Elizabethan attitudes to revenge were divided; honour demanded it, religion forbad it. How does Shakespeare create powerful drama from such a division?

... Elizabethan attitudes to revenge were divided; honour demanded it, religion forbad it. How does Shakespeare create powerful drama from such a division? During the age of Elizabeth the first, religion was at its strongest. People's views where dictated by the policies and beliefs of the protestant ideal, which where firmly upheld by the ruling monarchy. Due to this strong religious influence forced upon the daily lives of the public, many poets, authors and playwrights contained many references to religious ideals within there works. Shakespeare was no different in this sense, with many of his works containing strong religious connotations referencing to the common beliefs of the people of the day. One ideal in which Shakespeare explores in his plays, and especially focuses on in Hamlet, is revenge, and the moral confrontations surrounding it. In the play Shakespeare examines the conflict between human instinct and religious values when it come to revenge

want to read more? →