ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT PURGATORY I LEARNED FROM SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET (purgatory part 1)
ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT PURGATORY
I LEARNED FROM SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET
(with a little help from S. Greenblatt): Part I
Hamlet toys with purgatory: English church adherents could think the ghost is a demon in disguise; secret Catholics, that he’s from purgatory.
But note that Hamlet uses his last breaths to heal wounds that he and his father had created in life:
—He offers an apology to Laertes, which Laertes rejects at first, but they later reconcile before dying.
—Hamlet uses his dying breaths to give the throne to Fortinbras,* son of the man his father killed, healing a wound his father had created
(and helping what remains of Dad, among the living, out of “purgatory”;
some call this re-imagining metaphysics as phenomenology).
(*In one sense, of course, Young Fortinbras is James, whose parent, Mary QoS, had been executed by Elizabeth, just as Old Hamlet killed Old Fortinbras.)
This sort of change of heart and reconciliation works far better than causing many wounds in life, and then paying to have masses said to shorten one’s time
(or a parent’s time) in purgatory after the fact.
The play could not claim unequivocal belief in purgatory and be approved by censors. But maybe the play’s humanistic solution is better.
What do you think?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PURGATORY & Hamlet
Pt 1
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/12/all-my-fav-things-re-purgatory-pt-i.html
Pt 2
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/01/hamlet-purgatorypart-2-shakespeare-was.html
Pt 3
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/02/part-3-all-i-need-to-know-about.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Shakespeare #Hamlet #Literature #Bible #Religion #Renaissance #EarlyModern #theatre #Drama #literarycriticism #greenblatt #purgatory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 12/11/17
on LinkedIn]
I LEARNED FROM SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET
(with a little help from S. Greenblatt): Part I
Hamlet toys with purgatory: English church adherents could think the ghost is a demon in disguise; secret Catholics, that he’s from purgatory.
But note that Hamlet uses his last breaths to heal wounds that he and his father had created in life:
—He offers an apology to Laertes, which Laertes rejects at first, but they later reconcile before dying.
—Hamlet uses his dying breaths to give the throne to Fortinbras,* son of the man his father killed, healing a wound his father had created
(and helping what remains of Dad, among the living, out of “purgatory”;
some call this re-imagining metaphysics as phenomenology).
(*In one sense, of course, Young Fortinbras is James, whose parent, Mary QoS, had been executed by Elizabeth, just as Old Hamlet killed Old Fortinbras.)
This sort of change of heart and reconciliation works far better than causing many wounds in life, and then paying to have masses said to shorten one’s time
(or a parent’s time) in purgatory after the fact.
The play could not claim unequivocal belief in purgatory and be approved by censors. But maybe the play’s humanistic solution is better.
What do you think?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PURGATORY & Hamlet
Pt 1
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/12/all-my-fav-things-re-purgatory-pt-i.html
Pt 2
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/01/hamlet-purgatorypart-2-shakespeare-was.html
Pt 3
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/02/part-3-all-i-need-to-know-about.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Shakespeare #Hamlet #Literature #Bible #Religion #Renaissance #EarlyModern #theatre #Drama #literarycriticism #greenblatt #purgatory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 12/11/17
on LinkedIn]
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