Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

A TALE OF HAMLET & TWO BIBLES: BISHOPS & GENEVA In Shakespeare’s time, the approved Bishops’ bible was used in church; the inexpensive Geneva translation was used at home. Specific words (unlike paraphrase) can point to specific translations: Regarding his accidental killing of Polonius (3.4), Hamlet says, “...heaven hath pleased it so,/ To punish me with this and this with me,/ That I must be their scourge and *minister*.” Hamlet's phrase, “scourge and minister,” uses "minister" in the same sense as the Bishops’ bible Mt 5:25 (in the picture below, right): a minister of justice carries out a judge’s sentence. Because church attendance was required (and absence punishable by fines), Shakespeare would have heard this word, used in this biblical context, every year, all his life. In the Bishops' bible, the word "minister" is used instead of the word "sergeant, which appears in the same place in the Geneva bible. But when Hamlet says...

Part 3: ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PURGATORY I LEARNED FROM SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET (& Stephen Greenblatt) Thought experiment: Three aging monarchs realize some past decisions & sins have caused innocent suffering. What to do? Repent? Monarch A donates money to a monastery where the monks have never spoken critically of the royal family. The king’s youngest brother was recently made abbot. After death, hundreds of masses will be said to reduce his time in purgatory. But perhaps the gift doesn’t rebalance the good to outweigh harm he has caused in the world. Monarch B donates to a convent where none of her relatives live or serve, in spite of the fact that the nuns have sometimes been critical of the choices of the royal family. Their primary mission is to serve needs of the sick and poor, to house the homeless, give them productive work, and teach useful skills. Monarch C reforms laws to be more fair and just, to reduce prison sentences when possible, and to raise wages and ...

VALENTINE'S DAY not only makes sweethearts, florists, chocolatiers and greeting card manufacturers happy: It is also associated with various Christian martyrs... one of whom was beheaded [1] by order of Claudius II (r.268-270). NOTE: Hamlet escapes the beheading order of Claudius; Ophelia sings of Valentine's Day. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT. TAKEAWAY: Make sure your Valentines don't include orders for your beheading from a guy named Claudius! ALSO CONSIDER: St. Valentine's day was probably more of a Catholic and popular feast (taken over from paganism) than a Protestant church feast in Shakespeare's time, because although it included a tale of martyrdom and divine "caritas" love (a theological virtue), it is transformed in popular culture into a feast of Eros or human and romantic love. Scripture does describe the church as the bride and Christ as the groom, and yet perhaps some Protestants or Puritans of Shakespeare's time may have frowned up...

Why do five major authorities on Shakespeare and the Bible since 1850 [1] miss the reference in "this fell sergeant, Death,/Is strict in his arrest" to Mt 5:23-26 (analogy for reconciling before death)? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 23 If then thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, 24 Leave there thine offering before the altar, and go thy way: FIRST BE RECONCILED TO THY BROTHER, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest thine adversary deliver thee to the Judge, and the Judge deliver thee to the SERGEANT, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast paid the utmost farthing. (1599 Geneva) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shakespeare understood: the SERGEANT in this passage can be a metaphor for death. Hence, "fell sergeant, Death".... Hamlet reconciles with Laertes in this scene befor...

Anti-plagiarism software helps identify George North "Rebellion and Rebels" text as another among many other already-known sources for Shakespeare. Identifying key phrases is a start. Noticing similar plot lines sometime involves a leap that human minds can notice, but software often misses. Paraphrased ideas are also harder than verbatim words or phrases. At present, software looking for matches in digitized texts can be a helpful tool, but it can't replace the human mind... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anti-cheat software reveals Shakespeare 'borrowed' phrases from little-known manuscript The Telegraph Margi Murphy 9 FEBRUARY 2018 • 12:53PM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 2/10/18 on LinkedIn ]

PRODUCTION OF HAMLET WITH ESPIONAGE TWIST IN D.C. Interview regarding a production of Hamlet with (appropriately) an espionage twist, around the corner from (a-ha!) a spy museum, located in (of course) Washington D.C. Claudius claims that planting Ophelia as bait and eavesdropping is OK, since, because he's king, they are "lawful espials," because, as Nixon used to say, if the president does it, that makes it legal. Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes; Rosencrantz & Guildenstern spy on Hamlet; and Hamet and Horatio spy on Claudius and his reaction to "The Mousetrap" play-within-the-play.... This also brings to mind the excellent 2006 film, "The Lives of Others," about electronic surveillance and meddling in formerly communist countries.... Funny how a very old play can still prove to be very relevant. ~~~~~~~~~~ Shakespeare Theatre Company stages ‘Hamlet’ with modern espionage twist By Jason Fraley | @JFrayWTOP February 5, 201...

“Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind”? After Polonius tells Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet, and she obeys, why does Ophelia tell Hamlet (in 3.1), “Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind”? (Hasn't SHE been unkind to Hamlet by obeying Dad, instead of honoring her heart and prince, who may be her future king?) A She believes her father, that Hamlet only wrote her sweet letters to take advantage of her sexually. (1.3) She thinks Hamlet unkind, because she believes Dad. B He frightened her when he visited her unannounced with doublet unbraced & stockings fouled. (2.1) He was unkind to frighten her like that. C He just claimed he "never gave [her] aught," (3.1) which she knows to be untrue, because she knows he gave her the letters. He was unkind to lie. D Some combination of the above or OTHER (please comment) (see comments on this LinkedIn post ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Links to a description of my book proje...