HAMLET'S BIBLE: MY BOOK PROJECT
HAMLET'S BIBLE: MY BOOK PROJECT I’m writing a book about biblical influences, allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet, tentatively titled “Hamlet’s Bible.” Others since the 1860s have tried to document all known bible allusions in *all* of Shakespeare’s plays, and these are helpful reference books but have drawbacks: 1. Like many reference books, they often read like phone books. 2. The most up-to-date (Shaheen) is prohibitively expensive. 3. We usually read one play at a time; readers with limited exposure to a few plays are unlikely to invest in a reference book if they’d only use one chapter per play. 4. These books neglect paraphrased allusions & plot echoes. 5. They also lack historical and interpretive context. My students would say, “Ok, but what are the allusions doing there? What did they mean?” My book will ~ include essays about threads & clusters of biblical & religious allusions & plot echoes; ~ deal primarily with Hamlet, not all of Shakesp...