Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

The nunnery scene (3.1) in Shakespeare's Hamlet is among the most famous of the play's scenes, with Hamlet telling Ophelia to get to a nunnery, criticizing women for painting themselves faces other than the one God gave them, and offering as a "plague for thy dowry" that, if she must marry, she should marry a fool. [NUNS AND A FOOL. Left: Hildegard von Bingen and her nuns, 13th Century, public domain here . Right: An Allegory of Folly, early 16th century, by Quentin Matsys (1456/1466–1530), New York, J. Held Collection. Image public domain, here .] All of these things - and Pyrrhus, and worm's suppers - also appear in Homily VI, "AN HOMILIE AGAINST excesse of Apparrell," from Book 2 of the official homilies used during Shakespeare's lifetime. The same homily also makes a connection between the sin of excess committed by the rich man in the Luke 16 Lazarus tale, and the excess of people wearing extravagant clothing, or we...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 117 views from the following 18+ countries: The blog's analytics are limited in how many countries they can list, and "other" may include readers whose browsers block tracking of nation of origin. Whether your country is listed or not, thank you for your interest. I am grateful and humbled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible , about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet. Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list): https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.

In Ophelia’s parallels with the beggar Lazarus tale in Shakespeare’s Hamlet , she had been rich in prospects and generous in love; then impoverished, love quashed by brother and father; rejected Hamlet in obedience to her father; treated harshly by Hamlet; a beggar to heaven ("O heavenly powers, restore him!" 3.1.1797); but in her madness, rich in humility, she sees herself in the folktale of a baker’s daughter , and then perhaps redeemed when she sees herself in a tale about a persecuted young woman who had been stolen as a girl by a false steward, denied the chance to marry her beloved, but later discovers her true parentage that makes her worthy. Ophelia's journey in light of the Lazarus tale might move us to consider who is figuratively rich, and generous or not, and who is figuratively poor, beggar or not. LAERTES AT OPHELIA'S GRAVE, IMAGINING HIS SISTER AS THE BEGGAR LAZARUS IN HEAVEN At her grave, her brother Laertes appears to be a sort of disgrunt...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 181 views from the following 19+ countries: The blog's analytics only list up to 19 countries, so the bottom listing of "other" views may be from other countries beyond the limit of 19, or it may include readers whose browsers block tracking of nation of origin. Whether your country is listed or not, thank you for your interest. I am grateful and humbled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible , about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet. Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list): https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 123 views from the following 19+ countries: The blog's analytics only list up to 19 countries, so the bottom listing of "other" views may be from other countries beyond the limit of 19, or it may include readers whose browsers block tracking of nation of origin. Whether your country is listed or not, thank you for your interest. I am grateful and humbled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible , about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet. Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list): https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.

In a recent National Theater/PBS production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , some of the most demanding, harsh lines scripted for Juliet's father, addressing Tybalt (1.5) and Juliet (3.5), were reassigned to her mother. [Screenshot from "The Making of Romeo and Juliet via PBS. Fair use.] - In 1.5, when Tybalt at the Capulet masque sees/hears Romeo, Tybalt says he wants to kill him on the spot. Instead of Juliet's father confronting him, her mother does, demanding Tybalt show better civility on this occasion, in her house. - In 3.5: Instead of Juliet's father demanding that Juliet (who has secretly married Romeo) must marry Paris or be disowned, again, Juliet's mother gets these lines; in the original text, Lady Capulet was merely given the chance to briefly assent to her husband's harsh castigation of the daughter. [Photo by Rob Youngson via PBS .] - The scenes were played convincingly, I thought. - On the one hand, Shakespeare would ...

Two Early Modern texts - each in their own ways well-known in their time - both touch upon all the following themes: adultery, lust, drunkenness, selfish ambition, sedition, envy, murder, incest, madness, and poison. They also allude to the following historical or Biblical-mythical characters: Alexander the Great, Herod John the Baptist The Beggar Lazarus and the selfish rich man The Serpent in the Garden Adam Cain King David St. Bernard of Clairvaux What are those two Early Modern texts? If you guessed (1) Homily V. from Book II of the official English Church homilies, "Against Gluttony and Drunkenness" (usually attributed to John Jewell), and (2) Shakespeare’s Hamlet , you are correct. The general idea in the homily is that any excess pursuit of pleasure in sex, food, or drink, is sinful, while all the things Christians receive as gifts from God in a spirit of thanksgiving and moderation are good. (Jewell might therefore disagree with Mae West, oft...