Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

The First Commandment, "THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BUT ME,” doesn’t mention pride, but Christian tradition considered it to be like playing god, the worst of the seven deadly sins from which the others proceed [1].  By apocryphal tradition it was the sin of Satan and the fallen angels, who in their pride believed they were equal to God or might usurp God’s throne [2].  KING HAMLET & OLD FORTINBRAS: Horatio in 1.1 notes pride: […] our last king, [...] Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Thereto pricked on by a most emulate *pride,* Dared to the combat… (1.1.92-96)  King Hamlet was “Dared to the combat”; instead of humbly urging peace instead of violence, “pricked on by… emulate pride,” he accepted the challenge and killed the Norwegian king, both of them gambling their lives and sons’ inheritance – and the future of their countries – on pride.  No “sealed compact,” “law” or “heraldry” (1.1.98-101) can excuse this sin of pride, and it may be among t...

Did people in Shakespeare’s time sometimes have good reason for appearing to Puritans as if they were violating the first commandment [1], celebrating and retelling tales from classical mythology, tales about gods from ancient religious cults that Christianity had declared to be false?  If one wished to talk and write about mystery and transcendent meaning, what was a person to do if one hoped to avoid being executed as a heretic, when Christianity was contentious and rigid, with certain topics prohibited, dangerous?  It was safer to re-tell tales from classical mythology involving gods and humans interacting, and possibly to use these as analogies for contemporary events.  Many gods and other classical references are in Hamlet:  1.2: Hyperion, Hercules, Niobe; 1.4: The Nemian lion (defeated by Hercules); 2.2: Pyrrhus, Priam, Hecuba; 3.2: Vulcan, Phoebus, Neptune, Hymen, Hecate; 3.4: Hyperion, Jove, Mars, Mercury;  5.1: The Greek mountains, Pelion, Olympus, and ...

Why did Hamlet compare his father to Greek and Roman gods - at a time when Elizabeth was often compared to goddesses? In Shakespeare’s England, churches had the Ten Commandments posted prominently. The first commandment: "THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BUT ME." Literally: Don’t worship deities of other religions. Hamlet worries that heaven forbids suicide (“self-slaughter,” 1.2.136), but (oblivious to other biblical prohibitions?) compares his father to a Greek god, the titan Hyperion (1.2.144), and in 3.4, to more gods: See what a grace was seated on this brow, Hyperion’s curls, the front of Jove himself, An eye like Mars’ to threaten and command, A station like the herald Mercury New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill, A combination and a form indeed Where every god did seem to set his seal To give the world assurance of a man. (3.4.65--72) The ghost says he’s being purged in an afterlife, as in purgatory of Catholic teaching, not Greek or Roman mythology. Is Hamlet confused...

Dives and Pauper [1] was an English text from early 1400s, probably by a Franciscan, and although there are no direct allusions in the play to this Middle English text, it has interesting connections to Shakespeare and Hamlet, as well as representing the general influence of the Ten Commandments [2] on the evolution of English religious culture. The title is an allusion to Luke 16:19-31 in which a rich man (Latin: "Dives") neglects the beggar Lazarus and suffers eternal punishment while Lazarus goes to heaven [3]. Lazarus, whose body had sores that were licked by dogs, was often thought to have been a leper (hence "Lazar houses," hospitals for lepers in England). The ghost in Hamlet 1.5 thinks a “leperous distillment” of poison that his brother poured in his ear made his skin all "lazar-like" [4]. Ophelia's reference to the story of the owl and the baker's daughter is a folktale retelling, where a baker is rich in bread, but his daughter is r...

IN THE PERSON OF HAMLET, DOES SHAKESPEARE ASSOCIATE ELIZABETHAN ICONOCLASM WITH DEMONIC POSSESSION?  In Reformation England, images that recreated scenes from familiar religious and biblical tales were destroyed, removed, or painted over as allegedly idolatrous (as described in the 2nd commandment, which prohibited making any “graven image”).  In their place? Commandment boards.  It is frequently noted that Shakespeare’s father, John, was charged with having to paint over images in their church in Stratford. People who loved religious statues and images in their local churches often had to be content with the Ten Commandments, and words, not images.  By placing on Hamlet’s lips a little speech that seems to make him an iconoclast by analogy – and at the very moment when Hamlet seems tempted to revenge by a possibly demonic ghost – this seems to associate English iconoclasm with the demonic [1].  Consider Hamlet’s little speech after his first encounter with the ...

Because Francisco has the watch and is not yet relieved by Bernardo, many observe that Bernardo is speaking out of turn when he says the opening line of the play, "Who's there?" Francisco rightly refuses to answer, and demands that Bernardo "unfold himself" -- identify himself to Francisco instead. Is it acceptable for one soldier or sentinel to demand reform of another? Bernardo violated the rules of the watch: In a time of war or potential war, following such rules carefully can mean life or death. Hamlet is a play in which many rules (such as the Ten Commandments) are broken, and lives are lost. Bernardo doesn't really answer Francisco's question: Francisco guesses Bernardo's identity, and Bernardo confirms it. Rather than be a stickler for military protocol (rules for their own sake), Francisco backs off. Bernardo's approach didn't represent a sneak attack from an enemy, but merely a mistake by another nervous sentinel. Relieved of his ...

At the end of the first scene of Hamlet, Horatio says that their failure to get the ghost or apparition to speak is a problem that should be referred to the prince: Horatio: "This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him" (1.1.186). This echoes a tale in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) following the story of the transfiguration [1]. Horatio uses the words “dumb” and “spirit” in describing the ghost. Note similar language in the 1599 Geneva translation of Mark 9:17-19: 17 [...] Master, I have brought my son unto thee, which hath a dumb spirit : 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples , that they should cast him out , and they could not . 19 Then he answered him, and said, O faithless generation, how long now shall I be with you! how long now shall I suffer you! Bring him unto me . Note the progression: “dumb spirit” (v.17); “thy disciples [...] should cast him out, and the...

GENERAL INFORMATION: Ten Commandments in Hamlet (Series) [1] Much attention has been given to iconoclasm (destruction of sacred or allegedly idolatrous images) in England during the reformation, but less to how such images and artifacts were effectively replaced by royal injunctions of Elizabeth I in 1561 requiring the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) to be posted on the eastern wall of every church [2]. Statues, carvings, wall paintings, and stained glass had once shown angels, demons, scenes from biblical stories and the lives of saints, appealing to collective memory and to the imagination. In iconoclastic acts of erasure, these were replaced by the Decalogue, appealing more to the logical mind, the superego, the rule of law, and fear of punishment.  Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet , not only demonstrates the violation of all of these, but also may refer to the sometimes resented replacement of icons with commandment boards.  Commandments were posted for all the faithful to see, ...

Shakespeare’s Hamlet demonstrates the violation of all of the Ten Commandments, and may also refer to the sometimes resented iconoclastic replacement of images (statues, paintings, sometimes stained glass) with commandment boards.  I will add to this SERIES INDEX as I post new installments. SERIES INDEX https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/07/series-index-ten-commandments-in-hamlet.html GENERAL INTRODUCTION : https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/07/general-information-ten-commandments-in.html In Hamlet 1.1, Francisco demands Bernardo's repentance (Series, prelude 1) - August 04, 2026: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/08/in-hamlet-11-francisco-demands.html HAMLET THE DEMONIC ICONOCLAST (prelude 2) https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/08/hamlet-demonic-iconoclast-ten.html Dives and Pauper, Hamlet, Ten Commandments, and Falstaff   (prelude 3) - Early 15th Century book structured in part around the Ten Commandments, with a dialogu...

My last post was on "Works vs. Faith" [1], relating to Hamlet changing the death letter on his ship to England. Salvation by faith and/or works was a hot topic in Shakespeare’s England, much less so today. But an analogy can be found in economics: - Some advocate Laissez-faire (or “free-market”) economics with minimal guidelines or interventions, a materialistic parallel of salvation by faith. - Others advocate managed economics (like democratic socialism). This is like faith plus works: basic faith in the system, but more “works” regulating it, and more social safety net to level the playing field. Some critics and scholars note a reference to a faith vs. works in Act 1, scene 4, when Hamlet wants to follow the ghost and commands his friends not to stop him: MARCELLUS: Let’s follow. ’Tis not fit thus to obey him. HORATIO: Have after. To what issue will this come? MARCELLUS: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. HORATIO: Heaven will direct it. MARCELLUS: Nay, let’s f...

PART 2 of 2 NOW AVAILABLE In mid-May, Philip Rowe, the host of the podcast, The History of European Theatre , asked me to be a guest on his podcast. I was delighted. Philip's podcast series has more than 260 episodes covering a wide range of subjects, and he has interviewed an impressive list of guests, including Kristen McDermott, Steve Sohmer, Rob Eastaway, Darren Freebury-Jones, Susan D Amussen, Roberta Barker, Robert Crighton, Rachel Aanstad, Colin David Rees, Iman Sheeha, Laurie Johnson, Katherine Sheil, Cassidy Cash, and Ian McCormick, to name just a few in recent years. After some planning, on June 10, we recorded a conversation about Shakespeare's use of biblical allusions, especially in Hamlet . Philip edited the interview into two episodes. My previous post about part 1 of these interviews can be found here:  https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/07/july-13-interview-1-of-2-with-philip.html I'm very happy that Philip found and liked my blog, honored to...