Student # 6

April 26th 2014

ENG 205

To critique Hamlet with a Historical and Biographical approach, or not to critique Hamlet

with a Historical and Biographical approach?

A plethora of insights are gained by reading William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

through a Historical and Biographical approach. This essay seeks to highlight the ways in

which said approach heightens one’s understanding of the renowned play. Firstly, it will

provide an in depth explanation of the basic tenets of the approach. It will then apply

these tenets to Hamlet, thus providing an analysis via a Historical and Biographical

Approach. Ultimately, the goal of this essay is to exemplify the number of ways in which

a critical approach can improve one’s comprehension of a text.

In A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Wilfred L. Guerin states that

a Historical and Biographical Approach basically, “sees a literary work chiefly, if not

exclusively, as a reflection of its author’s life and times or the life and times of the

characters in the work” (51 Guerin). In other words, this type of critic would analyze a

piece of literature as if it were a historical document. Historical and Biographical critics

rely heavily on a multitude of extrinsic factors such as the culture, issues, and the

upbringings of an author.

Oftentimes it is the case that a meaningful work of literature serves as a critique

or an attack on a social standard. Therefore, by approaching a text with certain pieces of

information about an author’s life and with the knowledge of what important social

events were unfolding during his or her time could significantly benefit one’s
comprehension of a text. T.S. Eliot stated that “No poet, no artist of any art, has his

complete meaning alone” (from Tradition and the Individual Talent). Here, Eliot suggests

that the endless amount of stories found in literature is nothing without extrinsic

situations and events. It is when one associates these circumstances with a literary work

that one obtains more meaning. For example, an author’s political or religious beliefs

could have definitely influenced their writings. Many critics maintain that by focusing on

a text’s historical and biographical background, not only can one gain better

understanding, but also appreciation.

By investigating the cultural, social, and intellectual context of an author’s

biography and milieu, readers have the potential of enhancing their appreciation of

different literary eras. A key aspect that historical and biographical critics look for in

literature is the intended affect that a text had on its original readers. They like to find the

answers to when, where, and why a document is written. Looking into the time period in

which a piece of literature is written could definitely clarify things such as the purpose of

a text. Moreover, by doing so, one can gain more insight into the author’s personal life

and the lives of those living in the same time period. A historical and biographical

approach provides readers with an opportunity to experience other cultures. In addition, it

allows one to compare and appreciate the past and the present.

Born around 1564 to a glove maker in Stratford-upon-Avon, Egnland, William

Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and even an actor. He is known throughout

the world as one of the top writers in the history of the English language. He wrote

roughly 38 plays, and 154 sonnets. When he turned 18, he married an older woman

named Anne Hathaway. Together they were able to produce three children, Susanna,
Judith, and of course Hamnet. Shakespeare’s earlier plays were for the most part

comedies. It was not until his son Hamnet had died during the later half of his career, that

Shakespeare started to write tragedies. One could speculate that his only son’s death

heavily influenced Shakespeare’s writings. To state the obvious, even the name of the

play Hamlet, hints to the fact that Hamnet’s death or even his life had to do something

with the makings of Shakespeare’s work. He may or may not have written the play as a

coping mechanism. The feelings of doubt, misfortune, and uncertainty that Hamlet felt

about his father, could have very well been the same feelings that Shakespeare felt about

his son’s untimely death. One could make the conjecture that Shakespeare may have

reacted similarly to the way Hamlet did. Hamlet’s overwhelming degree of uncertainty

about his father’s murderer and the visitation from his father’s ghost might signify

Shakespeare’s inability to see things clearly when his own son had passed. All in all, the

relationship between the death of Hamlet in the play and Hamnet, give reason to believe

that there are more details that could be seen as a reflection of Shakespeare’s life.

Through much research of William Shakespeare’s life and of the influential

figures of his time, one can better analyze the various amounts of characters seen in

Hamlet. There are grounds to believe that the characterization of Polonius’ daughter

Ophelia was heavily influenced by the Earl of Essex. In the play, Hamlet and Ophelia are

known to be past lovers. Ophelia was once the focus of Hamlet’s affection, until she let

her father get in the way of things. By listening to Polonius’ crazy commands, Ophelia

manages to ruin her relationship with Hamlet. Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship seems

to be indicative of relationship between Queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Essex. At one

point in time, the Queen had shown great favoritism towards the Earl. However, after
doing something that the Queen did not like, the Earl of Essex was tried for treason and

was eventually executed. Furthermore, Ophelia’s father Polonius can be seen as a

reflection of Burghley, who was the Lord Treasurer during the time of Shakespeare. It

could be said that Shakespeare was not fond of Burghley. Many of his characteristics can

be seen through Polonius. Both men were seen as boring and meddling. There are many

instances in the play where Hamlet insults Polonius’s intelligence. In Act II scene two,

Hamlet is seen speaking with Polonius. This is one of many scenes where Hamlet acts

“crazy.” When Polonius asks if he knows him, Hamlet responds with the very famous

line, “You are a fishmonger.” Although Hamlet mocks him and indirectly calls him a

pimp, Polonius is totally unaware of what is going on. In addition, Burghley would

oftentimes hire spies to keep him informed about his allies and his enemies just as

Polonius sought the help of Reynaldo to spy on his daughter and Hamlet.

The period in which Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in is called the Elizabethan era.

Therefore, historical and biographical critics would definitely look into how Elizabethan

audience lived their lives. Having rigid social classes was one of the many components

that were characteristic to Shakespeare’s time. For example the relationship between

Ophelia and Hamlet greatly emphasizes the barrier between social classes during the

Elizabethan era. Hamlet was the great prince of Denmark, while Ophelia was simply the

daughter of the king’s servant. By knowing this important piece of information, one gets

a better understanding of why Polonius was so disapproving of Ophelia’s affection

towards Hamlet. Polonius felt that Ophelia did not have a chance with someone who was

of such a higher social class. Another key aspect of the Elizabethans is their devotion to
Christianity. There are a multitude of allusions of Christianity throughout the play. For

example, Claudius exclaims in Act III scene three,

Thanks, dear my lord. O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; My fault is past.

But, O, what form of prayer can serve my turn? Forgive me my foul murder?

Help, Angels! Make assay… My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; Words

without thoughts never to heaven go. (Shakespeare)

Here, Claudius’ words display a variety of Christian tenets. For instance, he speaks about

the idea of heaven, which is where Christians were to go if they repented and followed

God’s commandments. He struggles to find it in his heart and in his conscience to receive

forgiveness. He cannot even think of any sort of prayer that could save him from what he

has done. Finally, he asks for help from the angels, but he cannot get the notion that he

killed somebody out of his head. Through a Christian perspective, Claudius’ conscience

is tainted because he committed a mortal sin.

As previously stated, it is of great importance to understand the culture, setting

and time period of the text and of the author’s life. Therefore, when reading Hamlet, one

should read up on the Elizabethan era and try to understand the system of Danish court

life. For example, one should become acquainted with the succession to the throne to

better understand Hamlet’s situation. Despite the fact that Hamlet was the only son in his

family, during Shakespeare’s time the heir to the Danish throne was to be elected by a

royal council, which was mainly composed of powerful land owning nobility. It is

important to know that Hamlet was not the rightful heir to the Danish throne. If one

believed that Hamlet was in fact the true heir, because of the custom of the throne’s
descending to the oldest son as they do in England, then one would focus on the fact that

Claudius not only killed Hamlet’s father, but also took what was rightfully his.

There are a number of ways in which a reader can approach a text. This essay

demonstrated the ways in which a text can be critiqued through the historical and

biographical approach. It overlaid the basic tenets of said approach and then it applied it

to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. By using historical and biographical approach

methods, this essay emphasized the importance of understanding a text through first

understanding the author’s life. Ultimately, the historical and biographical approach has

the capability to heighten any reader’s understanding and appreciation for any literary

work.
 Works Cited

Guerin, WILFRED L. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. N.p.:

Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

Shakespeare, William, and David M. Bevington. Hamlet. Toronto: Bantam, 1988. Print.