The Renaissance was a period of time following the medieval period in which religion, economics and politics were shaped into some aspects of science, literature and philosophy . The Renaissance originated in Florence, Italy, and then spread to parts of Europe. In Italy the main focus was on cultural art, while in England literature and music were their main focus. Literature and music were the main ways in which Renaissance ideas spread. During the English Renaissance, ideas spread throughout England thanks to William Shakespeare. This was done through the use of humanist ideologies in his writings, using ancient tragedies from history as the basis for his plays, and allowing all types of classes to see his plays. William Shakespeare was a playwright born in the mid-16th century and lived during the English Renaissance. Towards the end of the 16th century he began to become a successful writer in London. Most of his works were comic and concerned the history of England or other parts of the world. The main concept of the Renaissance was the rebirth of culture and the recovery of knowledge that had previously been acquired when contact with it was lost. William Shakespeare did this through his plays. He used Greek Humanism originating in Italy, as well as many features of the Renaissance. It is the rediscovery of a classical civilization. This cultural movement rehabilitated any interest people had in Greek and Roman civilizations. It also promoted civil values ​​and defended itself from any barbarity that human nature threatened to provoke, in the broadest spectrum. “That the ancient adage nosce teispum – know thyself – is a key principle in humanist thought in general, and in Shakespeare in particular…” The “know thyself” principle is very evident in Hamlet. This is because Hamlet was not a character from the medieval system, but rather was developed to be a Renaissance character in Victorian England.