Contested Succession in Hamlet, Reformation, & Christian Scripture
Contested succession applies not only to politics, but also to religion in Shakespeare’s time and Christianity in general, and to scientific authority as well.
At least some people in Shakespeare’s time would have noticed that the story of Jesus is one of contested succession in which Jesus is heaven’s prince [2].
After the Roman occupation in 63 BCE, Jewish authorities were corrupted in Rome’s favor [3]. Some of these used the letter of the law to condemn the preacher and miracle-worker, Jesus, who like John the Baptist had attracted the attention and concern of Roman authorities.
The gospels claim that Jesus associated with revolutionaries (zealots), and that he was crucified with a sign that mocked him as “King of the Jews.” [4]
After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, Christians believed that Jesus’ teachings were the best interpretation of what was at the heart of Jewish tradition, and that Christians were the truest, best heirs to the Jewish religious heritage of Jesus (who was a Jew) [5].
[After the "Mousetrap," Hamlet, in conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, jokingly compares himself to the boy Jesus, lost and found discussing with the elders in the temple, amazing them and his parents when they find him. Gertrude is amazed. Wonderful son that can so astonish his mother. But key critics in the 20th century like Roland Mushat Frye and others strongly resisted the idea of Hamlet as Christ-figure (Frye was also a Methodist Elder with clear biases).]
Similarly during the Reformation, many believed that Christianity had been corrupted, just as Jewish authorities had been in the time of Jesus. Luther, Calvin, and others believed that Rome with its pope and bishops were not legitimate religious leaders, and that Protestants were the rightful heirs of true Christian religious authority.
There were similar debates of authority in science:
- Is apparently sinful human behavior determined by demonic temptation and possession, or by bodily “humors” (fluids) [6]?
- Is the earth the center, and the heavens move around it, as the Bible seemed to affirm, or is the sun the center as Copernicus and others claimed [7]?
“Who’s there?” Who’s the heir? Indeed.
NOTES: All references to Shakespeare plays are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online versions: https://shakespeare.folger.edu
[1] I first heard of this similarity of sounds on a shuttle from the airport to a Shakespeare convention in Los Angeles, an emeritus professor from a university in New York State (whose name I’ve forgotten) mentioned this similarity of sound in the first line, “Who’s there?”/ Who’s th’ heir? (Online readers who depend on electronic translation may not notice the similarity of “there” / “the heir”.)
[2] On March 8, 2023, in a comment on one of my blog posts re-posted to LinkedIn, Shoba Pawar asked, “Hamlet, the play, is also about succession in a sense. How does one connect this thread with Jesus’ story?” That inspired today’s blog post topic. Many thanks to Shobha, whose comments and questions have been insightful and inspiring over many years.
[3] Jesus criticized the authorities of his time, and Luke’s gospel tale of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a veiled criticism of the official priesthood in Jerusalem, with its high priest compared to the Rich Man (“Dives”) who neglected the poor beggar and leper Lazarus. In Hamlet, the ghost alludes to this gospel tale in his perhaps mistaken belief that the poison in his ear made his skin "lazar-like," or in other words, like the skin of the beggar Lazarus, licked by dogs.
[4] John’s gospel has Jesus feed the multitudes, and they love him so much they want to take him and make him king (John 6), an echo of which we might see in the crowd that follows Laertes to Elsinore after the death of his father, and that cries out for Laertes to be made king. Acts of the Apostles is also notable for how, before Jesus ascends into heaven, they ask him if he will restore political power to Israel (instead of the Roman occupiers). The gospels of Mark (15:17), Matthew (27:29) and John (19:2) mention Jesus mocked with a crown of thorns before crucifixion.
[5] Various Jewish groups opposed Christians, and the rabinic tradition eventually descended from the Pharisees as the new Jewish authorities, while Christians went out to preach both to the Jewish diaspora and to attract believers from among non-Jews.
[6] Melancholy is a repeated theme in Hamlet; in Shakespeare’s time, many believed melancholy was caused by bodily humors. When Guildenstern reports to Hamlet that Claudius is “marvelous distempered” not with drink but “with choler” (meaning anger in this case), Hamlet replies,
“Your wisdom should show itself more richer to signify this to the doctor,
for for me to put him to his purgation would perhaps plunge him into more Choler.”
Purging for choler in Elizabethan times was done by inducing vomiting, or bowel movements with the use of enemas. If Hamlet attempted this with Claudius, it would indeed plunge him into more choler (make him more angry).
Humors is also a theme in Merchant of Venice, as Shylock in the courtroom scene speaking of why he wants the pound of Antonio’s flesh: “But say it is my humor.” This may be sarcasm, with a pun meaning both body fluids and that it will humor (entertain) him to have it.
[7] Copernicus and Galileo are perhaps most famous for advocating that the earth and planets went around the sun, not the sun around the earth, but others like Giordano Bruno similarly advocated heliocentrism. This does not take into account the larger picture: Where is our solar system in the Milky Way? At the center, or spinning around another center? Where is our galaxy in the larger universe? Etc.
IMAGES:
Upper left: Pope Clement VIII (The pope at the time of Shakespeare's writing of Hamlet and at the end of the life and reign of Elizabeth I). Unknown painter. 17th century. Public domain via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Papst_Clemens_VIII_Italian_17th_century.jpg
Upper right: Portrait of Martin Luther, 1528, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553).
Collection: Coburg Fortress. Public domain via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucas_Cranach_d.%C3%84._-_Martin_Luther,_1528_(Veste_Coburg).jpg
Lower left: Portrait of John Calvin. Anonymous. Circa 1550. Museum Catharijneconvent. Public domain via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Calvin_Museum_Catharijneconvent_RMCC_s84_cropped.png
Lower right: Christ Mocked. Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255–1319). Between 1308 and 1311. Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo. Public domain via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duccio_di_Buoninsegna_-_Christ_Mocked_-_WGA06798.jpg
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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.
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