Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

GOD'S BODYKINS: Hamlet and the THIRD COMMANDMENT (series) What is Hamlet really implying when he says to Polonius, "God's bodykins, man, better!" (2.2) Polonius was going to arrange for lodgings for the players, and says he will seek in the castle for some kind of lodgings they deserve. Hamlet says, "better!"  But "God's bodykins"?  The etymology of “bodykins” may be read as “God’s little bodies” (from the English word “body” plus the middle dutch “kins” for “little” [1]).  In other words, Eucharist. Another "minced oath."  In Shakespeare's time, God's little bodies implies Eucharist, or those who have received it and are members of Christ's mystical body [2].  Consider:  If Hamlet is saying to Polonius,  "Eucharist, man! Treat the players better than you think they deserve!"  this is like saying,  “Polonius, remember Eucharist! All of us here, including the players, have at one time or another received the Euc...

As it appears in Hamlet, the poisoned cup is not the same as some examples mentioned in my last post: Although these can shed light, Claudius and Laertes use deception, concealing their poisons. This is an important key. This is not the case with Socrates, nor with Sophonisba (suicides). Deception is an element involved in the gift of the Trojan Horse and the attempted poisoning of Merlin, St. John, and Theseus. For John Knox, Catholic Eucharist was also (in his mind) a kind of deception as well as a poison [1]. For some reformers, Catholic Eucharist was also a kind of deception as well as a poison [1]. The poisoned cup of Claudius can be viewed as a profound violation of the hospitality it appears to embody. As such, the deception of a seeming gift or gesture of hospitality is itself poisonous. This is important in light of the recurring theme of hospitality that runs through Hamlet: - Sometimes hospitality is neglected, as in the Lazarus-Rich Man allusion (by the Ghost) [2], or pot...

It is often noted that in its first scene, Shakespeare's Hamlet contains one of the only explicit references to Christmas: Some say that ever ’gainst that season comes Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated, This bird of dawning singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallowed and so gracious is that time. (1.1.173-179) [1] But the Christmas narrative is actually much longer than merely the story of Jesus' birth. It includes numerous other stories or episodes, each celebrated in gospel readings assigned to particular days in the church calendar. If we don't include all of Judaeo-Christian salvation history but merely the conception, birth, and childhood of Jesus, it begins with Mary being told by the Angel Gabriel that she has conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is called the Annunciation. Shakespeare's Hamlet alludes t...