This document provides a historical and biographical analysis of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. It discusses how the play was influenced by Shakespeare's life and the time period in which he lived. Specifically, it notes that Shakespeare lost a son named Hamnet around the same age as the character in the play. It also discusses how the setting of Elsinore Castle was based on a real castle in Denmark. Finally, it mentions that during Shakespeare's era, women were not allowed to be actresses, as reflected by the all-male cast in Hamlet.

1. Historical and Biographical Approach on Hamlet
By: Ma. Cristina D. Panganoran
Hamlet is one of the most popular plays Shakespeare ever created. The plots
vary from comedy to tragedy. The personalities that progress from humorous to
heartbreaking characters make the story come alive, the wonderful cast that the brilliant
writer, William Shakespeare had created not only touched our hearts but remained in
our memory until now. Not only do we remember the stories but we remember the
people and sometimes even the famous lines like “This above all: To thine own self be
true”. The words used in the play are spoken in old English language just like in
Shakespeare’s own era.
Looking back at the setting of the play, we will notice that the time when
Shakespeare lived must be a place where kings and queens rule so it would most likely
result to a play with settings of a castle like in Hamlet. There is a theory that Elsinore
Castle in the play Hamlet has immortalized Kronborg Castle which was used as its
model. It was built between 1574 and 1585 in the town of Helsingør on the extreme
northeastern tip of Zealand. The castle has been one of the most significant Renaissance
castles in Northern Europe for centuries.
Shakespeare married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. The
couple may have arranged the ceremony in some haste, since the Worcester chancellor
allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times. Anne's
pregnancy could have been the reason for this. With regards to the characters in his
play, this also would be another similarity in the play Hamlet, where a hasty marriage
is involved. Six months after the marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Susanna.
Twins, son ‘Hamnet’ and daughter Judith followed almost two years later. Hamnet
died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried on 11 August 1596.
Shakespeare lost one of the twins and the particular twin was named Hamnet.
The great bard must have wanted to name the main character in the play Hamnet but
somehow it was changed to Hamlet. Since Hamlet died in the play as his son Hamnet
died, maybe the play had something to do with Shakespeare real life. Maybe he used
this play to cope with the death of his son or it could be that this play is dedicated for
Hamnet his son who died at a young age.
One particular thing I noticed with Hamlet is the part where he invited the
travelling actors, it displays that only men are allowed to become actors, and this is also
true in the era of Shakespeare. At his time, women weren’t allowed to be an actress. If
you noticed, a man played the character of Gertrude in the movie Hamlet. To end my
analysis, the play is very much in touch with the writer’s personal experience, social life
and environment during his time.