SERIES INDEX: TEN COMMANDMENTS in Hamlet

Shakespeare’s Hamlet demonstrates the violation of all of the Ten Commandments, and may also refer to the sometimes resented iconoclastic replacement of images (statues, paintings, sometimes stained glass) with commandment boards. 

I will add to this SERIES INDEX as I post new installments.

SERIES INDEX https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/07/series-index-ten-commandments-in-hamlet.html

GENERAL INTRODUCTION:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/07/general-information-ten-commandments-in.html

In Hamlet 1.1, Francisco demands Bernardo's repentance (Series, prelude 1) - August 04, 2026:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/08/in-hamlet-11-francisco-demands.html

HAMLET THE DEMONIC ICONOCLAST (prelude 2)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/08/hamlet-demonic-iconoclast-ten.html

Dives and Pauper, Hamlet, Ten Commandments, and Falstaff  (prelude 3) - Early 15th Century book structured in part around the Ten Commandments, with a dialogue between Rich Man ("Dives") and a poor mendicant priest ("Pauper").
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/08/dives-and-pauper-hamlet-ten.html

English churches followed the Protestant (not Catholic) numbering of the commandments:
1. "THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BUT ME."
Hamlet & Commandment 1: No other gods? (The literal sense) - August 24, 2026
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2026/08/hamlet-commandment-1-no-other-gods.html
2. "THOU SHALT NOT MAKE TO THYSELF ANY GRAVEN IMAGE."
3. "THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN."
4. "REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY."
5. "HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER."
6. "THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER."
7. "THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY."
8. "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL."
9. "THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR."
10. "THOU SHALT NOT COVET."

Postludes: [...]

IMAGES:
TOP: Commandment boards from Aldingbourne in West Sussex, England, from the early 19th century. Image fair use via https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMoEPLVwMveYbFoA-xlQZoj-dsX7dNZNpaCzOc4e4vLPWlaVo_O7d-_M5sUu2cuQqHJsaQVPlbIvcHawP6iEbMh_GM0stXDQW1HqRpfY78GsDOgGsttSrDSLYr0McPSimEPPJmwo6mG0/s1600/Aldingbourne.JPG via the Sussex Churches Blog: https://sussexchurchez.blogspot.com/2013/07/commandment-boards.html

SECOND FROM TOP:
Dating from 1561, the commandment board in the Lady’s Chapel of St Laurence's, a Church in Ludlow, Shropshire, England, is one of the oldest in England. Image fair use via https://www.ludlowpalmers.uk/images/commandments-board.jpg via Ludlow Palmers at https://www.ludlowpalmers.uk/commandments-board.html

BOTTOM LEFT:
The decalogue board at St Mary's Church, North Mymms, within the grounds of North Mymms Park near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, perhaps from the 18th century. Image via the North Mymms History Project, released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJC43r4kilSZSGUrylt9nhowESHwjWqd8c1g9FbzaUS9Naxf7HILltaH31XOp11FJk7QLUpOFqFmtHP5x5a1jtyMptLzEZp6FvuTT8PVQljMvBMZVPcKcZVjbjvOcMceWn6Ct-AxHI0c6/s1600/dlb1.jpg

BOTTOM MIDDLE:
Ten Commandments Window of the Parish Church of St. Lawrence, Ludlow, Shropshire, England. This window may be 575 years old, as the church was built between 1433 and 1471. Image fair use via https://i0.wp.com/stlaurences.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Ten-Commandments-Window-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1432&ssl=1 via https://stlaurences.org.uk/wonders-and-treasures/

BOTTOM RIGHT:
Decalogue Board of The Church of St Cecilia in West Bilney, King's Lynn, West Norfolk, UK,
apparently dating from the 1700s. Image via Creative Commons License © Copyright Evelyn Simak, via https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1743664


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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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Thanks for reading!
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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

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