‘The undiscovered country’: Hamlet and the birth of modern consciousness
Tomás Baviera
Church, Communication and Culture January 2, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/23753234.2026.2642062 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Hamlet marks a pivotal transition from classical and medieval conceptions of the human, ordered by honor, rational harmony, or divine love, to a modern anthropology of uncertainty, fragmentation, and collapsed transcendence. Through comparisons with Homer, Plato, and Dante on death, justice, and revenge, the paper contends that the play anticipates modern dilemmas of freedom and necessity, responsibility without guarantees, and death's possible finality. |
Abstract
Abstract This article examines Hamlet as a pivotal text in the transition from classical and medieval conceptions of the human to a distinctly modern anthropology. Through a comparative analysis of three central themes—death, justice, and revenge—the study situates Shakespeare’s tragedy against foundational works of Western thought: Homer’s Iliad, Plato’s Republic, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. While the classical and mediaeval traditions presuppose a cosmos ordered by honor, rational harmony, or divine love, Hamlet dramatizes a consciousness marked by uncertainty, fragmentation, and the collapse of transcendence. By tracing these contrasts, the paper argues that Hamlet anticipates the dilemmas of modernity: the tension between freedom and necessity, the burden of responsibility without ultimate guarantees, and the haunting awareness that death may have the final word. This reading underscores Shakespeare’s role not merely as a dramatist but as a profound interpreter of the anthropological shift that shaped the modern world.