How+important+is+the+general+setting+of+Denmark+to+the+overall+play.

 =How important is the general setting of Denmark to the overall play.= toc
 * by: Hkeenawinna, Jtasedan, and GCapistran**

Shakespeare, the greatest of English playwrights, knew how to play to the patriotic feelings of his lively audiences at the Globe. He also understood the vagueness of national identity. So in that aspect, setting was an important element in Shakespeare's //Hamlet//. Written about the late kings and current government of Denmark at the time of William Shakespeare's existence.

In addition, Shakespeare was seemingly familiar with the state of Denmark. He accurately described much of the topography and architectural structures found within Denmark with which he relayed to us throughout many of his works. It is perhaps for this reason that he felt qualified to state, through Hamlet, that "Denmark's a prison". This familiarity of Denmark is also probably responsible for the creation of this play, for the Danish legend of "Amleth", a story of a danish prince avenging his fathers murder by his brother, does seem a rather likely candidate for the origins of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

[|The legend of Amleth]

1a.) **History**
The kingdoms of Denmark and Norway were once united together as one political entity as well as the Norwegian dependencies of several colonies within the Baltic Sea.The kingdoms united together once more from 1536 to 1814. This was called "Dano-Norwegian" Denmark-Norway until 1814. The term //Kingdom of Denmark// is sometimes used to include both countries in the period 1536–1814, since the political and economic power emanated from Copenhagen, Denmark. Three sovereign successor states have subsequently emerged from this unequal union: Denmark, Norway and Iceland. 

1b.) **Its relation to the play:**
This relationship between Denmark and Norway manifests itself in the play within the opening scene. Its effect is that it provides us with both a foil character for Hamlet, prince Fortinbras of Norway, and an immediate situation with which the newly instated king of Denmark gains a chance to display his tendencies as a ruler which we are able to contrast against Hamlet throughout the play.

Hamlet himself compares himself Fortinbras in a few of his soliloquy's, both idealizing him for having succeeded where he himself failed in the case of succession of power and ability to take action, but also berates him for being overly rash and inconsiderate of those he leads, leading to "The imminent death of twenty thousand men that for fantasy and trick of fame."

Hamlet, as a possible ruler, is made to be seen as a caring and compassionate person, aware of all the "little people" around him, contrasted to Claudius who is a scheming politician, unable to name all but those closest of subjects and oblivious to their needs.

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2a.) **History**
In the aftermath of Sweden's definite secession from the Kalmar Union in 1521, civil war and Protestant Reformation followed in Denmark and Norway. When things had settled down, the Rigsraad (//High Council//) of Denmark became weakened, and finally abolished in 1660 when Denmark and Norway became absolutist states and Denmark followed the Norwegian example and became a hereditary monarchy. These changes were confirmed in the //Lex Regia// signed November 14, 1665, stipulating that all power lay in the hands of the king, who was only responsible towards God. The Norwegian Riksraad was assembled for the last time in 1537. Norway kept its separate laws and some institutions, such as a royal chancellor, and separate coinage and army. Being a hereditary kingdom, Norway's status as separate from Denmark was important to the royal dynasty in its struggles to win elections as kings of Denmark. The latter concern disappeared after the proclamation of the Lex Regia. After the Napoleonic Wars and the devastating Gunboat War, Denmark-Norway was defeated and had to cede the territory of mainland Norway to the King of Sweden, formally effected at the Treaty of Kiel. Norway's overseas possessions were kept by Denmark.
 * The three kingdoms then united in the Kalmar Union of 1397-1521, after which the Union was split in two halves:
 * //"Denmark-Norway"// (including overseas possessions in the North Atlantic as well as the island of Saaremaa in modern Estonia)
 * //"Sweden"// (including Finland)

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3a.) **History**
This is another story concerning England and Denmark. Canute or Cnut was recognized as the sole king of England in late 1016. Cnut had only inherited his father’s, Svein’s, claim to England; his brother had become King of Denmark in 1014. But soon after Cnut secured England his brother died and he inherited his homeland as well. He had made some friends in Mercia and Northumbria by marrying a well connected noblewoman named Aelfgifu. Then he dealt with his most dangerous rivals, the surviving family of Aethelred. Emma (also called Aelfgifu), Aethelred's queen, was the sister of the duke of Normandy, and she was in Normandy with her two young sons, the princes Edward and Alfred. To disarm the threat of a Norman-supported attempt on his throne in favor of the young princes, Canute married Emma and restored her as queen of England. England was really the least of his worries. Securing his power over Denmark and conquering Norway were far more difficult. If you look in detail at Cnut's policies, you can see how delicate his position was. Cnut began to worry about Thorkell the Tall, an older experienced warrior who had been a key ally of his father Svein. In 1021 Cnut banished him from England. Thorkell returned to Denmark, where he was just too strong to ignore. So in 1023, Cnut was reconciled with Thorkell. They exchanged sons -- in other words, gave hostages -- and Thorkell was made Cnut's chief deputy in Denmark. Thorkell was essentially a sub-king of Denmark under Cnut.

3b.) **Its relation to the play:**
Given the past between England and Denmark, and given the fact that England itself tended to consider themselves the supreme beings and ruler of the world in general, you can easily see how that by placing the setting of the play in Denmark, a land once under their control, it would excite the english to think that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark".

While this has nothing to do with the play itself, it would affect the overall popularity of the play, drawing additional crowds who might want to believe that something indeed is corrupt in the government of a neighboring nation.

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4.) **Conclusive/ Summative Answer:**
All in all, it seems that the general setting of Denmark was a rather important aspect of the play for it provided an excellent geographically isolated area with which the main character could state he felt imprisoned, excellent historical political ties with which to work with, a section of folk lore from which to draw, and an easy way to draw a larger audience.

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> http://historymedren.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.the%2Dorb.net/textbooks/muhlberger/canute.html > > http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=19197 > http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-53590221.html > http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/amleth.html
 * Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark%E2%80%93Norway