History+Leading+to+Hamlet

To understand Hamlet it is sometimes important to understand events that were occuring during the time Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. This is important for a number of reasons. One, no matter how good of a story the play is, Shakespeare wrote the play for an intended audience so that he could make money. As such he relied on the patronage of not just the common people but also the noble families and even the queen herself if she would have come see her play. As such Shakespeare was somewhat limited by what he could say or act in his plays. For instance England had moved firmly to being protestant. As such Shakespeare couldn't make open comments regarding catholics in a good way or else he could have been accused of treason. Also plays that portrayed past kings that were of the same family as the current queen, Elizabeth, were usually highly regareded and also if they portrayed a rival family as weak or wrong. So even though we regard Hamlet as a play that was created for the enjoyment of the many, there are also themes and situations that were created in the book so as to gain favor with the nobles he depended on for money.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/UnitedKingdom.htm

This is a great link that gives biographies and summaries of major events prior to 1600 in the United Kingdom.