Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

A funny thing happened on the way to searching 2 Henry VI for instances of "beg" (five) and "poor" (14): [Image: From the First Folio of 1623, via Folger Shakespeare Library . Creative Commons.]  First, it is hard not to be struck by the idea that Shakespeare was writing at a time of Protestant-Catholic strife, in a divided country: He chose to write about the War of the Roses, a time when England was divided by the houses of Lancaster and York. Teachers who omit mention of this do their students a disservice. Second, in 2 Henry VI , audiences are again (as in Hamlet ) shown a variation of the theme of woman as an Eve figure, a source of corruption. In Hamlet, the prince complains about Gertrude's frailty and asks if she had a hand in killing his father; but in 2 Henry VI , Queen Margaret is having an affair with the Earl of Suffolk; if she is Eve, he is a serpent. Third, while searching for "instances of "beg" and "poor,...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 124 views from the following 19+ countries: 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.

FIVE BOOKS often has authors and authorities recommend five favorite books. This one is about Shakespeare, and includes recommendations from "Sir Stanley Wells, honorary president of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford, and General Editor of The Complete Oxford Shakespeare; Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, and acclaimed expert of Shakespeare's First Folio; and James Shapiro, Professor of English at Columbia University, and award-winning author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? and 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear" - and more (seven experts in all). These include recommendations for plays, for children's book adaptations, books on the sonnets, on the life of Shakespeare, and scholarly books on Shakespeare. https://fivebooks.com/books/shakespeare-plays/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible , about ...

Last week I posted about instances of "beg" and "poor" in 1 Henry VI, in light of references in Hamlet to the prince as begging or poor, and of the Lazarus allusion in that play. I mentioned how, in 4.5, John Talbot begs his father to flee, while he himself will stay behind and fight to his death. This is a touching moment, as is the moment when the father later finds the dead body of the son. And as my blog often focuses upon biblical allusions, I should mention that this scene echoes two essential plot ideas from the Christian story of the gospels: First, it echoes the idea that Jesus is the son who was sent and sacrificed for the salvation of humanity. The son has to die, and is obedient to the father to the end. (In fact, some Biblical scholars and theologians have noted that Pauline theology assumes that the human Jesus only becomes divine through his love/service and obedience to the father, to his death, rather than being divine from birth; Paul's let...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 115 views from the following countries: 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.

I am still exploring instances of "beg" and "poor" in other Shakespeare plays, in light of references in Hamlet to the prince as begging or poor, and of the beggar Lazarus allusion in that play (1.5). 1 Henry VI is my focus today. Henry VI, Parts 1-3 takes up where Henry V leaves off, and is in part about the end of the Hundred Years War and the start of the War of the Roses. [Image from First Folio, File:STC 22273 Fo.1 no.68 k2v.jpg, via Folgerpedia at Folger.edu . Cropped. Fair use.] In 1 Henry VI , there are 11 instances of “poor” but only two instances of “beg.” In 4.5, John Talbot begs his father to flee, and for him to stay behind and fight to his death ( emphasis mine): Then let me stay; and, father, do you fly: Your loss is great, so your regard should be; My worth unknown, no loss is known in me. Upon my death the French can little boast; In yours they will, in you all hopes are lost. Flight cannot stain the honour you have won; But mine ...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 93 views from the following 17 countries: 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.

I am still exploring occurrences of "beg" and "poor" in other Shakespeare plays, in light of references in Hamlet to the prince as begging or poor, and of the Lazarus allusion in that play. The Taming of the Shrew contains only four occurrences of "beg," many disparaging, and 9 instances of "poor," some quite interesting. [LEFT: "A pleasant conceited historie, called The taming of a shrew." By anon., printed 1594, which may have been a source for Shakespeare, or an early draft. Image via Folger.edu , which Folger obtained via Huntington Library, and which allows not-for-profit use . MIDDLE: The first page of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew , printed in the First Folio of 1623, via Wikipedia , from Folger. Fair use. RIGHT: The title page from the first quarto, printed in 1631 Quarto of A wittie and pleasant comedie called The Taming of the Shrew , via Wikipedia.org , from Folger Shakespeare Library. Fair use.] Pet...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 104 views from the following 18+ countries: The blog's analytics are limited in how many countries they can list, and "other" may include views from other nations, or readers whose browsers block the tracking of one's 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.

Before I conclude my series on the allusion in Hamlet to the story of the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16, besides considering instances of words like "Lazarus" and "lazar" in other Shakespeare plays (the focus of the last two weeks' blog posts), I also wanted to consider instances of other words like "beg" (...beggar/begging) and "poor" in other works of Shakespeare. These last I want to consider chronologically, as best as chronologies of the plays might allow. This is not to assume that these alone will be indicators of begging and poverty as common themes with the Lazarus tale in the gospel, but it's a start. A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, and a beggar by any other name would still be a beggar. Also, we might note that many of the other Biblical allusions in Shakespeare involve some kind of begging, humble asking, or petition: - The prodigal son begs his father to take him back. - Jonah, from the belly o...

Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 102 views from the following 16 countries: The blog's analytics are limited in how many countries they can list, and "other" may include views from other nations, or readers whose browsers block the tracking of one's 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.