Niobe's Tears and the Nemion Lion's Nerve (Redux)
Two days ago I posted about Hamlet, Orestes, Gertrude, Hecuba and Clytemnestra. While Shakespeare, Hamlet, and Greek mythology is fresh in the mind, I wanted to repost something similar from two years ago: Hamlet compares his mother’s tears at his father’s funeral to Niobe’s tears, and compares his own resolve to the nerves of the Nemean lion.
In his two-volume work on Shakespeare, Isaac Asimov explains these two references well, but although he doesn't spell it out, both of these references foreshadow Hamlet’s own death.
NIOBE
Asimov considers the Niobe allusion first (II.93-94):
. . . Hamlet is angry with his mother [. . .]. She had seemed so in love with his father, had mourned so at his death-
. . . she followed my poor father's body
Like Niobe, all tears . . . - Act 1, scene ii, lines 148-49
“Niobe was one of the more pathetic characters in Greek myth. She had six sons and six daughters and boasted her superiority to the goddess Latona (Leto), who had only one son and one daughter. Of course, Latona's children happened to be the god Apollo and the goddess Diana (see pages I-130), and they avenged the slur on their mother by shooting down Niobe's children with their divine arrows. Niobe wept endlessly at their deaths until, in belated compassion, the gods turned her into stone - a stone which still welled water.” (93-94)
By comparing his mother to Niobe, whose children who were all killed, Hamlet's allusion foreshadows his own death.
THE NEMEAN LION'S NERVE
Later, Asimov describes the scene (Act 1, scene iv) in which Horatio tries to convince Hamlet not to follow the ghost to speak with it. In part, Hamlet responds, and then Asimov explains the reference:
My fate cries out
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean's lion's nerve.
- Act I, scene iv, lines 81-83
(The reference is to the beast whose slaying represented the first labor of Hercules. It was an enormous lion of superstrength that infested the valley of Nemea, see Asimov page I-58.)
Hamlet associates himself with the lion that will die at Hercules' hands. So Shakespeare has constructed the text in such a way as to offer another foreshadowing of Hamlet's death.
We might also note that the story of Hercules and the Nemean lion involves other aspects of sons and sacrifice: As the Wikipedia article on "Nemean Lion" (in its section on the "First Labor of Hercules") notes,
“Heracles wandered the area until he came to the town of Cleonae. There he met a boy who said that if Heracles slew the Nemean lion and returned alive within 30 days, the town would sacrifice a lion to Zeus; but if he did not return within 30 days or he died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus.” [Accessed 9/28/2020]
So Hercules' first labor is perhaps that he risks his his own life in an effort to save the boy from sacrificing his life - like Hamlet risking his life to reform Denmark?
The post from two years ago (at this link) includes a bit more explanation of the possible significance of the Nemean lion reference, and also includes an index of other posts in that series on Asimov's two-volume work on Shakespeare.
~~~~~~
Postscript:
We would also be good to note: Instead of first comparing his mother Gertrude's tears to Hecuba, Hamlet compares her tears regarding the loss of her first husband to the tears of Niobe:
Note that he chooses Niobe, whose tears were about the death of her children - so it seems perhaps that Hamlet might rather have his mother weep tears for her child, Hamlet, than for the loss of her husband...?
And of course, the Freudians love such details, because they seem to justify a Freudian reading of a Hamlet who wants his mother all to himself...
There are also those who argue in favor of a selfish and immature (usually very young) Hamlet: In comparing his mother's tears to Niobe's, it seems Hamlet thinks everything has to be about him, the prince, and not about the loss of his conveniently idealized father, or about impending war with Norway, or about his mother's loneliness or attraction to her brother-in-law...
So "Niobe's tears" is a richly suggestive detail in a number of possible ways...
~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMAGE NOTES:
L: "Apollo and Diana Punishing Niobe by Killing her Children," by Abraham Bloemaert, 1591. Image: Public Domain via Google Art Project and Wikipedia.
R: "Hércules lucha con el león de Nemea, por Zurbarán," by Francisco de Zurbarán, 1634. Accessed 9/28/2020. Image public domain, via Wikipedia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 lines in the upper left.
NIOBE
Asimov considers the Niobe allusion first (II.93-94):
. . . Hamlet is angry with his mother [. . .]. She had seemed so in love with his father, had mourned so at his death-
. . . she followed my poor father's body
Like Niobe, all tears . . . - Act 1, scene ii, lines 148-49
“Niobe was one of the more pathetic characters in Greek myth. She had six sons and six daughters and boasted her superiority to the goddess Latona (Leto), who had only one son and one daughter. Of course, Latona's children happened to be the god Apollo and the goddess Diana (see pages I-130), and they avenged the slur on their mother by shooting down Niobe's children with their divine arrows. Niobe wept endlessly at their deaths until, in belated compassion, the gods turned her into stone - a stone which still welled water.” (93-94)
By comparing his mother to Niobe, whose children who were all killed, Hamlet's allusion foreshadows his own death.
THE NEMEAN LION'S NERVE
Later, Asimov describes the scene (Act 1, scene iv) in which Horatio tries to convince Hamlet not to follow the ghost to speak with it. In part, Hamlet responds, and then Asimov explains the reference:
My fate cries out
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean's lion's nerve.
- Act I, scene iv, lines 81-83
(The reference is to the beast whose slaying represented the first labor of Hercules. It was an enormous lion of superstrength that infested the valley of Nemea, see Asimov page I-58.)
Hamlet associates himself with the lion that will die at Hercules' hands. So Shakespeare has constructed the text in such a way as to offer another foreshadowing of Hamlet's death.
We might also note that the story of Hercules and the Nemean lion involves other aspects of sons and sacrifice: As the Wikipedia article on "Nemean Lion" (in its section on the "First Labor of Hercules") notes,
“Heracles wandered the area until he came to the town of Cleonae. There he met a boy who said that if Heracles slew the Nemean lion and returned alive within 30 days, the town would sacrifice a lion to Zeus; but if he did not return within 30 days or he died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus.” [Accessed 9/28/2020]
So Hercules' first labor is perhaps that he risks his his own life in an effort to save the boy from sacrificing his life - like Hamlet risking his life to reform Denmark?
The post from two years ago (at this link) includes a bit more explanation of the possible significance of the Nemean lion reference, and also includes an index of other posts in that series on Asimov's two-volume work on Shakespeare.
~~~~~~
Postscript:
We would also be good to note: Instead of first comparing his mother Gertrude's tears to Hecuba, Hamlet compares her tears regarding the loss of her first husband to the tears of Niobe:
Note that he chooses Niobe, whose tears were about the death of her children - so it seems perhaps that Hamlet might rather have his mother weep tears for her child, Hamlet, than for the loss of her husband...?
And of course, the Freudians love such details, because they seem to justify a Freudian reading of a Hamlet who wants his mother all to himself...
There are also those who argue in favor of a selfish and immature (usually very young) Hamlet: In comparing his mother's tears to Niobe's, it seems Hamlet thinks everything has to be about him, the prince, and not about the loss of his conveniently idealized father, or about impending war with Norway, or about his mother's loneliness or attraction to her brother-in-law...
So "Niobe's tears" is a richly suggestive detail in a number of possible ways...
~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMAGE NOTES:
L: "Apollo and Diana Punishing Niobe by Killing her Children," by Abraham Bloemaert, 1591. Image: Public Domain via Google Art Project and Wikipedia.
R: "Hércules lucha con el león de Nemea, por Zurbarán," by Francisco de Zurbarán, 1634. Accessed 9/28/2020. Image public domain, via Wikipedia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 lines in the upper left.
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