HAMLET: "FELL SERGEANT, DEATH" & MATT 5:23-26
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 before they die;
in his father's place, he reconciles with Young Fortinbras, whose father was killed in single combat by old King Hamlet.
"This fell sergeant, Death" was not a new idea invented by Shakespeare, but borrowed from the gospel passage.
[Postscript: Based in this way on scripture, it was also used in homilies, in phrases like "arrested of death," in reference to Lazarus and the Rich man.]
[1] Naseeb Shaheen, Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays (542), 1999.
Peter Milward,
Biblical Influences in Shakespeare's Great Tragedies (1987)
Richmond Noble,
Shakespeare's Biblical Knowledge and Use of the Book of Common Prayer, as Exemplified in the Plays of the First Folio (1935)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/shakespearesbibl0000nobl/page/n5/mode/2up
Thomas Carter,
Shakespeare and the Holy Scripture, with the Version He Used (1905)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/cu31924077732570/page/n5/mode/2up
Charles Wordsworth,
Shakespeare's Knowledge And Use Of The Bible (1864)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/shakespeareskno00wordgoog/page/n2/mode/2up
Also, we might add to this list of five, a work that is not a reference work with listings like the others, but a collection of essays:
William Burgess,
The Bible in Shakespeare (1843)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/bibleinshakspear00burg/page/n3/mode/2up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 2/12/18
on LinkedIn]
"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 before they die;
in his father's place, he reconciles with Young Fortinbras, whose father was killed in single combat by old King Hamlet.
"This fell sergeant, Death" was not a new idea invented by Shakespeare, but borrowed from the gospel passage.
[Postscript: Based in this way on scripture, it was also used in homilies, in phrases like "arrested of death," in reference to Lazarus and the Rich man.]
[1] Naseeb Shaheen, Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays (542), 1999.
Peter Milward,
Biblical Influences in Shakespeare's Great Tragedies (1987)
Richmond Noble,
Shakespeare's Biblical Knowledge and Use of the Book of Common Prayer, as Exemplified in the Plays of the First Folio (1935)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/shakespearesbibl0000nobl/page/n5/mode/2up
Thomas Carter,
Shakespeare and the Holy Scripture, with the Version He Used (1905)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/cu31924077732570/page/n5/mode/2up
Charles Wordsworth,
Shakespeare's Knowledge And Use Of The Bible (1864)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/shakespeareskno00wordgoog/page/n2/mode/2up
Also, we might add to this list of five, a work that is not a reference work with listings like the others, but a collection of essays:
William Burgess,
The Bible in Shakespeare (1843)
Available to access for free at Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/bibleinshakspear00burg/page/n3/mode/2up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 2/12/18
on LinkedIn]
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