Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

In this series of posts on Jacob and Hamlet, I’ve suggested that in Shakespeare’s play, certain elements in the text and its themes are either allusions to the biblical Jacob-Esau tales, or show an influence of those tales on Shakespeare’s development of the play. [1] These include - Laertes’ use of the phrase, “double blessing” ( see part 1 ); - the possibility that Laertes is an Esau figure, while Hamlet and Ophelia might be viewed as Jacob figures ( see part 1 ); - the idea of poetic justice in Hamlet as in part influenced by its presence in the Jacob tales ( see part 2 ); - the importance of maternal approval for marriage, not only for Jacob, but also for Ophelia and Hamlet, with Gertrude’s voice of approval ( see part 3 ). The impulse of some might be to take Laertes’ phrase, “double blessing” (1.3.57-59) and consult Naseeb Shaheen’s “Biblical References in Shakespeare’s Plays” (1999) as authoritative, or even as the last word. But Shaheen is of very limited help, even m...

LAERTES: …But here my father comes. A double blessing is a double grace. Occasion smiles upon a second leave. (1.3.57-59) This is a curious statement by Laertes before receiving advice from his father Polonius, with his father’s blessing, before he returns to France. Naseeb Shaheen believes the relevant biblical allusions here might be Isaiah 40:2, “Double grace, whereas she deserved double punishment,” and Ecclus. 26:15, “A shamefast and faithful woman is a double grace.” (542) [1] But this seems an example of how scholars like Shaheen and his predecessors [2] often prefer searching for words and phrases, rather than considering biblical tales and plots. So instead of asking, Where in the Bible we find the words, ‘Double blessing’ or ‘Double grace,’ scholars of Shakespeare and the Bible might do better to ask, In what biblical tale does a son receive a double (or second) blessing from a father? [3] One place is in the tales of Jacob and Esau, twins for whom there is c...