IN HAMLET, DO LAERTES & OPHELIA ECHO SALOME?
John the Baptist condemned Herod’s marriage to his brother’s ex-wife. Her daughter Salome danced pleasingly for Herod and guests, so he granted her a wish. Prompted by her mother, she asked for John’s head (Mt 14:3-10, Mk 6:14-29).
Hamlet, like John Baptist, disapproves of a king's marriage to his brother’s wife.
Claudius speaks to Laertes (In 1.2) as if he’d grant any wish.
- Later, Laertes wants revenge for his father's death, saying he'd go to any length to obtain his revenge, even to slit (Hamlet's) throat in the church.
- (Beheading involves cutting the head off at the neck, so slitting the throat is in that way related to beheading).
- Claudius is like Herod who wants Hamlet (a John the Baptist figure) killed, and would use Laertes as executioner.
Before the sea voyage, Ophelia agrees to act as bait for Hamlet so that Claudius and Polonius can spy on him. Hamlet accuses her of acting like a harlot or prostitute in a kind of dance (“You jig, you amble”), hinting at Salome's dance.
So in the compost of Shakespeare's imagination, it seems he divides aspects of the Salome story between Ophelia and Laertes.
(Painting: 1515, Tiziano Vercelli)
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Update 20 December 2021
Song Cho has an excellent article from November of 2014 on Herod, John the Baptist, and Salome echoes in Hamlet. You can find it here:
http://www.languageinindia.com/nov2014/songchohamlet2.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE: 22 November, 2020:
See also John Gillies
Shakespeare Quarterly
Johns Hopkins University Press
Volume 64, Number 4, Winter 2013
pp. 396-424
10.1353/shq.2013.0057
Although Gillies doesn't make the connections in the quote below that I do
between Salome and Laertes/Ophelia, or
between Claudius and Herod Antipas who married a brother's wife, or
between Baptista, the player queen, and John the Baptist who condemned Herod Antipas' "incestuous" marriage to a brother's wife, or
between John the Baptist and "prophetic soul" Hamlet,
Gillies does discuss Herod (Antipas), Salome, and John the Baptist in the context of Hamlet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Originally posted 10/22/18
on LinkedIn]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Shakespeare #Bible #Hamlet #Literature #LiteraryCriticism #Drama #Theatre #EarlyModern #religion #Renaissance #EnglishLiterature #Ophelia
Hamlet, like John Baptist, disapproves of a king's marriage to his brother’s wife.
Claudius speaks to Laertes (In 1.2) as if he’d grant any wish.
- Later, Laertes wants revenge for his father's death, saying he'd go to any length to obtain his revenge, even to slit (Hamlet's) throat in the church.
- (Beheading involves cutting the head off at the neck, so slitting the throat is in that way related to beheading).
- Claudius is like Herod who wants Hamlet (a John the Baptist figure) killed, and would use Laertes as executioner.
Before the sea voyage, Ophelia agrees to act as bait for Hamlet so that Claudius and Polonius can spy on him. Hamlet accuses her of acting like a harlot or prostitute in a kind of dance (“You jig, you amble”), hinting at Salome's dance.
So in the compost of Shakespeare's imagination, it seems he divides aspects of the Salome story between Ophelia and Laertes.
(Painting: 1515, Tiziano Vercelli)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update 20 December 2021
Song Cho has an excellent article from November of 2014 on Herod, John the Baptist, and Salome echoes in Hamlet. You can find it here:
http://www.languageinindia.com/nov2014/songchohamlet2.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE: 22 November, 2020:
See also John Gillies
Shakespeare Quarterly
Johns Hopkins University Press
Volume 64, Number 4, Winter 2013
pp. 396-424
10.1353/shq.2013.0057
Although Gillies doesn't make the connections in the quote below that I do
between Salome and Laertes/Ophelia, or
between Claudius and Herod Antipas who married a brother's wife, or
between Baptista, the player queen, and John the Baptist who condemned Herod Antipas' "incestuous" marriage to a brother's wife, or
between John the Baptist and "prophetic soul" Hamlet,
Gillies does discuss Herod (Antipas), Salome, and John the Baptist in the context of Hamlet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Originally posted 10/22/18
on LinkedIn]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Shakespeare #Bible #Hamlet #Literature #LiteraryCriticism #Drama #Theatre #EarlyModern #religion #Renaissance #EnglishLiterature #Ophelia
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