"Context": the range of personal, social, historical, cultural conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.

"Values": To assign worth to a text

Shakespeare's work often contains a variety of contexts and we will definitely find that these contexts are associated with the values present in Hamlet. The different contexts includes personal, social, cultural, political and spiritual. To understand these values we need to be constantly challenging ourselves with bright ideas about these concepts in Hamlet.

With economy and grace Shakespeare sets his mood, introduces his major characters, presents his background information, begins his exploration of the play's major themes, and sets his plot, all within two short scenes. The only major plot strand not established in this section is that of Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia, who appears in the following scene. Other than that omission, the first two scenes introduce all the major strands that will occur throughout the play.

Hamlet's inaction and procrastination is a main issue in the personal

On the political side of things with the King's image being exceptionally powerful, the people of the land abide by his laws. His actions inspire the community to be a mirror reflection of him, and to follow the hard earned footsteps of a heroic role model. In the old law, the king represented the land, so if the king did something, everyone else would follow his decisions. His laws reveal that this is not a fare world and if you are not on his pleasant side and decide to oppose such a highly ranked mastermind, you are doomed for a horrific destiny. In this political sense, King Claudius demonstrates how issues may go his way, whether they are righteous or not.

Shakespeare belonged to the Elizabethan and Jacobean cultures, corresponding to the times of Elizabeth I and her cousin, James I. The King's position during the Elizabethan culture is rather interesting. Everybody acts like sheep, all following the directions given by the king. Many great writers lived during this time, such as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson, creating a colossal theatrical explosion. There are some passages of prose, used as a contrast to the poetic style. Prose often indicates a different social class or the lower classes, servants or clowns, who were unable to speak in the elevated, educated way that kings and queens, heroes and heroines, did.

Under these circumstances each context, whether it be personal, social, cultural, political or spiritual they all provide detail of the development of the values in Hamlet. Shakespeare's use of context contributes many values as expected through his exuberant use of language.

The appearance of the ghost on a chilling, misty night outside Elsinore Castle introduces the element of the spiritual context into the play, and indicates immediately that, "the time is out of joint" that something is wrong in Denmark. Despite the apparent vitality of Claudius's court, Shakespeare tells us, trouble is clearly on the horizon, Horatio interprets the ghost as a warning about Fortinbras. Hamlet, devastated by his father's death and betrayed by his mother's marriage, already feels that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Hamlet's bitterness, his yearning for suicide, and the other characters' remarks about his odd behavior indicate the extent to which Ham

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Approximate Word count = 1552
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)