Context:
At the time when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet the presentation
of purgatory was controversial. Purgatory is very much part
of Catholicsm and in the sixteenth century, with the growth
of Protestantism, many people abandoned the idea. Yet here
is purgatory presented on stage in a very serious way. Claudius
speaks of death in a more Protestant voice - it just happens
and you have to accept it. There is of course an irony in
his reason for not wanting to dwell on the implications of
death. |
