Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

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...

When Shakespeare's Hamlet was first produced, a hot topic in reformation England was faith vs. works: Are we justified in the eyes of heaven by our faith, or our works? All English Christians (Catholic, Protestant, and others) used bible translations featuring St. Paul who wrote of salvation by faith (e.g. Romans 3:28, 5:1; Galatians 2:16). But a letter of James said that "faith without works is dead" (2:14-26) and that "a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" (v.24). This apparent contradiction is similar to what Shakespeare's Richard II notes while imprisoned, comparing what seem to be incompatible scripture phrases: "...thoughts of things divine, are intermixed With scruples, and do set the word itself Against the word..." (5.5.12-14). On faith v. works, Protestants preferred Paul's formulations, while Catholics preferred James. Events on Hamlet's sea voyage relate to this debate without ever using the words “faith” or “...

Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday (July 5) over the past few days! I really appreciate it. This year I received a Hamlet card, featuring Shakespeare telling the skull of Yorick that he hasn't aged a day. Very appropriate! (And courtesy of the Huntington Library and Museum in Los Angeles, California...) For those of you who don't yet know, I was asked to be a guest on Philip Rowe's The History of European Theatre podcast; this will be two episodes, starting with the first on July 13. For more information, see my previous blog post here:  https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/07/july-13-interview-1-of-2-with-philip.html

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. I'm very happy that Philip found and liked my blog, honored to be a guest, and greatly enjoyed the conversation. In the first of these two episodes we talk more generally about Shakespeare and the Bible, and in the second (release date to be ann...

Shakespeare's Hamlet offers glimpses of two ways of transcending dysfunctional parentage: a) The limited path of Freud's Oedipal complex, or b) Yorick and the paths of Francis of Assisi and Bernard of Clairvaux. In the first, the son kills the father-figure to reclaim a lost closeness to the mother. If the father is a tyrant and the son resorts to violence to replace him, this is a very limited, temporary transcendence, with the son too much like the father he replaces [1]. Francisco and Bernardo are the names of sentinels, the first two characters on stage in the play. Together, they are the names of the Pazzi assassins [2], but individually they are names of saints: - Francis of Assisi and Bernard of Clairvaux didn't kill their fathers, but Francis famously renounced his abusive father before the bishop, stripping off his clothes and giving them back to his father, saying that he had a father in heaven. - St. Bernard’s biological father and brothers eventually joined t...