MELANCHOLY: LOST DELIGHT IN HAMLET & FRANCIS OF ASSISI

In 2.2, Hamlet describes his melancholy to Rosencrantz & Guildenstern:

" I have of late...
lost all my mirth
...this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most
excellent canopy, the air,
...this brave
o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire, why, it appears...
a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
...what is this quintessence of dust? man delights*
not me...."

This resembles a description of Francis of Assisi in his youth From pt.1, ch.2, par.3 of Thomas of Celano's "Vita Beati Francisci " (Life of Blessed Francis), commissioned 1228. After soldiering, being a P.O.W. , and a long illness, Francis goes for a walk,

"But neither the beauty of the fields, the pleasantness of the vineyards, nor anything that is fair to see could in any way delight*
him. And he wondered at the sudden change in himself and began to deem the lovers of such things to be very fools, and from that day he began to despise himself and in some sort to hold in contempt what he had admired and loved before...."
[* emphasis mine]

Had Shakespeare read this Latin "Life of Francis"?

First character on stage: "Francisco"?

(For Latin "Vita Prima" see link in comments.)

[Certainly the experience of melancholy was widespread during the English Renaissance, but for Francis and others, it may have been understood as a step in the dark niight of the soul, or a kind of purging of earthly desires on a path to mystical enlightenment.]
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See also The Saint and the Sultan by Paul Moses (2009).]

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INDEX OF POSTS on Francisco & Bernardo:

PAZZI CONSPIRACY - possible allusion noted by C. Elliot Browne in 1876 in the names of Francisco & Bernardo
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/05/c-elliot-browne-wrote-in-1876-that.html
1 May, 2017

SCOURGE AND MINISTER: BERNARD AND FRANCIS https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/03/scourge-minister-bernard-francis.html
- March 26, 2018

MIGHT ART LOST IN DISSOLVED MONASTERIES HAVE HELPED CONNECT HAMLET'S FRANCISCO & BERNARDO TO THE SAINTS?
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/might-lost-art-in-dissolved-monasteries.html
- April 03, 2017

FATHER ISSUES FOR HAMLET & FRANCISCO
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/01/shakespeares-hamlet-has-father-issues.html
- April 10, 2017

TOP SIX REASONS Shakespeare probably named sentinel Francisco after Francis of Assisi
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/top-six-reasons-shakespeare-probably.html
- April 17, 2017

Four Approaches to Francisco & Bernardo in Hamlet
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/four-approaches-to-names-of-sentinels.html
- April 24, 2017

MELANCHOLY: LOST DELIGHT IN HAMLET & FRANCIS OF ASSISI
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/07/melancholy-lost-delight-hamlet-francis.html
- July 17, 2017

How Geographical Memory May Have Encouraged the Naming of Two Characters in Hamlet
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/07/how-geographical-memory-may-have.html
- July 24, 2017

SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET FINDS A FATHER IN PROVIDENCE (not RI)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/11/shakespeares-hamlet-finds-father-in.html
- November 20, 2017

WHAT DO FRANCISCO & BERNARDO HAVE TO DO WITH SHAKESPEARE & THE BIBLE?
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/12/what-do-francisco-bernardo-have-to-do.html
- December 03, 2017

BERNARDO TALES: LAERTES & HAMLET RECONCILE, as do BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX & PETER ABELARD
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/12/bernardo-abelard-hamlet-laertes-reconcile.html
- December 04, 2017

CORRUPTED REFORMERS: WHY SOMEONE NAMED AFTER BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX MIGHT BE FIRST TO SPEAK IN SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/01/corrupted-reformers-why-someone-named.html
- January 01, 2018

SCOURGE AND MINISTER: BERNARD AND FRANCIS
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/03/scourge-minister-bernard-francis.html
- March 26, 2018
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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Thanks for reading!
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My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.

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