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at ease, and the Crown tended to be absolutist. The House of Commons protested against the Queen’s policies and royal privileges. There were plots against Elizabeth. In 1602 the Earl of Essex, a former favorite of Elizabeth, started a rising, which cost him death. There rose the undermasters in London , who were being converted into wage laborers (刘炳善，1992：74) .In 1604, the Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare’s patron, was arrested by James I, the new king, on charges of treason. It was amid this atmosphere of general unrest that Shakespeare wrote his great tragedies and dark comedies, in which complicated social contradictions are mercilessly exposed. Lust, murder, treachery, ingratitude and crime all conspired to creep into this social period.
In addition, William Shakespeare was born in the period of European Renaissance, and his inspiration and intuition of composing works were inevitably affected by the core of Renaissance and thus circled the essence. Undoubtedly, humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance. In this case, the creating process as well as its spirit of Hamlet was penetrated by this essence. Renaissance period refers to 1500-1604, deriving from Italian "renascenia" which means for those who took part in it was the rebirth of classical Greek and Latin literature. The term "renaissance "is commonly applied to the historical period which follows the Middle Ages. A long-accepted view is that the Renaissance began in the later half of the 14th century. And it continued throughout the 15th and 16th century and perhaps even later. Broadly speaking, it may be said that between the 12th century and 13th century, people’s opinions about the nature and the structure of universe brought about profound and far-reaching change. Besides, Renaissance is keenly interested in the activities of humanity. People stopped to look upon themselves as living only for God and a future world. Thinkers ,artist and poets arose ,who gave expression ,sometimes in an old guise , thought , to the new feeling of admiration for human beauty and human achievement , a feeling in sharp contrast with theology(刘炳善，1992：34). Gradually came the thought of humanism which mirrored the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class, which witnessed the world opening before it. Man could mould the world according to his desires, and attain happiness by removing all external checks by the exercise of reason. In other words, humanism, and European phenomenon, was progressive trend of thought of the Renaissance period. It was a philosophical outlook of the humanists. Humanism was anthropocentric. It sought to dignify and enable men and regarded man as the crown of the creature. It helped to civilize man to make himself realize his potential power and gifts. It turns out to be a form of philosophy, which concentrated on the perfection of worldly life rather than on the preparation for eternal and spiritual life.
"Hamlet" is ranked as the summit of Shakespeare’s art. The story comes from an old Danish legend. Before Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd had written a play on the same subject. It was a tragedy of blood and thunder(罗经国，2004：138) . Yet beneath the pen of Shakespeare, the medieval story assumed a new meaning. In Hamlet, it tells a story of prince’s revenge. It happens in Denmark that Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark, widowed by the sudden death of the King, within two months marries the late king's brother Claudius, who thus becomes the new king. Prince Hamlet, son of