hamlet move beyond these dilemmas?

• As the first modern literary character, Hamlet
  is created with a human psychological complexity
• In Hamlet, audiences first get the idea that
  motivation is complex b/c characters with exactly
  the same motivation act differently
• Hamlet gives us characters who are both good and
  evil in complex ways