Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

Because Francisco has the watch and is not yet relieved by Bernardo, many observe that Bernardo is speaking out of turn when he says the opening line of the play, "Who's there?" Francisco rightly refuses to answer, and demands that Bernardo "unfold himself" -- identify himself to Francisco instead. Is it acceptable for one soldier or sentinel to demand reform of another? Bernardo violated the rules of the watch: In a time of war or potential war, following such rules carefully can mean life or death. Hamlet is a play in which many rules (such as the Ten Commandments) are broken, and lives are lost. Bernardo doesn't really answer Francisco's question: Francisco guesses Bernardo's identity, and Bernardo confirms it. Rather than be a stickler for military protocol (rules for their own sake), Francisco backs off. Bernardo's approach didn't represent a sneak attack from an enemy, but merely a mistake by another nervous sentinel. Relieved of his ...

GENERAL INFORMATION: Ten Commandments in Hamlet (Series) [1] Much attention has been given to iconoclasm (destruction of sacred or allegedly idolatrous images) in England during the reformation, but less to how such images and artifacts were effectively replaced by royal injunctions of Elizabeth I in 1561 requiring the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) to be posted on the eastern wall of every church [2]. Statues, carvings, wall paintings, and stained glass had once shown angels, demons, scenes from biblical stories and the lives of saints, appealing to collective memory and to the imagination. In iconoclastic acts of erasure, these were replaced by the Decalogue, appealing more to the logical mind, the superego, the rule of law, and fear of punishment.  Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet , not only demonstrates the violation of all of these, but also may refer to the sometimes resented replacement of icons with commandment boards.  Commandments were posted for all the faithful to see, ...

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 dialogu...