BAKIOĞLU 1

Shakespeare I

Assoc. Prof. Sıla ŞENLEN GÜVENÇ

Ekin BAKİOĞLU

17010554

I. In Castiglione’s The Courtier (1528) on proper etiquette, it is stated that an ideal courtier

should be nobly born, knowledgeable, a good soldier (able warrior, riding, handling weapons
etc.,) with certain social talents (easy conversation, wit, good rhetorical skill, the ability to
entertain ladies) and skill in music and arts. In addition, mildness, defense, and hesitancy are
praised on the part of the inexperienced courtier. Discuss with reference to Hamlet in
Shakespeare’s Hamlet by providing specific examples from the play.

HAMLET AS A RENAISSANCE MAN

Hamlet is both described as revenge and existensialist Shakespearen tragedy. Hamlet

was written down in Elizabethean period when the Renaissance gradually began to show its
effect in the period. Renaissance brings the idea of humanist philosophy, which focuses on the
worthiness of human and human as a unique being. The Renaissance period is described as
the rebirth of classical Greek ideas or it is defined as a return to ancient knowledge.
Renaissance was an interlude between Medieval Ages and Age of Enlightenment. For that
reason, it is seen that Hamlet’s Renissance thoughts clashes with Medieval ideas. However,
Hamlet is an ideal Renaissance man. There are several characteristics of Renaissance man.
Firstly, they should be attentive to their physical appearence and they should have a sense of
fashion. In other words, they should be elegant and stylish. They generally wear darkish
clothes instead of wearing colourful garments. Secondly, a Renaissance man should be
someone who is talented at martial arts in terms of knowing the use of weapons and being
prepared against a sudden attack. Thirdly, a Renaissance man does not accept the ideas and
norms of the period without questioning them, he is someone who has the ability of critical
thinking. Moreover, he should be someone who is acquainted with literature, he must good at
writing verse and prose and using rhetoric effectively. At the same time, his writing should
amuse the ladies. He is someone who must treat ladies gentle and kind. Furthermore, he has to
be someone who pays attention to his physical appearance, he has to be athletic. In addition, a
Renaissance man should be concerned with various kinds of arts. Besides, he has to be the
highly respected member of the society in terms of his behaviours and good conversation.
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Thus, he has to be serve a good model in front of the society. Last but not least, a Renaissance
man should be starving for knowledge and always compelling himself to develop his skills in
all areas of knowledge. Therefore, a Renaissance man must be willing to learning.

Hamlet is a student of philosophy in Wittenberg university. He has a powerful intellect

and he has an enthusiasm for a wide variety of subjects. It is inferred that he adopts
Protestantism even though his ancestors are Catholic. After his father’s death, we see his wish
to turn back to his university. Actually, it shows us his desire for learning and his appetite for
knowledge as a Renaissance man. He says that “Denmark is a prison” because in Denmark he
has no chance to develop his skills. As a Renaissance man, he was affected by the age’s
thought of humanism and it influenced his way of thinking. For example, he quotes that:
“what a piece of work is a man, how noble of work is a man, how noble in reason, how
infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable; in action how like an
angel; in apprehension how like a God: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals. He
points out the man’s value and he emphasizes that man is a God like creation who is almost
perfect. Hamlet, has three crucial soliloquys and whole is about his existansialist pains. Every
monoluge could not be defined as a soliloquy. Soliloquy takes shape when one thought is
discussed in one person’s head. It is required that this decision has to be a complete type of
discussion. Hamlet’s “To be or not to be: that is the question” is the most famous quotation of
his soliloquy in Hamlet. This soliloquy is about existing, human beings, death, being fortune’s
fool or ended up by commiting suicide. This soliloquy refers to the corruption in Denmark.
Besides, it is indicated that the medieval thought about strict belief in after life loses its
significance in Hamlet’s mind. Hamlet as a Renaissance man is always pondering instead of
taking action to avenge his father’s death from his uncle Claudius unlike his counterparts
Leartes and young Fortinbras. He always hesitates and postpones to kill his uncle since he is
an intellectual who is always thinking and trying to find the right solution. He is different
from young Fortinbras and Leartes because they are the medieval characters who fallow code
of chivalry. Hamlet has a different perspective of life since he stucks in a dilemma about
questing to find the meaning and purpose of life for mankind. Hamlet’s inner conflict does not
permit him to get his vengeance from Claudius. Moreover, being a student of philosophy
Hamlet does not acknowledge ghost’s appearance as a fact. He always questions it in his head
because he is a rational thinker. Ophelia mentions in her quotation that he is “scholar’s
tongue”.
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Hamlet has many roles and responsibilities in the play. Hamlet is the prince of
Denmark and probably he is the next ruler. Owing to this, he has a positional role in the
society. He was nobly born. Ophelia identify him “The courtier’s eye” and “Th’ expectancy
and rose of the fair state”. He posses many different skills. Firstly, according to Ophelia’s
quotation he is “the glass of fashion and mold of form”. She refers to Hamlet’s grace and
elegance. Also, Hamlet is known as wearing black. Furhermore, Hamlet is a theatre critic.
Due to the ghost’s accusations of his uncle, he wants to make sure about his uncle’s murder
and he sets up a Mouse trap for him. Actors and actresses of city theatre comes to court to
entertain the King and the Queen. Hamlet wants them to play The Murder of Gonzago. He
leads and gives instructions to them to prepare their play. He has various kinds of approaches
about acting in drama for that reason, he gives suggestions to players about what techniques
they should use and how to act succesfully. It is inferred that Hamlet is qualiefied enough to
administer the theatre players. In this scene, we see employment of a play within the play.
Thanks to this idea, Hamlet could set a trap so as to prove his uncle’s guiltiness by observing
his facial expressions and reactions to the play itself. Also, testing his uncle to make sure of
the situation’s accuracy demonstrates his intellectual mind because an ideal Renaissance man
always seeking the truth by investigations. In addition, it is inferred that Hamlet is a very
skillful poet in the play because he is in love with Polonius’s daughter Ophelia and he writes
sonnets for her to praise her beauty. “Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth
move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love. It evident that Hamlet as a Renaissance
man treating ladies in a pleasent way and thanks to his skills in poetry, he can entertain
Ophelia. In her quotation Ophelia says that “And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, that
sucked the honey of his musicked vows”. Moreover, despite Hamlet’s hesitation to kill his
uncle, he demonstrates his skills in martial arts because he is a very talented swordsman. He
proves his skills when he is able to get rid of pirates thanks to his talents. Besides, towards the
end the play, Leartes challenges him to get his father’s revenge and they fight a duel. By
winning Leartes he proves his military prowess as a solider. According to Ophelia, Hamlet is
“soldier’s sword”. What’s more, a Renaissance man has a special interest in classical
antiquity. In the play, Hamlet mentions about the Greek King Alexander. It is indicated that
he is informed about Greek and Roman stories and characters. Furthermore, Hamlet uses
rhetoric skillfully. Throughout the play, he can express his feelings clearly about his father’s
death and Gertrude’s hasty marriage with Claudius. Also, through his persuasive rhetoric, he
defeats Polonius in their verbal quarrels many times.
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In conclusion, the aim of the essay is to focus on Hamlet as a Renaissance man having
different kinds of talents and skills. He has aristocratic lineage owing to his noble birth.
Hamlet is a well- educated man with analytical intelligence. This is the most significant
quality what makes Hamlet a Renaissance man. He has a humanistic approach to the world
and he has a logical reasoning. In relation to this, he is not a man of action because he is a
deep thinker. Hamlet is physically good looking and dressed well. Also, he has artistic
pursuits. He is a very talented sonnet writer and as a Renaissance man, Hamlet shows up as a
drama critic who has great knowledge about ancient Roman and Greek plays. Besides these,
he uses art of persuasion in an efficient way.