Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

Rosencrantz in Shakespeare's Hamlet speaks of "Hercules and his load" (2.2.384-5) [1], which some take to be a reference to the sign or flag displayed at the Globe Theater in Shakespeare’s lifetime. [2] Was it Hercules on the sign, not Atlas? Or does Hamlet refer to Hercules for its thematic connections, while the sign actually displayed Atlas? In an Elizabethan context, the references are fraught with political implications: Atlas was a Titan who had led a rebellion against the new order of Gods on Olympus, but failed: His punishment was to hold up the world. In one story, Hercules temporarily held the world while Atlas did him a favor: [3] Hercules was a son of Zeus by one of many affairs with mortal women. Zeus’ wife Hera was jealous and tried to destroy Hercules. In one such effort, Hera made Hercules crazy, and he killed his wife and children. Grief-stricken Hercules was given labors to overcome his grief. One involved holding the world for At...

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In this series of posts on Jacob and Hamlet, I’ve suggested that in Shakespeare’s play, certain elements in the text and its themes are either allusions to the biblical Jacob-Esau tales, or show an influence of those tales on Shakespeare’s development of the play. [1] These include - Laertes’ use of the phrase, “double blessing” ( see part 1 ); - the possibility that Laertes is an Esau figure, while Hamlet and Ophelia might be viewed as Jacob figures ( see part 1 ); - the idea of poetic justice in Hamlet as in part influenced by its presence in the Jacob tales ( see part 2 ); - the importance of maternal approval for marriage, not only for Jacob, but also for Ophelia and Hamlet, with Gertrude’s voice of approval ( see part 3 ). The impulse of some might be to take Laertes’ phrase, “double blessing” (1.3.57-59) and consult Naseeb Shaheen’s “Biblical References in Shakespeare’s Plays” (1999) as authoritative, or even as the last word. But Shaheen is of very limited help, even m...

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Themes of marriage and maternal approval have some interesting connections when comparing the biblical Jacob tales with Shakespeare’s Hamlet: [1] Jacob’s mother plays a key role in favoring him for the birthright (Genesis 25:19-27), but also helping him deceive his father (Genesis 27:1-40). It is extremely important that Jacob receives encouragement and permission from his mother - who had coddled him, favored him - to go and seek a bride (Genesis 27:41-45) when his brother Esau is angry after learning that Jacob has deceived his father and received the birthright/blessing that Esau had expected. This permission and encouragement from Rebekah helps open a gap between mother and son that Freud and others would say is healthy. Queen Gertrude acts in similar motherly ways toward Ophelia as well as toward her son Hamlet. Ophelia’s mother is absent (like Hamlet's father; she is a feminine mirror image of Hamlet); like the ghost and Claudius, Polonius is a dysfunctional fathe...

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In addition to Laertes’ “double blessing” remark (1.3.58), which points to the biblical Jacob story ( as noted in a previous post ) [1], note how in both Hamlet and the biblical Jacob tale, “purposes mistook” fall on the “inventor’s heads” (Horatio in (5.2.426-427)): What goes around comes around. A perennial theme. As Shakespeare develops this theme richly, echoing biblical themes, we are right to ask if Shakespeare was influenced by the Jacob story - besides a myriad of others, including biblical teachings. [2] DECEIVER BECOMES DECEIVED IN THE JACOB TALES (Gen 25-33): 1.a. By pretending to be his brother, Jacob deceives his father to obtain the birthright. - Later, his father-in-law Laban deceives Jacob on the wedding night, substituting the older sister Leah for the agreed-upon bride of Rachel. [3] 1.b. Jacob who struggles with sibling rivalry is later burdened with two wives, sisters who struggle with sibling-rivalry. IN HAMLET : 2.a. Hamlet tries to deceive the court, pretending...

Thanks to readers, 30 August-6 September, 2022 This blog recently surpassed 30,000 views! Thanks for your support! Thank you to readers of this blog for this past week, which the blog's analytics say came to 120 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. To find the subscribe button, see the drop-down menu with three horizontal lines = in the upper left.