Hamlet & Purgatory—Part 2: SHAKESPEARE WAS A SUCCESSFUL EVANGELIST FOR THE IDEA OF PURGATORY
SHAKESPEARE WAS A SUCCESSFUL EVANGELIST FOR THE IDEA OF PURGATORY,
considering how many Anglican & Protestant readers/scholars for centuries accept that the ghost is Hamlet’s father, from purgatory (even—perhaps—sent by God), and that #Hamlet must avenge his death. The assumption of many male readers has been "manly": The ghost is his dad, and Hamlet must avenge.
STEPHEN GREENBLATT does a good job in "Hamlet in Purgatory," showing how people challenged the idea of purgatory as a fiction used to prey upon the gullible for their money. There is much truth to that.
But on the other hand, it's always the job of the living to sort through the legacy of the dead and to make sense, to find what's still useful, redeeming what is good, rejecting what is harmful—hopefully with humility, not assuming we can pluck the hearts of their mysteries.
This is analogous to prayers for the dead, and to the hope for purification of souls after death. Again, not literally, but analogously.
This is also an effect of Hamlet giving his dying voice to Young Fortinbras as the next King of Denmark: It's not necessarily about whether Fortinbras is the best man for the job, but it heals wounds Hamlet's father ("pricked on by... emulate pride") made in life.
#Shakespeare #Hamlet #Literature #Bible #Renaissance #EarlyModern #theatre #Drama #literarycriticism #Greenblatt #purgatory
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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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 1/29/18
on LinkedIn]
considering how many Anglican & Protestant readers/scholars for centuries accept that the ghost is Hamlet’s father, from purgatory (even—perhaps—sent by God), and that #Hamlet must avenge his death. The assumption of many male readers has been "manly": The ghost is his dad, and Hamlet must avenge.
STEPHEN GREENBLATT does a good job in "Hamlet in Purgatory," showing how people challenged the idea of purgatory as a fiction used to prey upon the gullible for their money. There is much truth to that.
But on the other hand, it's always the job of the living to sort through the legacy of the dead and to make sense, to find what's still useful, redeeming what is good, rejecting what is harmful—hopefully with humility, not assuming we can pluck the hearts of their mysteries.
This is analogous to prayers for the dead, and to the hope for purification of souls after death. Again, not literally, but analogously.
This is also an effect of Hamlet giving his dying voice to Young Fortinbras as the next King of Denmark: It's not necessarily about whether Fortinbras is the best man for the job, but it heals wounds Hamlet's father ("pricked on by... emulate pride") made in life.
#Shakespeare #Hamlet #Literature #Bible #Renaissance #EarlyModern #theatre #Drama #literarycriticism #Greenblatt #purgatory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 1/29/18
on LinkedIn]
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