Thinking about Hamlet, James I, Moses, & Elections with Julia Reinhard Lupton
I am realizing that, more often, I should highlight some of the books I've enjoyed and benefitted from regarding Hamlet studies. One of these recently is called Thinking with Shakespeare: Essays on Politics and Life , by Julia Reinhard Lupton , and more specifically, her chapter called "The Hamlet Elections." Lupton begins the chapter explaining how she is borrowing some ideas from Carl Schmitt, including ideas about similarities between Hamlet the prince and James the king. She also explores a variety of meanings and implications of the word "election" in the play, and discusses Hamlet's first meeting with the ghost as a dark retelling of Moses going up on the mountain to receive the law from God (Hamlet says he will erase all else from the tables of his memory and remember only what the Ghost has told him). Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law - 1659, by Rembrandt, via Google Cultural Institute I have mentioned in the past on this blog the possib...