Hamlet's Crisis

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet has an ongoing struggle with worldview/philosophy/religion which he must resolve in order to fulfill his "duty" to his diseased father and determine his own eternal state after death.

In understanding Hamlet's dilemma, it is necessary to first understand the context of his times. The play is written in the context of the medieval times, when two religions were dominant; that is Catholicism and Protestantism. The Catholics believed that before death, a person must be "shrived" of their sins (or must have time to repent and be cleansed). If a person died without having performed this essential step, and if they were not bad enough to go to hell, their soul would find itself in Purgatory in order to burn its sins away so that it would eventually be qualified to enter into heaven. Therefore, it was possible for souls from Purgatory to appear as ghosts to give warning to the living. The Catholics also believed that a person who committed suicide would not be allowed entrance into heaven. The Protestants believed that an individual is saved through grace alone by faith alone, and therefore, if one was saved, one would go immediately to heaven after death. In the Protestant worldview, ghosts did not appear, but demons might possibly reveal themselves in order to deceive humans.

In the beginning, Hamlet's religious stance is revealed through his desire to study at Wittenberg (a place that would be associated, in the minds of Shakespeare's audience, with Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation). The king addresses Hamlet's "intent in going back to school in Wittenberg" in Act I (I, ii, 12-13).

When the ghost appears to him and speaks to him, Hamlet seems to be more swayed toward the Catholic belief. Hamlet is convinced that the ghost is his father and went the ghost entreats that Hamlet remember him, Hamlet replies "Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat in this distracted globe" (I, v, 96-97).

Even so, Hamlet is not completely free of doubt. After the players come and play Hecuba and Priam, Hamlet discourses with himself, speculating that "the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power t' assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy...abuses me to damn me" (II, ii, 526-531). Because of this, Hamlet devises a way to test the spirt by asertaining that it told him the truth.

Before the play occurs, Hamlet contemplates whether he should commit suicide. However, he is uncertain of "what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil" (III, i, 67). Hamlet is very confused as to which worldview is correct. Were he to take his own life, the Catholic view would condemn him eternally, whereas, in the Protestant view, although killing is wrong, it would not force him into hell. The conclusion which Hamlet reaches is undecided, for "concience does make cowards of us all" (84).

After the play verified the ghost's word, Hamlet concludes "I'll take the ghost's word for a thousand pound" (III, ii, 250).

Soon after, Hamlet is prepared to kill Claudius while he is lammenting his sin. However, Hamlet realizes that Claudious would then be sent straight to heaven (III, iii, 74-87). Therefore, he resolves to take his life while Claudious is sinning and send him to hell (89-95). This demonstrates the Catholic worldview because a Protestant would not believe that salvation can be taken away, and that what a person is doing at a given moment can change the state of their salvation.

Thus, Hamlet continues in the Catholic mindset for a time, and even sees the ghost again while he is talking to his mother. However, the murder of Polonious by Hamlet begins a gradual change once again. He seems hardly sufficiently remorseful for the murder of Polonious, who did not have any direct part in the King and Queen's sins, and he speaks of him in physical terms, without much mention of where his soul migt suffer or rest. Hamlet tells the King that Polonious is at supper and goes on to describe what happens to a man after he dies; "We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service--two dishes, but one table. That's the end" (IV, iii, 20-24). In other words, Hamlet is saying, it doesn't matter what a person is in life, everyone will face death and everyone will end the same, as food for worms. This is all very secular humanistic because humanists only look at the world from a purely physicas perspective and they insist that there is no supernatural.

Again in the cemmetary, Hamlet reveals his new humanist bent as he speculates on who the bones were before they died and reflecting on their fate now, that they must be kicked around in the dirt. He tells Yorick "Where be your gibes now?... Not one now, to mock your own grinning? Quite chopfallen? Now get you to my lady's chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come" (V, i, 152-155). Again he addresses the idea that once a person dies, it doesn't matter what they were in life, in death they will all be the same.
Hamlet continues in this mindset, even telling Horatio about his murder of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with evident pleasure.

Even so, his view shift yet again when he feels his death approaching, and he turns once again to the spiritual side. He assures Horatio that "there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow" (V, ii, 185-186), alluding to a passage from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

Finally, after Hamlet has died, Horatio bids him goodbye saying, "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" (V, ii, 327-328). By these words, it is implied that Hamlet's soul went directly to heaven and to his eternal peace.