Parallels In Court
It is believed that some of the characters in "Hamlet" are loosely based on historical figures Shakespeare would have encountered in Elizabeth's court. It is impossible to verify any of these speculations.
Polonius could have been inspired by William Cecil (Lord Burghley) and his two children as the models for Laertes and Ophelia. Burghley was Lord High Treasurer and chief counsellor to Queen Elizabeth. John Dover Wilson thought that Polonius was almost certainly drawn from Burghley and his tendency of long-windedness. Harold Jenkins criticized this idea, as he found direct satire to be uncharacteristic of Shakespeare in general.
There is also speculation that the events of "Hamlet" are loosely grounded in King James' childhood. If this is to be believed, then that makes King James Hamlet, Mary Queen of Scots Gertrude, Henry Stuart King Hamlet and the Earl of Bothwell would be Claudius. King James' mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was notorious throughout Europe for her disastrous marriages. King James's father, Henry Stuart, was Bloody Mary's first husband. They were separated in 1567 and Mary visited the King. After Mary left, the house Henry Stuart was staying in blew up and Henry Stuart was found naked and strangled in his orchard. Rumors spread and Mary and her love, the Earl of Bothwell, murdered the former king. Both King Hamlet and Henry Stuart suffered from black growths on their bodies, "And a most instant tether barked about/ Most lazar-like with vile and loathsome crust/ All my smooth body," (Hamlet, I,v, 78-80). Henry Stuart was well-known for having syphilis.Like Gertrude, Queen Mary waited two months to wed the Earl. Like Hamlet, James openly declared his mother's innocence.
The theory that Hamlet is the product of Shakespeare's son Hamnet dying at age eleven is largely dismissed. Stephen Greenblatt does argue that Shakespeare's grief is at the core of the tragedy of Hamlet, even if the play is not about his son. Greenblatt points out that the popular name "Hamnet" was basically interchangeable with "Hamlet" at the time Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet".
Polonius could have been inspired by William Cecil (Lord Burghley) and his two children as the models for Laertes and Ophelia. Burghley was Lord High Treasurer and chief counsellor to Queen Elizabeth. John Dover Wilson thought that Polonius was almost certainly drawn from Burghley and his tendency of long-windedness. Harold Jenkins criticized this idea, as he found direct satire to be uncharacteristic of Shakespeare in general.
There is also speculation that the events of "Hamlet" are loosely grounded in King James' childhood. If this is to be believed, then that makes King James Hamlet, Mary Queen of Scots Gertrude, Henry Stuart King Hamlet and the Earl of Bothwell would be Claudius. King James' mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was notorious throughout Europe for her disastrous marriages. King James's father, Henry Stuart, was Bloody Mary's first husband. They were separated in 1567 and Mary visited the King. After Mary left, the house Henry Stuart was staying in blew up and Henry Stuart was found naked and strangled in his orchard. Rumors spread and Mary and her love, the Earl of Bothwell, murdered the former king. Both King Hamlet and Henry Stuart suffered from black growths on their bodies, "And a most instant tether barked about/ Most lazar-like with vile and loathsome crust/ All my smooth body," (Hamlet, I,v, 78-80). Henry Stuart was well-known for having syphilis.Like Gertrude, Queen Mary waited two months to wed the Earl. Like Hamlet, James openly declared his mother's innocence.
The theory that Hamlet is the product of Shakespeare's son Hamnet dying at age eleven is largely dismissed. Stephen Greenblatt does argue that Shakespeare's grief is at the core of the tragedy of Hamlet, even if the play is not about his son. Greenblatt points out that the popular name "Hamnet" was basically interchangeable with "Hamlet" at the time Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet".