Paraphrased biblical allusions in Shakespeare may be among the most important (though harder to spot)
Some of the harder biblical allusions to spot in Shakespeare's plays are the ones that are more thoroughly paraphrased, or subtle plot echoes.
- Some of these might have been made subtle for aesthetic reasons (e.g. to avoid cliches) or to avoid the censors (avoid criticizing the crown and its advisers with political commentary laced with righteous biblical quotes).
- But some of the paraphrased and subtle references may be among the most important, in part because, to paraphrase or create a subtle plot echo, you must have internalized the scripture reference very deeply and insightfully; then you can make it your own in fresh writing that resonates with the influence of the buried allusion.
This idea contradicts most of the major works (and many minor ones as well) that attempted to catalog all the (obvious) biblical allusions in Shakespeare's plays. These include books by authors Bishop Charles Wordsworth (1864), Thomas Carter (1905), Richmond Noble (1935), Naseeb Shaheem (tragedies, 1987; all WS plays, 1999), and Peter Milward (tragedies, 1987). The first four focus mostly on allusions whose wording can be identified by association with a specific translation available at the time Shakespeare was writing, and therefore, they neglect paraphrase and plot echo in favor of the more obvious and easily verifiable allusions.
Example of a paraphrased & often-missed bible allusion in Hamlet:
Hamlet: I am glad to see you well. Horatio! - or I do forget myself.
Horatio: The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.
Hamlet: Sir, my good friend - I'll change that name with you.
Change that name with you? Four key Shakespeare & the Bible scholars missed this (Wordsworth, Carter, Noble, Shaheem), while Peter Milward (on the tragedies) caught it: Horatio presents himself to his friend and "lord," Prince Hamlet, as "your poor servant ever"; but the prince says he would be his good friend Horatio’s “poor servant,” not the other way around.
This alludes to multiple gospel passages in which Jesus says that if you would be greatest, you must be servant of all (Matt 20:26; Mark 9:35; Luke 22:26), and to Jesus washing the feet of the disciples to demonstrate such service (John 13:1-9), after which he tells them that he won’t call them servants any longer, but friends (John 15:15). And the allusion is also potentially subversive, as leaders and royalty might be criticized for failing to live up to the gospel ideal of service to all as expected.
You don't have to be a bible-thumping Christian to recognize such scriptural allusions when pointed out; nor do you have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, as they say. There is a strong possibility that Shakespeare appreciated the bible more for its moral teachings and good tales (useful in his plays) than for it's doctrinal or metaphysical ideas. In an England on the verge of religious civil war, Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, respectively, each executed record numbers of Catholics, Protestants, and (again) Catholics as traitors and heretics. But Shakespeare is the one who began the prologue for Romeo and Juliet in this way:
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
It's likely that at least one of the intended meanings of Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare had to do with the Catholic-Protestant feud in his own land, and that it was more important to him that Christians in England get along, than that one faction rise victorious after killing off large numbers of the other.
Why does it matter, if we recognize the paraphrased gospel allusions in Hamlet's reply to Horatio? Along with Hamlet’s scolding of Polonius for his judgmental and inhospitable treatment of the players, this shows the Prince of Denmark with positive moral qualities before he is tempted toward revenge and bloody thoughts by the ghost of his father. Many early London audience members, for whom bible reading was popular and church attendance mandatory, would have caught this allusion, and would have found the "poor servant" prince to be refreshingly attractive and sympathetic before his descent into darker thoughts and actions. It helps us plot the moral trajectory and arc of character development in the prince if we have a clearer grasp of his starting point.
If we care what Shakespeare was trying to elicit from his original audience, it matters. It matters for understanding Hamlet, and it matters for achieving a deep understanding of the other plays as well, in which obvious or subtle, paraphrased biblical allusions abound.
[This article is a combination, expansion, and repost of some earlier status/update posts of mine from previous months on LinkedIn. ]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links to a description of my book project:
On LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eJGBtqV
On this blog: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/05/hamlets-bible-my-book-project-im.html
[Originally posted around the week of 7/11/17 on LinkedIn]
- Some of these might have been made subtle for aesthetic reasons (e.g. to avoid cliches) or to avoid the censors (avoid criticizing the crown and its advisers with political commentary laced with righteous biblical quotes).
- But some of the paraphrased and subtle references may be among the most important, in part because, to paraphrase or create a subtle plot echo, you must have internalized the scripture reference very deeply and insightfully; then you can make it your own in fresh writing that resonates with the influence of the buried allusion.
This idea contradicts most of the major works (and many minor ones as well) that attempted to catalog all the (obvious) biblical allusions in Shakespeare's plays. These include books by authors Bishop Charles Wordsworth (1864), Thomas Carter (1905), Richmond Noble (1935), Naseeb Shaheem (tragedies, 1987; all WS plays, 1999), and Peter Milward (tragedies, 1987). The first four focus mostly on allusions whose wording can be identified by association with a specific translation available at the time Shakespeare was writing, and therefore, they neglect paraphrase and plot echo in favor of the more obvious and easily verifiable allusions.
Example of a paraphrased & often-missed bible allusion in Hamlet:
Hamlet: I am glad to see you well. Horatio! - or I do forget myself.
Horatio: The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.
Hamlet: Sir, my good friend - I'll change that name with you.
Change that name with you? Four key Shakespeare & the Bible scholars missed this (Wordsworth, Carter, Noble, Shaheem), while Peter Milward (on the tragedies) caught it: Horatio presents himself to his friend and "lord," Prince Hamlet, as "your poor servant ever"; but the prince says he would be his good friend Horatio’s “poor servant,” not the other way around.
This alludes to multiple gospel passages in which Jesus says that if you would be greatest, you must be servant of all (Matt 20:26; Mark 9:35; Luke 22:26), and to Jesus washing the feet of the disciples to demonstrate such service (John 13:1-9), after which he tells them that he won’t call them servants any longer, but friends (John 15:15). And the allusion is also potentially subversive, as leaders and royalty might be criticized for failing to live up to the gospel ideal of service to all as expected.
You don't have to be a bible-thumping Christian to recognize such scriptural allusions when pointed out; nor do you have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, as they say. There is a strong possibility that Shakespeare appreciated the bible more for its moral teachings and good tales (useful in his plays) than for it's doctrinal or metaphysical ideas. In an England on the verge of religious civil war, Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, respectively, each executed record numbers of Catholics, Protestants, and (again) Catholics as traitors and heretics. But Shakespeare is the one who began the prologue for Romeo and Juliet in this way:
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
It's likely that at least one of the intended meanings of Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare had to do with the Catholic-Protestant feud in his own land, and that it was more important to him that Christians in England get along, than that one faction rise victorious after killing off large numbers of the other.
Why does it matter, if we recognize the paraphrased gospel allusions in Hamlet's reply to Horatio? Along with Hamlet’s scolding of Polonius for his judgmental and inhospitable treatment of the players, this shows the Prince of Denmark with positive moral qualities before he is tempted toward revenge and bloody thoughts by the ghost of his father. Many early London audience members, for whom bible reading was popular and church attendance mandatory, would have caught this allusion, and would have found the "poor servant" prince to be refreshingly attractive and sympathetic before his descent into darker thoughts and actions. It helps us plot the moral trajectory and arc of character development in the prince if we have a clearer grasp of his starting point.
If we care what Shakespeare was trying to elicit from his original audience, it matters. It matters for understanding Hamlet, and it matters for achieving a deep understanding of the other plays as well, in which obvious or subtle, paraphrased biblical allusions abound.
[This article is a combination, expansion, and repost of some earlier status/update posts of mine from previous months on LinkedIn. ]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links to a description of my book project:
On LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eJGBtqV
On this blog: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/05/hamlets-bible-my-book-project-im.html
[Originally posted around the week of 7/11/17 on LinkedIn]
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