Guest Blogger - Kelsey G.

While reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet I began to wonder how Shakespeare came to write this play. Some believe that Shakespeare was inspired by the death of his only son Hamnet at the age of 11. However it is more likely that Hamnet’s death inspired some of Shakespeare’s other plays and the similarities in names should be dismissed. It is possible that his death drove Shakespeare to start writing tragedies. Shakespeare’s first plays were comedies and histories such as Richard III, Henry VI, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Merchant of Venice, and Much Ado about Nothing. He then later in life wrote Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and other tragic plays. Critics claim the start of Shakespeare’s tragedy era began his greatest writing. There is also controversy as to who wrote the play. Some believe Shakespeare stole the play and others think he interpreted it from the story of Vita Amlethi. Amleth’s uncle also killed his father to take the throne just like Hamlet’s uncle Claudius who then marries his mother Gertrude. The legend of Amleth was around two centuries before Shakespeare wrote Hamlet leading to the debate of whether it was an original idea and how much, if any influence did Amleth have on the character Hamlet. The most likely source of inspiration is the Ur-Hamlet, A lost play which is believed to be written by Thomas Kyd. Scholars are unsure how much of the Ur-Hamlet Shakespeare used or even if it ever existed. However it remains the most probable inspiration for Hamlet if Shakespeare used one. Many of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around nobility and royalty. He was interested in the succession of Kings and may have found it fascinating to write about an uncle (Claudius) slaying his brother (King Hamlet) to become a king and disrupting the line. The origin of Hamlet proves to be a mystery for scholars and the public but people refuse to let that get in the way of enjoying one of Shakespeare’s most prized plays.