The Recusancy of Hamlet

Abstract

As Jane Austen would say, it is a truth universally acknowledged, even among Shakespeare scholars, that Shakespeare is the great enigma in English literature. To some extent this truth was partially covered up during the long period of Shakespeare scholarship when any discussion of Shakespeare's religion was considered taboo. But in the past couple of decades this taboo has been lifted to the extent that the theme proposed for the biennial Shakespeare Conference at Stratford in the year 2000 was ‘Shakespeare and Religions’. On the other hand, so far from resolving the Shakespearian enigma, the recent weakening of the taboo has only served to bring it more prominently into the foreground of scholarly attention and discussion. And of all the plays that may be said to centre on this enigma, it hardly needs to be said that Hamlet is not only one among many but the one play that may be called uniquely so—as being the most problematic of all Shakespeare's so-called ‘problem plays’.