HAMLET'S BIBLE: MY BOOK PROJECT
HAMLET'S BIBLE: MY BOOK PROJECT
I’m writing a book about biblical influences, allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet, tentatively titled “Hamlet’s Bible.”
Others since the 1860s have tried to document all known bible allusions in *all* of Shakespeare’s plays, and these are helpful reference books but have drawbacks:
1. Like many reference books, they often read like phone books.
2. The most up-to-date (Shaheen) is prohibitively expensive.
3. We usually read one play at a time; readers with limited exposure to a few plays are unlikely to invest in a reference book if they’d only use one chapter per play.
4. These books neglect paraphrased allusions & plot echoes.
5. They also lack historical and interpretive context.
My students would say, “Ok, but what are the allusions doing there? What did they mean?”
My book will
~ include essays about threads & clusters of biblical & religious allusions & plot echoes;
~ deal primarily with Hamlet, not all of Shakespeare’s plays;
~ interpret the text in light of the allusions & historical context;
~ assume readers don’t have to be people of faith to understand and appreciate the religious allusions, once explained; and
~ change the way some people think about the play.
Highlights from related posts:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/03/hamlets-bible-2-year-anniversary.html
[Originally posted around the week of 5/22/17 on LinkedIn]
Update:
Here's a jpg of a poster for a talk I'm giving in January of 2019 that hints at many of the biblical allusions and plot echoes I'll address in addition to those scholars most frequently mention. This may evolve into a book cover:
I’m writing a book about biblical influences, allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet, tentatively titled “Hamlet’s Bible.”
Others since the 1860s have tried to document all known bible allusions in *all* of Shakespeare’s plays, and these are helpful reference books but have drawbacks:
1. Like many reference books, they often read like phone books.
2. The most up-to-date (Shaheen) is prohibitively expensive.
3. We usually read one play at a time; readers with limited exposure to a few plays are unlikely to invest in a reference book if they’d only use one chapter per play.
4. These books neglect paraphrased allusions & plot echoes.
5. They also lack historical and interpretive context.
My students would say, “Ok, but what are the allusions doing there? What did they mean?”
My book will
~ include essays about threads & clusters of biblical & religious allusions & plot echoes;
~ deal primarily with Hamlet, not all of Shakespeare’s plays;
~ interpret the text in light of the allusions & historical context;
~ assume readers don’t have to be people of faith to understand and appreciate the religious allusions, once explained; and
~ change the way some people think about the play.
Highlights from related posts:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/03/hamlets-bible-2-year-anniversary.html
[Originally posted around the week of 5/22/17 on LinkedIn]
Update:
Here's a jpg of a poster for a talk I'm giving in January of 2019 that hints at many of the biblical allusions and plot echoes I'll address in addition to those scholars most frequently mention. This may evolve into a book cover:
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