Where Did Hamlet Go To School (Shakespeare’s Hamlet)

If you’re looking for all the basic details of the play Hamlet, such as who Hamlet was, where he attended school, and other questions, this post is certainly for you.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most well-known fictional dramas.

Where Did Hamlet Go To School?

Hamlet studied at the university of Wittenberg, Germany. The intellectual community welcomed Hamlet wholeheartedly. Berlin and its environs are situated on the Elbe River, which runs east to west and links to the North Sea.

Where is Hamlet’S University Located?

Saxony-Anhalt is where the University of Wittenberg is situated.

Who is Hamlet?

Not at all a bad inquiry!  Hamlet is the main character in Shakespeare’s tragedy. Hamlet is a cherished prince as well as a reflective, depressed young man. Hamlet’s grief over the passing of his father is only exacerbated by his uncle Claudius’ ascension to the throne and subsequent marriage to his mother.

Hamlet was a student at Wittenberg University when his father, the King of Denmark, passed away unexpectedly. The king was thought to have been bitten by a snake, but in reality, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, who had all too suddenly married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, after the king’s passing, had poisoned him.

Hamlet is a thoughtful and knowledgeable young man who attended Wittenberg University. He occasionally exhibits impulsive and irresponsible behavior.

As he contemplates whether and how to get retribution for the passing of his father, he struggles early on in the play with his sanity. By the end of the tragedy, Polonius, Laertes, Claudius, and childhood companions Rosencrantz and Guildenstern had all perished at the hands of Hamlet.

WHAT YEAR WAS HAMLET BORN?

King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude, who ruled Denmark until their deaths in 1367, brought their son into the world in about 1348. Many people believe that the first four acts of Hamlet’s play give the impression that he is a young man, a student and that his friends are also young.

Act V, based on the observations of the gravedigger Clown, conveys the idea that Hamlet is 30 years old. Shakespeare may have thought it was more dramatic to make Hamlet 30 years old, or he may just have forgotten or didn’t care.

WHERE IS THE ACTION OF HAMLET SET?

Shakespeare set Hamlet at Elsinore, a remote royal castle in Denmark, which serves as the backdrop for numerous action scenes. A different scene occurs away from the castle on “a plain in Denmark.” Shakespeare used a Danish prince named Amleth, who is supposed to have lived in the eleventh century, as inspiration for both the setting and the mythology of his plays.

There is a lot of murder, incest, and treachery in the castle, which is a closed-off place where plans and intrigues flourish. It is dishonest in several ways. There are several pillars, draperies, and alcoves where spies can conceal themselves with the intention of exacting revenge for the murder of his father.

Hamlet bursts into these surroundings like a light. It’s definitely not a simple problem. At the expense of his own life, he exacts vengeance and eliminates corruption.

WHO WROTE HAMLET AND WHEN?

When Hamlet was composed in the first half of the seventeenth century, it was most likely played for the first time in July of that year (perhaps around 1600 or 1601). A revised version was published in 1604 after being first printed in 1603.

Shakespeare followed the convention of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by borrowing ideas and stories from earlier literary works for his own plays.

In the Stationers’ Register from 1602, there was a mention of “A book named The Revenge of Hamlet Prince of Denmark as it was just acted by the Lord Chamberlain and his Servants.”

At this time, only Stationers’ Company members were permitted to publish books; members who intended to print a book were required to register the title of the book in advance.

The Significant of Wittenberg University in Hamlet

Around 1599, Shakespeare began work on Hamlet, and Wittenberg University was a renowned academic institution and well-known across Europe as the residence of Martin Luther, who is credited with sparking the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

The Tragical History of the Biography and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe was written ten years before Shakespeare’s Hamlet and is based on the life of Johann Georg Faust, a well-known Wittenberg University student (c. 1480–1540).

The story of Johann Faust selling his soul to the devil in exchange for twenty-four years of power, pleasure, and a kiss from Helen of Troy serves as the basis for Marlowe’s play.

Act 1, scene 2, when Claudius first mentions Wittenberg to Hamlet, the audience quickly draws a comparison between the fictional character of Hamlet and the actual personalities of Luther and Faust. When Claudius adds “Wittenberg,” there may have even been a smattering of nods of recognition from the audience.

CLAUDIUS. [to Hamlet] For your intent

In going back to school in Wittenberg,

It is most retrograde to our desire;

And we beseech you, bend you to remain

Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye,

Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

GERTRUDE. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet.

I pray thee, stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.

HAMLET. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. (1.2.115-123)

For two reasons, Claudius does not want Hamlet to go back to Wittenberg. First, if Hamlet suspects that Claudius was involved in his father’s death, Claudius wants to keep a watchful check on him until things have calmed down.

Second, Claudius didn’t want Hamlet exposed to any form of thinking that may imperil his reign and his life because Wittenberg was renowned for being a center for independent thought, even revolutionary thinking.

Furthermore, it’s conceivable that Hamlet was a Wittenberg student studying philosophy, just like his buddy and classmate Horatio, which supports Claudius’s worry about possibly risky autonomous thought.

Read: 15 Best Paying Jobs in Public Utilities (Updated 2022)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Hamlet Really Love Ophelia?

In real life, people may portray situations differently than they intend. Sometimes people are nasty to the people they sincerely care about. Like Hamlet in the play, Hamlet acts as though he does not actually love Ophelia. However, in the tragic story of Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, genuinely loves Ophelia.

It is seen in his behavior toward her before discovering that his father was slain, in how he feigned to be mad to persuade the king and Polonius, and in his reaction after Ophelia died. Because of his actions toward Ophelia at the beginning of the play, it is evident that Hamlet genuinely loves her.

What motivates Claudius to send Hamlet to England?

King Claudius, who no longer believes Hamlet is just lovesick, decides to send him to England for his own protection. The King agrees to Polonius’ suggestion that he listens in on Hamlet’s post-play conversation with his mother in order to gain extra information from Hamlet.

He declares that he will send Hamlet to England in the hopes that a change of scenery will help him conquer his issues. This is a good idea, Polonius agrees, but he still believes Hamlet’s agitation springs from his love for Ophelia.