Strange Angels, a Cherub, & Jacob Wresling in Hamlet: Too Many Angels?
There are ten angels in Shakespeare's Hamlet and one cherub, a changeling with an angel in its heart, strangely, strangely.... What does it all mean? [Cherubs from Raphael's "Triumph of Galatea," detail. Image source: Wikipedia ] Friday of this week is Valentine's day, bringing with it many images of that angelic and mischievous little guy, son of Venus, the goddess of love. Yes, you guessed it: Cupid is coming. Cupid, often depicted as a crossover between Greek mythology and those baby Christian angels, cherubs. It didn't have to be that way, but that's what we've got. There are ten angels in Shakespeare's Hamlet (or instances of the word, perhaps many others implied), and one cherub - though an unnamed cupid may have left his mark on Hamlet, as we see from his love-gushing letters, and on Ophelia, whose attention for Hamlet her father Polonius describes as follows: 'Tis told me he hath very oft of late Given private time ...