When is hamlet set

So, even if he wanted to commit the murder as soon as possible, he had to wait a few days into the spring otherwise the serpent-bite story would not be believed. Laertes was recalled from France for Claudius's coronation. The recall message would be sent by ship and he would have returned to Denmark by ship. Presumably, it would have been post winter, for in winter there is bad weather, storms and frozen seas around Denmark and only a few hours of daylight and thus difficult, or impossible, for ships to get through.

Fortinbras had been training his army which he could hardly have done in the middle of winter in Norway. It is likely he trained them in the spring in preparation for an invasion of Poland in the summer.

The star Bernardo mentions is not given a name but it seems unlikely Shakespeare would set his play in a real place, Elsinore, and then put a fictitious star in the sky. A star that fits the action of the play is Capella , the 6th brightest star in the total sky and the brightest star when looking north from Elsinore.

Bernardo's star was seen west of the pole at 1 am. This fits in with Capella on any date from 27 February until 27 May. Between those dates it is visible west of the pole from the moment if gets dark and is still west of the pole at 1 am. This would place it about 15 July midsummer. Hamlet My father died within these two hours.

Ophelia : Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord. That night Hamlet kills Polonius. Hamlet is immediately sent to England by ship. Be sure to check out " Art and Culture " for more on this. We should also point out that contemporary directors of stage and film versions of Hamlet have set the play in places and periods ranging from Elizabethan England to nineteenth century Europe to twenty-first century New York City , where Gertrude and Claudius run a high-powered New York corporation and the ghost of Old Hamlet appears on security televisions in the company's offices.

The fact that this setting somehow works is a testament to the universality and relevance of the play's themes. Then, of course, there's the fact that the whole thing takes place at Denmark's royal court. The dynamic is high-powered and manipulative, like—well, a lot like a high-powered corporation. Public image matters. Hamlet doesn't just get to be a moody teenager in his own bedroom: he has to do his growing up on stage. And we all know how well that works out. Actually, political kids might be a better analogy: Hamlet's strange behavior is a liability to his parents, who have a political interest in bringing him under control.

It's a big political nightmare for Claudius and Gertrude. Of course, the royal court isn't the only place Hamlet hangs out. Why does Hamlet encourage the actor to recite the speech about Pyrrhus and Priam? Does Hamlet consider suicide? Why is Hamlet so cruel to Ophelia?

Why does Ophelia go mad? Does Ophelia actually kill herself? What is the significance of the gravediggers? Literary Devices Setting. Previous section Antagonist Next section Genre. Popular pages: Hamlet. Take a Study Break.