Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

USING SCRIPTURE AS A WEAPON in Hamlet 1.2 In his book, Hamlet in Purgatory, Stephen Greenblatt shows how the English government and church took the protestant view that the fate of the dead can’t be changed by prayers of the living; they encouraged briefer mourning, in harmony with Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 38:17-21. Mourn the dead, but don’t forget to live. Yet Hamlet’s mourning is an embarrassment to Gertrude, who deprived her son of the throne by marrying Claudius. She fears he might be putting on a show of grief as a quiet tantrum for not being made king. Hamlet denies that it is merely show. Claudius turns helpful biblical advice into aggressive insults against Hamlet’s manhood and faith. He fears that Hamlet’s mourning may contain a hint of rebellion against his having usurped the throne meant for the prince, since Claudius used an improper or “incestuous” marriage to achieve his ends. Both Gertrude and Claudius turn the good advice of scripture into a weapon against Hamlet t...

FOR SHAKESPEARE, MUST AN ALLUSION TO THE INCARNATION IMPLY A DIVINE INFANCY NARRATIVE? Two weeks ago, I posted regarding how Hamlet 1.1 refers to many Christian mysteries: Incarnation, teachings, passion, resurrection, and end times. The allusion to the incarnation takes the form of an allusion to “that season... / Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated.” But the gospels show that the Christian idea of God can be incarnate in more ways than a Bethlehem-born infant: —The Emmaus tale shows how one can find the risen Jesus in the stranger who does for us things like those things that Jesus did. —Ophelia’s mention of the story about how “the owl was a baker’s daughter” is an example of how we sometimes reject the presence of Jesus in the stranger or beggar, with negative consequences. So we should not assume that mention of “our savior’s birth” is a foreshadowing of another infancy narrative in the play. That never comes. Hamlet finds God’s hand at work in the pirates; p...

PANEL & PAPER ACCEPTED FOR SIXTEENTH CENTURY SOCIETY CONFERENCE My panel and paper proposals were accepted for the Sixteenth Century Society Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1-4 Nov., 2018. The panel will be on how Shakespeare’s plays have not only obvious biblical allusions, but also plot echoes and other influences from the bible and the Book of Common Prayer. My paper will be on how certain biblical allusions and plot echoes shed light on Hamlet’s character arc. Also on the panel will be Gayle Gaskill, professor emeritus of the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, and (William) Dean Clement of Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. Gayle edited the New Kittridge ed. of Twelfth Night, and is an assistant ed. of the latest variorum edition; her book contributions include the 2002 collection, “The Merchant of Venice: New Critical Essays”; and “Who Hears in Shakespeare?: Auditory Worlds on Stage and Screen.” She has also written reviews of Shakespeare...

WAS SHAKESPEARE MISOGYNIST WITH TOO FEW FEMALE CHARACTERS COMPARED TO HIS CONTEMPORARIES? The following article is a break from my habit of Hamlet (or Shakespeare) and the bible: It's about challenging some assumptions about Shakespeare's genius and his place in the literary canon. Was he misogynist? Did he put too few strong female characters in his plays? How does he compare on this point to other playwrights of the time? Was Shakespeare placed on a pedestal in part because his portrayals of grumpy men appealed to 18th Century assumptions? One does not have to agree with all the article says to find insight and thought-provoking questions here. https://beforeshakespeare.com/2018/06/04/galatea-britgrad-and-diverse-alarums/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Originally posted around the week of 6/4/18 on LinkedIn ] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Links to a description of my book project: On LinkedIn : https://lnkd.in/eJGBtqV On this blo...