ng how express and admirable, in action how likean angel, in apprehension how like a god- the beauty of the world, theparagon of animals!” Even though Hamlet goes on to say that “mandelights not me”, the speech still shows the Renaissance view on life. Thisideal was evident in the work of earlier Renaissance writers such as Picodella Mirandola. In Pico’s Oration on the Dignity of Man, the “greatmiracle” of humanity was discussed. “There is nothing to be seen morewonderful than man. . .man is the intermediary between creatures, theintimate of the gods, the king of the lower beings, by the acuteness of hissenses, by the discernment of his reason, and by the light of his intelligence.. .”Also in Act II Scene II, the loveletter of Hamlet to Ophelia is beingdiscussed by Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonious. Although thought of as aploy by Hamlet to make everyone think he is mad, the first few lines mayhave some distinctive significance: “Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubtthat the sun doth move. . . .” Doubts to the stars and the sun in theuniverse came about in the Renaissance and represented a challenge to thetraditional view of the universe. Here Shakespeare incorporates thecurrent learning of the time period in the theater. This can also beinterpreted that Hamlet lost faith in traditional values after experiencing eviland heartbreak.Also in Act II Scene II, Hamlet is spurned by his two friendsRosencrantz and Guildenstern and comes to the conclusion that man has aterrifying capacity to reject reason and descend to the bestial level: Brothermay kill brother, friends may betray the sacred principles of friendship. This is the case as Rosencrantz and Guidenstern allow themselves to beused as spies of Hamlet by Claudius. The idea of descending to lowerlevels of humanism was also derived from Pico’s Oration. “With freedomof choice and with honor, as though the ma...
