Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

In her alleged madness, one of Ophelia’s lines that has attracted critical attention is when she sings, “For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy” (4.5.210). For years I ignored this song of Ophelia's, but given how many feminists speak of the lack of agency of Ophelia and Gertrude, it occurred to me:  Robin Hood is a trickster who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. In doing so, he redistributes not only wealth, but also agency. As often happens, the lines we once ignored may be more important than we thought at first.  In 1958, during the cold war and still relatively soon after the impact of Freud and his student, Ernest Jones (Hamlet and Oedipus, 1949), Harry Morris wrote an essay about this part of Ophelia’s songs, highlighting mostly the bawdy slang implied with Robin (Bob, Knob) and such details as one tale of Maid Marian given over to Friar Tuck as a concubine. [1] This should not be ignored, as the Robin Hood tales and plays were associated with spring festiva...

For Halloween, what can we learn from Shakespeare’s Hamlet on how to speak to ghosts? First Horatio, and later, Hamlet, both try. HORATIO What art thou that usurp’st this time of night, Together with that fair and warlike form In which the majesty of buried Denmark Did sometimes march? By heaven, I charge thee, Speak. (1.1.54-58) Horatio calls the ghost a usurper of the night and of the appearance of the dead king. Marcellus thinks Horatio has offended the ghost (perhaps true, especially since Claudius, brother to the king, was the usurper). Soon the ghost appears again. This time Horatio’s attempts seem informed by his university learning, questioning the ghost, asking if can foresee Denmark’s future, or knows of buried treasure: HORATIO: Stay, illusion! [...] If thou hast any sound or use of voice, Speak to me. If there be any good thing to be done That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Speak to me. If thou art privy to thy country’s fate, Which happily foreknowing may avoid, O, ...

Shakespeare makes a mousetrap for the audience regarding Ophelia’s family and Hamlet. We could call this mousetrap, “Much Ado About Ophelia Marrying Hamlet.” Near the play’s end, Gertrude says in 5.1 that she’d rather have decorated Ophelia and Hamlet’s wedding bed with flowers than Ophelia’s grave. The Queen seems to have liked Ophelia and thought her a good match for her son.  Rewind to the start: After seeing the ghost, Horatio and the sentinels think so highly of Prince Hamlet that they report the sighting to him, and not to King Claudius or Polonius. [1] In 1.2, Horatio calls Prince Hamlet “my lord,” presenting himself to his friend as “your servant ever.” Hamlet replies that he would “change those names” [2]: He’d rather be Horatio’s servant, and Horatio his lord. When Horatio and the sentinels speak of their duty to him, Hamlet would rather have them think of their mutual love.[3]  Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a prince who desires to serve, to love and to be loved, ...

Cassidy Cash of That Shakespeare Life podcast fame recently posted regarding occurrences of the word “parley” in Shakespeare.[1] She explains that we may have heard the word from Pirates of the Caribbean films. In a parley, opposing sides cease hostilities, sometimes to clear the battlefield of wounded and dead, or to discuss terms of a truce.  In Hamlet , Polonius uses the word “parley” in an interesting way in his statements to Ophelia, discouraging her from believing Hamlet’s expressions and vows of love. It is clear in their discussion that Ophelia wishes to believe Hamlet’s vows and “tenders” of his affection, while Polonius repeatedly assumes that Hamlet is waging an adversarial war to win Ophelia as a prize and to violate her chastity as an enemy might violate an opponent’s borders.   Polonius tells Ophelia, From this time Be something scanter of your maiden presence. Set your entreatments at a higher rate Than a command to *parley.* (1.3.129-132) [2]   The contra...

What if Gertrude lied about Ophelia’s death? In a previous post on Ophelia (Part 16), I explored the idea that Gertrude’s story in 4.7 of Ophelia’s death might be true: Ophelia died because a willow branch on which she was standing broke; once in the water, she accepted the possibility of her approaching death in faith, apparently according to Christian expectations of the time.This seems consistent with many aspects of Ophelia’s last scene (4.5). Some note: Gertrude’s account has so much detail, but no one tries to save Ophelia. Can we trust Gertrude’s account? If Gertrude’s account of Ophelia’s death in 4.7 is a fiction, a lie (bearing false witness, a sin in the eyes of Elizabethan Christians [1]), how might we best understand it? 1. As a lie of self-interest, to avoid Laertes’ rage and prevent him from killing Claudius and Gertrude herself, declaring himself king with the mob’s support? 2. To preserve the state and public order, to prevent casualties that might come from a revolt? ...

In her alleged madness, Ophelia says things that seem merely mad ramblings. But to original audiences, these may have been allusions to well-known tales, and there may be a reason for their ordering. First: OPHELIA: They say the owl was a baker’s daughter. Lord, we know what we are but know not what we may be. God be at your table. (4.5.47-49) [1] Second: OPHELIA:  You must sing “A-down a-down”—and you “Call him a-down-a.”—O, how the wheel becomes it! It is the false steward that stole his master’s Daughter. (4.5.194-197) Consider: “THE OWL WAS A BAKER’S DAUGHTER” is a reference to a tale in which a baker’s daughter is turned into an owl after being repeatedly ungenerous with a beggar at the door - who was Jesus in disguise. This is a folktale retelling of the gospel tale of the Rich Man (Dives) and the beggar Lazarus.[2] Ophelia summarizes: “Lord, we know what we are but / know not what we may be.” Ophelia may feel punished, like the baker’s daughter, and as people in Denmark’s ...

In 2023 I started a new series on Ophelia, beginning with the controversy of her death. The following index has links to all the posts in the series, and will be updated as new posts in the series are added and available . It also includes key posts on Ophelia from previous years. INDEX OF OPHELIA POSTS: My 2023 series on Ophelia begins here: Part 1: The Controversy over Ophelia's Death in Hamlet https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-controversy-over-ophelias-death-in.html Part 2: Ophelia’s drowning shrouded in lies, like other deaths in Hamlet https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/06/part-2-ophelias-drowning-shrouded-in.html Part 3: Ophelia, Gertrude, and mutually exclusive agency https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/06/part-3-ophelia-gertrude-and-mutually.html Part 4: Ophelia wronged by monarch, inquest, and priest https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/07/part-4-ophelia-wronged-by-monarch.html Part 5: Ophelia Drowning in Conflicting Aut...