Shakespeares personal life and the writings of Hamlet - Research Paper Example

The rest of this essay is an exercise toward this end. First of all, in order to understand the connection between the personal and the professional, it is important to locate the exact time period in which the play was written. Given that Shakespeare lived during the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century, there are no authoritative accounts of when the play was written. So one can only arrive at a tentative date; and scholarly consensus designates the period between 1599 and 1602.

(Fedderson, 2000, p.145) By this time, Shakespeare was already an established playwright and his works had acquired him critical appreciation as well as popular recognition. He was in his late thirties by this time and been married to Anne Hathaway for close to twenty years. Hence, it is fair to say that Shakespeare had seen enough of lifes challenges and travails to have gained insights into human relationships. (Ross, 1999, p.6) And the vividness with which the author puts forth emotions related to betrayal, treachery and grave indignation in the play is a reflection of his own maturity as a person. As Prof. Park Honanspents recent biography on the great artist reveals, “In addition to fresh information about the women in Shakespeares life, what has come to light is playwrights connections with more sinister matters and how his personal experiences of treachery were mirrored on stage.

Using new computerised linguistic research, researchers claim that Shakespeares acquaintance with murder in his private life was not only reflected in the plots of his plays, but actually performed by Shakespeare on stage.” (The Birmingham Post, Oct, 1998, p.3) This is a relevant observation, for the central plot of Hamlet is one of revenge and murder. In it, Prince Hamlet contrives to kill his uncle Claudius, for his father was killed and the throne usurped by the latter. Shakespeare is no stranger