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I have read that Hamlet took place in the 13th-14th centuries however, in Hamlet it

mentions the Diet of Worms which took place in 1521 (IV.III.22-23). This would mean that
Hamlet took place after that. Hamlet is set in Denmark and by the 1520s The 95 Theses had
been seen by many. In 1536 Denmark had converted to Lutheranism. In Hamlet there are
Reformation themes present including purgatory (I.V.25), as well as predestination (V.II.11-12).
It also mentions that Hamlet goes to Wittenberg to study (I.II.116-117).
The ghost claims that he is in purgatory which is a concept that Lutherans, for the most
part, accept. Luther said that he believed in the existence of purgatory, however, he was unable to
find biblical evidence of it. Because of that he said that if one didnt believe in purgatory, they
shouldnt be considered a heretic. This strayed from the ideas of John Calvin and the Protestants.
Calvin said that the idea that a soul can be prayed for which results in a shorter time in purgatory,
would be sacrilegious. Hamlet seems to accept the idea that the ghost is in purgatory which
shows us that he is Lutheran.
Hamlet believed in predestination, he says that no matter how hard a person tries to shape
or change their future, it has already been decided for them by a divine power (V.II.11-12). This
could be based off Luthers idea of predestination or off of Calvins. Luthers said that God has a
plan for everybody and no matter what they try to do, their story will go the same way as God
planned it to go. Calvins was that everybody had a plan made for them when the earth was
created and that God had already decided who would believe what and who would go to Heaven
and Hell. I couldnt really tell which one Hamlet followed but he definitely believed in some
type of predestination.
Something about Luther that I thought was interesting was that he believed in
communion but only in something called consubstantiation. Although most Lutherans dont
like it to be called that due to its ambiguity. It is the belief that when one takes communion the
bread is already the body of Christ and the wine is already the blood of Christ. As opposed to
transubstantiation which is the belief that the bread and wine turn into the blood and body of
Christ. So he believed in communion but only a consubstantiation way.

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/double_luther.html
http://people.opposingviews.com/protestants-purgatory-2288.html
https://vivacatholic.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/luther-on-purgatory/
http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/lutherans-protestant-beliefs-apart-protestantchristians/2015/04/02/id/635789/
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/477-what-are-transubstantiation-and-consubstantiation

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