What do you mean by "context"? There is an historical
context, religious context, literary context, philosophical context, political context,
etc. Since your questions also refer to justice and revenge, I might assume that you are
referring to the political or historical context, or religious context, correct? If this
is not correct, please re-post your question and be more
specific.
During the middle ages and beyond, monarchs were
seen as being God's representatives on earth and having what was referred to as "divine
right of rule." Unfortunately, most monarchs abused this power and the power was
unchcked. Killing a king, however, was a very, very big deal, so Hamlet's hesitation to
kill his uncle is understandable. That is why the murder of King Duncan in
Macbeth is also very odious. So the political context of
Hamlet is that it was written most likely while Queen Elizabeth I
was still the reigning monarch in England. She happened to be one of the monarchs that
actually cared about her people, so Hamlet's hesitation and moral ambiguity in avenging
his father's death is significant. This is often underestimated by modern readers who
believe Hamlet was weak because he hesitated so long before taking action against
Claudius.
The other significant "context" to this play
would be religious. During Elizabethan times, people believed that vengeance belonged to
God, not man, and that any vengeance carried out by man had to be in accordance with the
will of God, or God-ordained. Again, Hamlet is troubled by his conflict over justice and
revenge - he seeks justice, but is it up to him to avenge his father's death? Should he
leave that up to God? Notice that Hamlet does not want to kill Claudius while he is
praying because he fears that Claudius might go to heaven if he dies while in prayer (a
mis-interpretation of Christianity, however).
If this is
not what you are seeking, please re-post your question.
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