Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

Thanks to readers, 1-31 March, 2023 ~~~~~~~ Thank you to readers of this blog for this past month, which the blog's analytics say came to 563 views from the following countries: Thank you for your interest. I am grateful and humbled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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...

In Hamlet 3.4, the scene in Gertrude's closet, Hamlet tells her that he will show his mother her "inmost part," and it's clear to the audience or readers that he's talking about her conscience. But she quickly jumps to the conclusion that perhaps he is going to kill her: "What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murther me? Help, help, ho!" This scene is often played with some violence by Hamlet toward his mother, throwing her on her bed, to help explain why she jumps to this conclusion. But this is not in the stage directions, and perhaps there are other reasons why she jumps to this conclusion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With me in the "Rethinking Science and Religion" seminar at Shakespeare Association of America this spring, there were two members who wrote about Renaissance anatomists and drawings of the dissected human body. This made me think about Elizabethan public executions of Catholics and others, sometimes inv...

Next week I will be part of a seminar at a conference: the annual meeting of the Shakespeare Association of America, which will be held this year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.[1] I’ve attended before: 2018: I attended the 2018 meeting in Los Angeles, California, where I met Gayle Gaskill, editor of the New Kitteridge edition of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, as well as other scholars, young and old, with interesting tales to tell.[2] Gayle and I went on to present papers at the SCSC conference in the fall of 2018.[3] 2020: I was part of a seminar on “Mind, Cognition, and Affect” in 2020,[4] held on Zoom due to the pandemic. My paper was about labors of gratitude and regret in Hamlet, exploring how these emotions were instrumental in character arcs. See my series on that topic. [5] 2023: This year, I am taking part in the seminar, “Reconsidering Science and Religion,” on Thursday, 30 March, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. CST. My paper is called “Kuhnian Paradigm Shifts and Emmaus Untet...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INDEX OF POSTS IN THIS SERIES: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/01/index-hamlet-in-32-as-boy-jesus-lost.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In previous parts of this series,[1] I have explored Hamlet’s allusion in 3.2 to himself and his mother Gertrude [2] as like the boy Jesus, found in the temple by an astonished mother Mary among the elders.[3]  This allusion was missed by all major writers of reference books on Shakespeare and the Bible through at least the late 20th century [4]. Why have these scholars in this specialty field missed this allusion? Possibilities: 1. THE BIAS OF SCHOLARS: Perhaps many critics have preferred to imagine Hamlet as either not religious, or as a virtuous hero, rather than as one who would gloat after The Mousetrap and compare himself, perhaps blasphemously, to the boy Jesus? [5] And perhaps some scholars, especially in the last half century, simply resisted viewing Hamlet as a Christ fig...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INDEX OF POSTS IN THIS SERIES: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/01/index-hamlet-in-32-as-boy-jesus-lost.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hamlet’s allusion to himself and his mother as like the boy Jesus and his mother Mary is delivered, couched inside of a kind of comedy routine, not unlike Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” [1] This is great fun but makes it easier to miss the allusion. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are being serious with Hamlet, trying to convey messages about the king’s “distemper” and the queen’s “affliction of spirit,” but Hamlet keeps joking. Even Hamlet’s final allusion line, “O wonderful son that can so ’stonish a mother!” is delivered as a joke. Note this section of the scene: ~~~~~ GUILDENSTERN  Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you. HAMLET  Sir, a whole history. GUILDENSTERN  The King, sir— HAMLET  Ay, sir, what of him? GUILDENSTERN  Is in his retirement marvelou...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INDEX OF POSTS IN THIS SERIES: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/01/index-hamlet-in-32-as-boy-jesus-lost.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Hamlet implies after The Mousetrap that he and his parents are like (or ironically unlike) the boy Jesus and the Holy Family, [1] we have an analogy: Hamlet, his mom Gertrude and uncle/stepdad Claudius on one side, Jesus, his mother Mary and stepdad Joseph on the other.  Some analogies may seem simple and straightforward: The moon is like a pearl in the night. But what if both elements of the analogy are mysterious, ambiguous, moving targets? That is the case with Hamlet and Jesus. HAMLET IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE REVENGER: He wants to be sure his uncle is guilty, to avoid killing the wrong man.[2] Soon after Hamlet thinks he can be sure, he kills the wrong man - Polonius, by accident.[3] This is not your average revenger. Peter Lake says that Hamlet the play is a hybrid of four genres: Rev...

Thanks to readers, 1-28 February, 2023 ~~~~~~~ Thank you to readers of this blog for this past month, which the blog's analytics say came to 514 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.