1. Oct 10 – Lit – The Ghost Agenda: Quick-write Notes: Sin in Hamlet
The Ghost Speaks
HW:
Study for a quiz on the characters, action and language of Act I
Take Out:
Journals
Pen/Pencil
Notebook
Book

2. Q-W: Describe what you see here 

3. “Hell” c. 1180

4. Sin in Hamlet Characters have Christian (Catholic) beliefs
Catholic – guilt and fear
Nearly all characters display religious traits
Desire to reach Heaven, basic fear of both Hell and Purgatory
Believe that sins (mortal and venial) must be confessed
“An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory”
-Lodovico Carracci c. 1610

5. Mortal Sin
The knowing and willful violation of God's law in a serious matter
Constitute a rupture between a soul and God’s saving grace
Un-confessed / un-forgiven mortal sins condemn a soul to Hell
Forgiveness occurs only in life
The death of a body with un-forgiven sins causes the “death” of the soul
For a sin to be mortal it must be:
A “grave” (serious) matter
Known to be serious by the person committing the sin
Willfully/freely committed

6. Venial Sin
“All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.” John 5-17
Slight/non-mortal sins
Do not break – but injure – the connection to God
As opposed to a mortal sin, a venial sin meets at least one of the following criteria:
It does not concern a "grave" matter
It is not committed with full knowledge, or
It is not willfully/freely committed

7. Purgatory “The Third Place” - Martin Luther
God’s judgment upon death with un-confessed venial sins sent a soul to Purgatory
Not an eternal abode – soul spent an unknown period of time there
Determined by amount and severity of venial sin
“Unfinished business”
Meant as a place for a soul to “purge” venial sins before final judgment
Can be assisted by the living

8. Sin in Hamlet Old Hamlet’s Ghost is believed to reside in purgatory
Hamlet and Claudius – like other Christians – are scared of Hell, and desire Heaven
Hamlet is against mortal sin – suicide, murder, etc. – because of the eternal consequences

9. Act I: Scene iv & v Read Act I: Scene 5 in your group of 4
Answer the questions on the worksheet following your reading
Think about: What is the ghost asking of Hamlet that conflicts with his religious beliefs?