The Context of Hamlet: The Great Chain of Being

Summary

In this video, Jonny from Ignite delves into the concept of the 'Great Chain of Being,' an Elizabethan belief system that plays a crucial role in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet.' The video explains how this hierarchical order, with God at the top followed by the king, nobles, commoners, and inanimate objects, is disrupted in the play when Claudius unlawfully kills King Hamlet. This disruption leads to chaos and supernatural consequences, driving the plot. Jonny emphasizes the importance of understanding this concept for analyzing the play and encourages viewers to include it in their essays.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video discusses the Great Chain of Being, a key contextual feature important for understanding Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.
• 🎭 The Great Chain of Being represents an Elizabethan social hierarchy and belief in a divine order of beings from God to inanimate objects.
• 👑 At the top of this hierarchy is God, followed by the king, the heir to the throne, nobles, commoners, and finally inanimate objects.
• ⏳ The concept is rooted in the time when 'Hamlet' was written, around 1600, for an Elizabethan audience under Queen Elizabeth I.
• 🔍 The disruption of this order in the play is seen as causing chaos and is often reflected in supernatural consequences within the story.
• 👻 The murder of King Hamlet by his brother Claudius is a significant disruption to the Great Chain of Being, as it violates the natural order of succession.
• 👑 Claudius' unlawful ascension to the throne instead of Prince Hamlet causes a moral and cosmic imbalance that needs to be corrected.
• 🗡 Prince Hamlet's struggle with avenging his father's murder is central to the play and is tied to the need to restore the Great Chain of Being.
• 📖 The video encourages students to include the concept of the Great Chain of Being in their essays on 'Hamlet' for a deeper understanding of the play.
• 👍 The video is part of a series by Ignite, offering educational content and resources for English studies, including essay structures and comprehension skills.
• 🔗 The video ends with a prompt to subscribe for more content and to check out Ignite's online resource database for further study materials.

Q & A

What is the 'Great Chain of Being' mentioned in the video?

The 'Great Chain of Being' is an Elizabethan belief in a strict social hierarchy, with God at the top, followed by the king, nobles, commoners, and inanimate objects. This hierarchy represented the natural order of the universe.

Why is the 'Great Chain of Being' important in the study of Hamlet?

The 'Great Chain of Being' is important because it underpins the plot of Hamlet. The play revolves around the disruption of this hierarchy due to the unlawful murder of King Hamlet by Claudius, leading to chaos and supernatural consequences.

How does the concept of the 'Great Chain of Being' relate to the plot of Hamlet?

In Hamlet, the natural order is disrupted when Claudius unlawfully kills King Hamlet and takes the throne. This disruption leads to the appearance of King Hamlet's ghost, who urges Prince Hamlet to restore order by avenging his death.

Who was ruling England during the time Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, and why is this relevant?

Queen Elizabeth I was ruling England when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. This is relevant because the play reflects the beliefs and social structures of the Elizabethan era, including the 'Great Chain of Being.'

What does the video suggest about the consequences of disrupting the 'Great Chain of Being' in Hamlet?

The video suggests that disrupting the 'Great Chain of Being' leads to disorder, anarchy, and supernatural consequences in the universe. In Hamlet, this disruption results in the appearance of King Hamlet's ghost and the demand for revenge.

Why is Claudius's act of killing King Hamlet particularly problematic according to the 'Great Chain of Being'?

Claudius's act is problematic because it disrupts the natural hierarchy. A king is not supposed to be killed unlawfully by a non-king. Claudius's usurpation of the throne violates the 'Great Chain of Being,' causing chaos and requiring restoration.

What is the significance of King Hamlet's ghost in the play?

King Hamlet's ghost is significant because it represents the disruption of the natural order and serves as a catalyst for the plot. The ghost informs Prince Hamlet of the need to avenge his father's death to restore the 'Great Chain of Being.'

How does the video describe the social hierarchy of the Elizabethan era?

The video describes the Elizabethan social hierarchy as a structured order with God at the top, followed by the king, nobles, commoners, and inanimate objects. This hierarchy was believed to be essential for maintaining order in the universe.

What role does Prince Hamlet have in restoring the 'Great Chain of Being'?

Prince Hamlet's role is to restore the 'Great Chain of Being' by avenging his father's unlawful murder. He must kill Claudius, who has usurped the throne, to restore the proper order of the hierarchy.

What advice does the video give to students studying Hamlet?

The video advises students to mention the 'Great Chain of Being' in their essays, as it is critical to understanding the play and Shakespeare's intentions. It underpins the entire plot and the motivations of the characters.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Understanding the Great Chain of Being in Hamlet

In this introduction, Jonny from Ignite sets the stage for discussing the concept of the Great Chain of Being as it relates to Shakespeare's *Hamlet*. The video aims to explore this Elizabethan belief system, explaining its relevance to the plot and characters in the play. Jonny emphasizes the importance of contextual knowledge in analyzing *Hamlet*, highlighting how Shakespeare’s audience would have understood the social hierarchy depicted in the play. The introduction also encourages viewers to subscribe to the channel for more educational content.

05:01

🔄 The Elizabethan Hierarchy and Its Role in Hamlet

This section dives into the Great Chain of Being, an Elizabethan belief in a divinely ordained social hierarchy. Jonny explains that in this structure, God is at the top, followed by the king, the heir, nobles, commoners, and inanimate objects. He emphasizes that disrupting this order would lead to chaos and supernatural consequences. The discussion then shifts to how the belief system underpins the plot of *Hamlet*, where the murder of King Hamlet by Claudius creates disorder. This conflict in the natural order drives much of the play's tension and themes.

👑 The Plot and the Disrupted Hierarchy in Hamlet

This part connects the Great Chain of Being directly to the plot of *Hamlet*. Jonny explains how King Hamlet’s murder by his brother Claudius, rather than by another legitimate king, disrupts the hierarchy. Claudius’s unlawful claim to the throne leaves Prince Hamlet in a position of needing to restore the proper order by avenging his father’s death. The ghost of King Hamlet symbolizes the disorder and chaos resulting from this disruption. Jonny highlights how this belief system is crucial to understanding Hamlet's struggle and the overarching conflict in the play.

📝 Key Takeaways for Your Essays

In this conclusion, Jonny reinforces the importance of mentioning the Great Chain of Being in essays on *Hamlet*. He reiterates how this concept underpins the central conflict of the play and provides critical context for Shakespeare’s audience. Jonny encourages viewers to integrate this idea into their analysis, as it’s essential to grasping the themes and motivations driving the characters. The video wraps up with a reminder to like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more content.

🎓 Explore More Resources from Ignite

In this final segment, viewers are encouraged to explore Ignite’s online resources, which offer comprehensive materials for studying English. These resources include essay structures, writing tips, and comprehension skills, all crafted by top English educators. Jonny invites viewers to check out these tools on the Ignite website and stay engaged for future content.

Keywords

💡Great Chain of Being

The Great Chain of Being refers to a philosophical concept that was prevalent during the Elizabethan era, which posited a hierarchical order of all things and beings, arranged from the lowliest rock to God at the top. In the video, this concept is crucial as it underpins the social hierarchy and the plot of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', where the murder of King Hamlet disrupts this order, leading to chaos and the need for revenge to restore balance.

💡Hamlet

Hamlet is both the title of Shakespeare's play and the name of the main character, Prince Hamlet. The video discusses the importance of understanding the context of the Great Chain of Being for interpreting the play's themes and plot. Prince Hamlet's struggle with avenging his father's murder is central to the narrative and is directly related to the disruption of the Great Chain of Being.

💡Contextual Feature

A contextual feature in literature refers to aspects of the historical, social, or cultural background that influence the understanding of a text. The Great Chain of Being is a contextual feature in 'Hamlet' that helps viewers and readers comprehend the motivations of the characters and the societal norms of the time, as discussed in the video.

💡Elizabethan Audience

The Elizabethan audience refers to the people who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, for whom Shakespeare wrote his plays. The video emphasizes that understanding the beliefs of this audience, such as the Great Chain of Being, is essential for a full appreciation of 'Hamlet' and its themes.

💡Social Hierarchy

Social hierarchy denotes the ranking of individuals within a society according to factors such as wealth, power, or social status. In the video, the Great Chain of Being is described as an Elizabethan social hierarchy, with God at the top and inanimate objects at the bottom, reflecting the structured society of the time.

💡King Hamlet

King Hamlet, also known as Hamlet Senior, is the deceased father of Prince Hamlet. His murder by his brother Claudius, as mentioned in the video, is a pivotal event that disrupts the Great Chain of Being and sets the stage for the play's conflict.

💡Claudius

Claudius is the brother of King Hamlet and the uncle of Prince Hamlet. In the video, it is explained that Claudius's unlawful ascension to the throne after murdering King Hamlet is a significant disruption to the social order, causing a cascade of events in the play.

💡Prince Hamlet

Prince Hamlet is the main character of Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet'. The video discusses his role as the rightful heir to the throne and his struggle with the duty to avenge his father's murder, which is a central theme tied to the Great Chain of Being.

💡Feudal Duty

Feudal duty refers to the obligations and responsibilities one has within a feudal system, often involving loyalty and service to one's lord or king. In the video, Prince Hamlet's struggle with his feudal duty to avenge his father is highlighted as a key aspect of the play's plot.

💡Supernatural Consequences

Supernatural consequences in literature often refer to events or phenomena that cannot be explained by natural laws and are typically associated with the disruption of a natural order. The video mentions that in 'Hamlet', the murder of King Hamlet leads to supernatural consequences, such as the appearance of his ghost, which is a direct result of the disrupted Great Chain of Being.

💡Disrupted Order

A disrupted order in the context of the video refers to the chaos and anarchy that ensues when the established hierarchy, as per the Great Chain of Being, is disturbed. The video explains that the murder of King Hamlet and Claudius's subsequent rule lead to such a disruption, which is a central conflict in 'Hamlet'.

Highlights

Introduction to the topic of the Great Chain of Being and its relevance to the study of Hamlet.

Contextualizes the Great Chain of Being as a belief in the Elizabethan era, reflecting the social hierarchy and order of the universe.

Explanation of how Shakespeare aimed to resonate with his Elizabethan audience by incorporating the Great Chain of Being into Hamlet.

Introduction of the concept of the Great Chain of Being, with God at the top, followed by the king, nobles, commoners, and inanimate objects.

Discussion on how disrupting the Great Chain of Being was believed to cause disorder, anarchy, and supernatural consequences.

Application of the Great Chain of Being to the plot of Hamlet, focusing on the murder of King Hamlet by Claudius.

Explanation of how King Hamlet's unlawful murder by Claudius disrupts the social hierarchy, creating chaos in the universe.

The rightful heir, Prince Hamlet, should have taken the throne, but Claudius's usurpation causes a disruption in the Great Chain of Being.

King Hamlet's ghost appears to Prince Hamlet, urging him to restore the disrupted social order by avenging his murder.

Hamlet's struggle with his filial duty to avenge his father's death and restore the Great Chain of Being.

The Great Chain of Being is central to understanding the motivations and actions of the characters in Hamlet.

Emphasis on the importance of mentioning the Great Chain of Being in essays on Hamlet for a deeper analysis.

The video's conclusion encourages viewers to subscribe for more content and utilize online resources for further study.

Promotion of online resources created by state rank achievers and English experts, covering essay structures and comprehension skills.

Final encouragement to like, subscribe, and check out additional videos and resources on the Ignite HSC platform.

Transcripts

hey guys Jonny from ignite here welcome

to another video we're gonna be looking

at Hamlet today and in particular we're

gonna be looking at a very important

contextual feature called the great

chain of being we're gonna be talking

about what that is why it's important

for your studies of Hamlet and how that

actually fits in with the plot of the

play itself so strap in make sure you

subscribe now if you haven't already and

let's get into it

okay guys so today we're looking at the

great chain of being and this was a

belief at the time that Hamlet the play

was written by Shakespeare so you have

to take your mind back not that it's

actually literally possible to do this

because you weren't alive then but think

back to what it would be like in 1600 to

1600 and one remember in 2019 now we're

going back with a 400 years to when

Shakespeare was writing his play he's

writing his play for an Elizabethan

audience Queen Elizabeth of England was

the Queen at the time and there was a

different set of beliefs then then there

is now and at that time one of the

beliefs that's going to be incorporated

into this play because you want to

resonate shakes me wants to resonate

with his audience he wants to be talking

about things that will make sense to his

current audience one of those things was

a belief in the Great Train of being

which is fundamentally an Elizabethan

social hierarchy what does that mean

it's a belief in a certain type of order

of things and people in the universe who

should be at the top who should be in

the middle who should be at the bottom

that's what it is it's a belief in that

hierarchy so let's have a look at what

that is and then we'll talk about how it

fits into the play

at the top of the great chain of being

is God after God is the king then

follows the key heir to the throne so in

the play who is the heir to the throne

who is the Prince Prince Hamlet King

Hamlet or Hamlet senior who is Hamlet's

father has actually been murdered before

the play begins when we start reading

the play King Hamlet has been murdered

he's been murdered by Claudius his

brother and

come back to why that's important for

the great chain of being in a second so

underneath the king in this hierarchy in

this ranking system we have the heir

we then have the nobles we have the

people who would be in the castle with

the king with the heir

we then have the commoners so the common

people of England who would be walking

around the streets just like you and I

we would be underneath the people who

are in the castle and then we would have

rocks so we're gonna have those

inanimate objects those minerals those

things in the ground this table this TV

these things are going to be below

people thankfully and that's the order

they believed in critically they

believed that if this order was

disrupted if something happened to put

the order out of whack there is going to

be disorder and anarchy and chaos that

amounts in the universe and often the

way you see that happen in the play

especially is with supernatural

consequences so let's relate this now to

the play and hopefully you can see how

it's important this Elizabethan belief

in the great chain of being actually

translates into the plot of the play

because when you start reading the play

you learn that King Hamlet has been

murdered by Claudius he has been

poisoned in the ear by his brother

Claudius is King Hamlet's brother and

Claudius has taken the throne we now

have King Claudius which is a massive

disruption to this hierarchy because the

King has not been killed by another King

which would be fine like the King of

Norway for instance this is the King of

Denmark the King of Norway like

Fortinbras you're allowed to kill other

Kings but he's been killed by his

brother unlawfully unrightfully so what

should have happened is an heir to the

throne should have taken over Hamlet

should be king and the order would be

fine but because Hamlet is not going to

be king and Claudius is king instead the

order is out of whack we have the ghost

of King Hamlet come and make a visit to

Prince Hamlet and he lets Hamlet know

that he has to take revenge he has to

kill Claudius if we're to get this

social hierarchy back in order so we can

restore the great chain of being so

that's how it underpins the plot we know

that how much struggles to fulfill this

feudal duty this filial duty to his far

to kill Claudius who had killed him but

we can see why it's so important we have

this disrupted great trainer beam and we

need to fix it and that's the essence of

the play all right guys I hope that

helps that's the great chain of being

remember to mention that in your essays

because it's critical to an

understanding of the play and to where

Shakespeare was coming from when he

wrote it please subscribe and like if

you enjoy the video and I'll see you in

the next one hey guys thank you so much

for watching if you do like the content

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achievers and heads of English put these

together for you covering everything

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the way through to craft of writing and

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