There is a clash of cultures in “Hamlet”: the medieval traditions of revenge and the more modern renaissance thinking. How does this influence Hamlet’s thinking and actions?
'Hamlet' starts off as a typical Revenge Tragedy. After the death of his father, Hamlet is told to seek revenge by his fathers ghost. A contemporary medieval approach to this problem would be to attain a quick, bloody act of what would be considered, righteous retribution. However, Hamlet constantly struggles to justify his actions and keep a clear conscience. For these reasons, Hamlet represents the new, renaissance ideals.
The renaissance came about partly due to the findings of Capernicus who put forward the theory of a spherical earth. It was a time of great contemplation and a philosophical attitude to life. Hamlet embodies these renaissance ideals in every aspect of his life. Shakespeare has portrayed this in many ways. Hamlets clarity of language and articulacy is far in advance of other characters. He is also constantly writing things down and will only act on something once he has seen it written on paper. For instance, after first meeting the ghost he writes all that he has said down, a rather strange thing to do after seeing the ghost of your dead father. A typical medieval Revenge Hero would have gone out and instantly extracted a gruesome and bloody revenge without considering the consequences.
