Christian Concept Reflected in Hamlet英语专业毕业论文.doc

ContentsAbstract.1Key Words1摘 要1关键字.11. Introduction.12. Essential Concept of Christianity Reflected in Hamlet.22.1 The Direct Embodiment in the Description.22.2 Duel Between Good and Evilthe Issue of Essential Concept of Christianity Reflected in Hamlet.9 2.3 Jesus Reflection on the CharacterHamlet.123. Christian Calvinism Reflected in Hamlet.144. Conclusion.16Bibliography.17Christian Concept Reflected in Hamlet Abstract: Christian concept is the basis and origin of western civilization. At any moment of the history, there will flicker the trace of its development. The paper endeavors to scrutinize the world famous play with the name of Hamlet from the point of view of Christian culture. The play reflects the influence of essential concept of Christianity and Calvinism from the aspects of the language, plot and characters. Therefore, we can regard the classical tragedy in a comprehensive way and tap the latent cultural intensions.Key Words: Christian concept; Hamlet; Calvinism摘 要：基督教思想是西方一切文明的基础与起源。无论在历史的任何时刻，我们都能或多或少地看到它发展的印记。本文拟从基督教文化视角审视千古名典哈姆雷特。这部作品从语言、情节、人物方面都反映了基督教的经典思想及其加尔文思想的影响。进而使我们更加全面的看待古典悲剧，以便挖掘其深度文化内涵。关键字：基督教思想；哈姆雷特；加尔文主义1. IntroductionChristianity is God-oriented. Its doctrine is the Holy Bible. Its concept has always been the basis and origin of other western cultures. The English Renaissance just develops from the seedbed of the concept. During Renaissance period, it first experiences the far-reaching Reformation and English translation of the Bible. The Reformation is mainly against the corruption and extravagance of church and the churchmens exclusive right to interpret the Bible. So the people only admit the basic doctrine of Christianity and the authority of the Bible. On the other side, the tidal wave of Biblical English translation also makes the classic work of Christianity enter into every common British family. In the latter period, there appeared many factions of Protestantism resulted from the Reformation. Among them the Calvinism is the most popular. All these Christian concepts inevitably left the trace on William Shakespeare lived in the era. Shakespeare represents the peak of English Renaissance. He possesses the tinges of humanistic spirit, while his soul is a Christian. This is clearly showed in his works. Hellen Gardner, the professor of Oxford University and academician of the Academy of American Art, called his tragedy “Christian Tragedy” or “Gothic Tragedy”. Hamlet, his first tragedy, is just one representative of this type. Hamlet has a series of changes as a Christian tragedy compared with the early Greek tragedy. It includes the quotation of Bible language and theology, the material derived from history with Christian spirit, the despite of the mortal body etc.2. Christian Essential Concept Reflected in Hamlet2.1 The Direct Embodiment in the Description 2.1.1 Christian “ghost” reflected in HamletHamlet begins with the appearance of the ghost of the Old King. His brother that conceals the crime from everyone murders him. So the author chooses “ghost” to ask his son to revenge. If we purely take the design as the process of anothers writing, it is too oversimple. In fact, the design itself also hints the authors own judgement of values which has rich Christian color.Firstly, ghost has special significance in the Christian theology. We know that the ancient Greek Platos philosophy offers many valuable theories for the Christianity, such as his idealism, teleology, dualism, the ideas of contempt for the material world and immortality of the soul in mythology, and theory of human degradation. All these concepts were learned by Christianity originated in the first of A.D. For the problem of ghost, Plato thought that ghost has existed before it combines with the body and is able to communicate with God by means of some mysterious experience, so it can sublimate from the body. The view was perfected in Christianity later. There exists an idea that the ghost is immortal in Christianity. Even thought it is combined with the body, it can transcend the body and survive independently. This kind of characteristic derived from Gods good graces. That is to say, after God gives a man ghost and body, the immortality of ghost makes itself exist alone beyond the mans entity. Only in this way, Old King can take the form of ghost to request Hamlet to revenge after the death. Ghost is placed between God and people. Meanwhile, according to the monism of God and human, the ghost is just the medium which makes humans actions follow the Gods intention. It solved the problem that human can not meet the God directly but his actions in the order of God. So the ghost stands for God in a sense.2.1.2 Biblical allusion reflected in the languageIn ActScene, Hamlet first appears in the stage. He seems to be sad, angry and miserable, because he suddenly receives the news that his father died and then his uncle married his mother and got the crown in a hurry. He should have studied happily in the University of Wittenberg, but now he has to hasten for funeral of his father with doubts. Facing the cruel reality, he speaks out his grievance:O! that this too too solid flesh would melt,Thaw and resolve itself into a dew;Or that the Everlasting had not fixdHis canon against self-slaughter! O God! O God!How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitableSeem to me all the uses of this worldFrailty, thy name is woman!A little month; or ere those shoes were old With which she followd my poor fathers body,Like Niobe, all tears; why she, even she,married with mine uncle,My fathers brother,O! most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets.Here Hamlets sorrow shows clearly in Shakespeares writing. For one reason, he can not commit suicide due to his Christian beliefs. The Christian creed has constituted a Torahthe probation of suicide, is just that “ the Everlasting had not fixd, his canon against self-slaughter.” It is from chapter of Old Testament. Jehovah formed the man and breathed into the mans nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. So humans life is given by God. Anyone has no right to end his life. The creed also reflects in Ophelias death. She drowns herself and “fordo its own life” as Hamlet says. That is why the priest did not offer her “charitable prayers” or “sing a requiem”.However, the more important reason is his mothers hasty marriage with his uncle. At the moment, he is aware of the darkness and corruption of the court. He hates his uncle and his mother, thinks that she is even inferior to a beast without reason. His mother gets married in the “most wicked speed” and resulted in the “incestuous” marriage. According the British traditional laws and canons, it is incestuous and prohibitive that the widow marries his ex-husbands brother. The religious view is based on the sacred oath of marriage that creates marital relationship and intimate kin. It roots in the Mark of the Bible. Jesus says: “at first creation, a male and a female he made them. And it is said, on account of this state, a man will leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and will become one body. Just so they are no longer two but one body. A person should not split up the one body which God has caused to be joined together Therefore, if a man divorces and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery. Instead if a woman abandoned his husband and marries another man, she also commits adultery.” Such statements about sacred marriage customs have been discussed in the Genesis and the Matthew.Hamlet continues to condemn his mothers betray of the sacred marriage and reveal her incestuous marriage in Act scene. He condemns such an act:“That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,Call virtue hypocrite, takes off the roseFrom the fair forehead of an innocent love And sets a blister there, makes marriage bows As false as dicers oaths; O! such a deedAs from the body of contraction plucksThe very soul, and sweet religion makesA rhapsody of words; heavens face doth glow, Yea, this solidity and compound mass, With trustful visage, as against the doomIs thought-sick at the act.In Act scene, Hamlet bids farewell to Claudius in an ironic way before he is sent to England. He calls Claudius as his mother and explains: “my mother: father and mother is man and wife, man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother.” Hamlet conveys his condemnation that the marriage between his mother and his uncle violates the bible and canons, now we can conclude that Hamlet is familiar with the Bible and can handle it very skillfully. The Bible is the guide and yardstick of his thoughts and actions.As we know, the serpent is always an important image in the Bible. It usually alludes to temptation, cheat and treachery because of the well-known story in the Old Testament. Jehovah made a man and a woman named Adam and Eve. They lived happily and leisurely in the Paradise. They could eat fruit from the trees in the garden except the one that Jehovah had forbidden them to eat. Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals that Jehovah has made. He said to Eva: “You will not surely die to eat the fruit from the tree, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to Adam, who was with her and he ate it. This is the famous source of original sin. It was the serpent that caused the sin. So the serpent is the most evil image in Christian concept.In the play, Hamlet refers to the serpent twice. The fist is in Act Scene. We know that Old King is stung by a serpent and then dies. Why is he killed by a serpent not other animals? If we go on to read the play, we can find the answer in the view of Christian concept. “ Tis given out that, sleeping in mine orchard,/ A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Demark/ Is by a forged process of my death/ rankly abusd; but know, thou noble youth,/ The serpent that did sting thy fathers life/ Now wears his crown.” The author delicately designs every detail and neatly compares Claudius with “his crown” to the serpent. Claudius kills Old King and cheats his subject to cover the real reason. He is just the serpent.The second time is in Act Scene. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were once Hamlets schoolfellows and friends. However, they bow to Claudius command and become his minions later. They help Claudius poke into the reason of Hamlets madness and send Hamlet to England with a secret letter written by Claudius. Facing their treachery of the friendship, Hamlet scolds them “adders”. The two “adders” will “marshal” him to “knavery”.Hamlet has ever fought a battle of wits against the two betrayed friends in ActScene. Here he borrows the allusion that human being is molded by the dust. The Genesis has said: “Jehovah formed the man from the dust of the ground.” Hamlet exerts perfectly the view. He says: “And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me.” This speech covers skillfully his real thoughts. In addition, after Hamlet kills Polonius, everyone of the court seeks the body of Polonius. When Rosencrantz asks Hamlet, Hamlet says: “Compounded it with dust, where to tis kin.” The clever speech seems naturally to be spoken by a madman. It seems that he kills Polonius in confusion.There is another allusion of Old Testament obviously reflected in the same scene. During Hamlets madness, he meets Polonius and says: “O, Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure hadst thou!” What is the treasure of Jephthah? According to the Judges from Old Testament, Jephthah is one of twelve judges of Israel. He has made a vow for a battle. If he wins the battle, he will offer the first person to meet him as sacrifice. Unfortunately, his only daughter is the first one to welcome him. So his daughter is just the treasure to offer for God. He calls Polonius Jephthah and asks “his treasure”. In deed he is asking Polonius daughterOphelia. At the moment, he is mad and can not directly ask Polonius about his daughter like a normal dialogue. So he pretends to mistake Polonius as Jephthah, and then refers to his daughter. Here Hamlet draws support from the allusion of the Bible to express his affection towards Ophelia.Although he loves Ophelia so much, he can not tell her directly. On the contrary, he speaks some sharp words instead of the sweet words from the bottom of his heart, when he meets Ophelia face to face. He once said in Act Scene: “I have heard of your paintings too, well enough; GodHath given you one face, and you make yourselves another:You jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nickname GodsCreatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance.”He does not mean to Ophelia but other people and circumstance around him. Now he is indignant at the dark reality of Denmark, the incestuous marriage of his mother and the treachery of his friends, etc.It is self-evident that these words also reflect the content of the Bible. The first chapter of Old Testament says: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” God makes men in his own image, in his likeness, and let them rule over other creatures. Surely, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” However, the people that Hamlet faces have been not the original images that God gave. They make up their faces with “paintings” and make themselves others. They “jig”, “amble”, “lisp” and “nickname Gods creatures”. So they are no longer “very good” that God thinks of, but the part of the distorted world that cause Hamlets suffering. At the moment, Hamlet hates, complains and scolds. This is not only his resistance from the language, but also the important step in the development of his personality. This indicates the implementation of his resistance.The author invokes stories of the Bible no more than one occasion in Act. In scene he employs the allusion on other characters. For instance, Claudius offers prayers here saying: “O! my offence is rank , it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upont; A brothers murder!”Claudius obviously mentions his action and Cains of the Bible in the same breath. According to the forth chapter of the Genesis, Adam and Eve have