Personality Traits of Hamlet in Elizabethan Drama

An analysis of Hamlet’s personality traits

At the beginning of the play, Hamlet makes a statement talking about mankind, but also referring to himself. This helps us to understand that Hamlet should not be blamed entirely for his faults and that we should not take into account that on many occasions he cannot control his actions because he was born with these flaws. Hamlet’s fundamental flaw is his inability to act. And, through this big flaw, he reveals other faults in his character, like his impulsiveness. He also may be accused of thinking too much about the consequences and never getting around to doing anything. And, Hamlet’s final most significant flow is his callousness, particularly directed towards Ophelia. However, we see clearly that he loved Ophelia when he argues with Laertes about her in Ophelia’s grave scene.

Elizabethan period

Covering most of the reign of Elizabeth I. Main playwrights: The “University Wits”, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare.

Jacobean period

Reign of James I. Main playwrights: William Shakespeare, Ben Jhonson, George Chapman, Thomas Dekker, John Marston, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont, William Rowley and Philip Massinger.

Caroline period

Reign of Charles I. Main playwrights: Philip Massinger, John Ford, Richard Brome and James Shirley.

The alliterative revival

In Anglo- Saxon poetry alliterative verse is the main metrical resource. Rhyme took the leading role in Middle English poetry the south of England. Middle English poetry relied exclusively on rhyme. The main representative poets of the northern were William Langland and Gawain-Poet.

William Langland Langland’s life

• Likely he was born in the West of Midlands.
• In the poem Piers Plowman he offers some autobiographical information about himself: he had a wife and a child, he was tall...
• He seems familiar with the neighborhoods of London.
• He must have been a cleric of the minor class.

Pliers Plowman - The Vision of Piers Plowman is a verse allegros in the form of a dream vision described by the narrator, the Dreamer. Dreams visions were popular in the Middle Ages because dreams were believed to describe a real event or a truth. This work is divided into a number of “passus” three versions (a, b and c). This work follows the literary fashion of the Alliterative Revival to perfection.

A) The Prologue: The Field of Folk.

• The narrator is critical towards the Church, often accused of corruption.
• A moderate anti- clerical feeling that links the author to the philosophy of Wyclif and the Lollards.
• This work had a great influence on the rebels of the pleasant’s Revolt.

B) Social criticism: an estate satire.

• Langland uses the A Fair Full of Folk prologue to describe the social panorama of 14th century- England form a critical perspective.
• In the narrator’s dream vision he remarks on some chosen members of society, but many other negative commentaries on most of the others.
• The narrator speaks what he sees in his sleep.
• Among the innocent characters are the workers who work hard.
• Langland blames the Church and the secular classes because they don’t live according to Jesus Christ’s percepts.
• Immoral members of society are lawyers, sergeants- at- law.
• Secular characters also deserve the author’s criticism for their various sins. They are criticized for their inefficiency.