Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

How do we understand an allusion, such as Shakespeare's Hamlet using a play to catch the conscience of the king, like the prophet Nathan catching the conscience of King David? Especially after the New Critics, the "death of the author," and disillusionment with “old historicism,” there was a tendency to ignore many aspects of historical-cultural contexts in favor of only what is immediately clear in the text. This may have seemed a more objective, even empirical approach: If the text doesn't say "Nathan" or "David" or "Bathsheba," or use the same phrasing as the Bible, shall we assume there is no such biblical allusion present? The more subtle the allusion, the more reason to doubt it? What if we know that many other writers in Shakespeare's time were alluding to or retelling the David story? Did that allow for a kind of shorthand in making allusions? Last week’s post [1] noted that Shakespeare didn't always have to be explicit;...

At least four biblical echoes in Hamlet besides the fall of Adam and Eve involve delay, and Elizabethans would have known each story[1]: 1. After King David’s affair with Bathsheba and arranging for the death of her husband, the prophet Nathan could have simply confronted David with his sins, but delayed to use a story to catch the king’s conscience (2 Sam 12:1-7). [2] - This is echoed in Hamlet’s use of the play to catch the conscience of the king [2.2.634]. ~~ 2. David spared King Saul when he had two chances to kill him, which delayed David’s ascension to the throne [3]. - These David-Saul tales are echoed (with a dark twist) in Hamlet’s choice not to kill Claudius at prayer [3.3.80-100]. ~~ 3. Jonah fled west to Tarshish when he was called to prophesy to Nineveh (Jonah 1:1-3), delaying his prophecy. After a storm and being thrown overboard, Jonah is swallowed by a fish God sends to take him back east to do his task [4]. - Jonah’s westward voyage and east-bound transfer from ship ...

How might we best grasp (“get a handle on”) Hamlet’s “Mousetrap,” the play-within-the-play? Thirteen handles (see also more lengthy endnotes corresponding to numbered list): 1. Hamlet asks the first player if he can play “The Murder of Gonzago.” This points to Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino; whose wife was Eleonora Gonzaga, and who was marginalized (like Essex and Lord Strange, and poisoned like Strange).[1] 2. “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” — Hamlet says he will do this by reproducing events like his father’s murder with the help of the players.[2] 3. This conscience-trap echoes the prophet Nathan catching King David’s conscience in a story, after David’s affair with Bathsheba and arranging for the death of her husband.[3] 4. The play-within-the-play begins as a trap for the conscience of his mother, Queen Gertrude. — Later in Gertrude’s closet scene, it’s clear that Hamlet wants his mother to repent, a...

Does Shakespeare’s Hamlet depict religiously shaped or motivated regicide? [1] Given its many religious and biblical allusions and plot echoes, I would argue that it does. [David Tennant (L) as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart (R) as Claudius in the 2009 film, Hamlet , dir. Gregory Doran. Source: IMDB . Fair use.] Dr. Arthur F. Marotti gave a talk at Fordham in late October of 2013 in which he noted, “In the last years of Elizabeth’s rule people believed something was rotten in England—though perhaps not rotten enough to justify regicide. ” [2] Marotti has written numerous books [3] about Early Modern literature and religion, including a 2004 essay with Ken Jackson on “The Turn to Religion” in Shakespeare studies. In an abstract for a more recent (2017) essay [4], Marotti notes that “Shakespeare's plays may not stage religiously motivated regicides…,” with “may” being the operative word here: Scholars may disagree on this point. But what about Hamlet? Recognizing that H...

Shakespeare’s Hamlet doesn’t merely have a number of allusions to prophets among its many biblical allusions; the play may serve as a reflection on what it means to be prophetic, and to strive to be more effectively and authentically prophetic, for both individuals and for art, and perhaps especially in politically dangerous contexts.  What does it help to oppose immoral and criminal behavior among the powerful, or in a corrupt system, if the result is that one’s life is snuffed out without reforming the corruption one spoke out against? What does it help to claim one is a prophet, sent to correct injustices and corruption, if one is part of the corruption (prince Hamlet in a reckless moment kills Polonius), or if one drives people away (Hamlet bids Ophelia get to a nunnery, offends his mother and uncle) instead of winning them over to one’s view? (In this way, many prophets are dismissed because they are imperfect messengers. Instead of heeding or debating the message, the st...

Freud claimed Hamlet had an Oedipus complex, but Shakespeare seems to have had the biblical King David more in mind. —Claudius is like King David: both kill to marry the victim's wife; Claudius may have had an affair with Gertrude before King Hamlet's death, like David with Bathsheba. —Hamlet complains that his mother and uncle have not mourned long for the death of King Hamlet; after learning that his son is sick, David fasts and prays for seven days, but on learning that the child has died, he ends his mourning with disturbing speed (2 Sam 12:18-23). —Hamlet pretends to be mad to deflect a threat; so does David (1 Sam 21:13). —Hamlet uses a play to "catch the conscience of the king" (3.2). Nathan used a story to catch the conscience of King David (2 Sam 12:1-9). —Hamlet spares Claudius (3.3) at prayer (but with dark motives); David spared King Saul when he had the chance to kill him (1 Sam 24). —Claudius sends a letter with Hamlet to have him exec...