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Values And Beliefs In Shakespeare's Hamlet

1262 Words6 Pages

Values and beliefs are defining principles of the way in which we view a person, action or relationship. Often, we are encouraged to think again about these values and beliefs, after being exposed to challenging and insightful events, people, or material. William Shakespeare's tragedy, “Hamlet,” written in the Elizabethan era, encourages us to think about our values and beliefs surrounding revenge, love and loyalty. After examination of these concepts, the reader develops new insights into their values and beliefs, and come to fully support the statement that “ the most significant texts encourage us to think again about our values and beliefs.”

The reader's beliefs of revenge are re-assessed following Hamlets meeting with the ghost of King Hamlet. In Act One scene five, Hamlet states “ o villain, villain, smiling damned villain.” The …show more content…

The reader comes to develop new insights into the world around us, portraying a theme “ that things are not always as they seem.” The reader realises that beliefs and values may change when we are exposed to insightful and challenging material, both in life and in reading Hamlet. The deterioration in Hamlet's character and good spirit shows us that while acts such as revenge may entail negativity and danger, there may be benefits to individual people that we do not see. The importance of trust in the phenomenon of love is made clear to the reader, and we realise that trust is required in any sort of stable relationship. The reader is also informed about loyalty and we realise that loyalty can be a bad thing if shown in an excessive or inappropriate way. The reader completes their examination of the Hamlet tragedy, and we agree that Hamlet is a significant text, as it encourages us to think again about our values and

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