Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

IN HAMLET'S PLACE, WWOD? (What would Othello do?) At some point [1], to help understand (or make fun of?) Hamlet’s apparent indecision, someone thought this question was important, or clever. If Othello were the Prince of Denmark, he would elope with Ophelia, kill her, kill his uncle, kill Fortinbras, and commit suicide. Done. A Kenneth Branagh film version might only take 3.8 hours, tops.  Such comparisons may or may not be helpful, but they add levity to the classroom and ensure that all students might get at least one answer right on the quiz.  What would avenge a father’s death more quickly: Superman or a nuclear bomb?  Woah!  Bambi and Rambo: Both names end in a vowel, announcing their similarity in spite of their contrast.  Bring those dear MIA members of the herd home. With grenades and lots of ammo. Get ‘er done. Boom.  Shakespeare would love these comparisons. How do we know? Because of the intentional fallacy, by that comic duo, Wimsatt and Beard...

THE 8th DAY of CHRISTMAS, January 1 in Shakespeare’s England as now, was the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus,* a ritual for Jewish boys eight days after birth (hence the eight day), but also required of converts to Judaism. [* What a way to start the new year!] All but one of the day’s readings mention circumcision [1], first asked of Abraham as a sign of his covenant with God [2], later not required of Gentile converts to Christianity due to St. Paul’s intervention [3]. The day’s scriptures also speak of figurative “circumcision of the heart” [4][5][6], repenting of sinful attachments to earthly things that inhibit charity, or “caritas,” God-like love. Abraham was also to circumcise male servants and household members, including Ishmael, his son by his wife Sarah’s servant Hagar, and by this all in Shakespeare’s time understood that not only Jews, but also Muslims (“Turks” and “Moors”) were also circumcised. “Jew” or “Jewry” is mentioned about 80 times in Shakespeare, in 11 p...

The second day of Christmas, the 26th of December, in Shakespeare’s time as now, was the Feast of St. Stephen [1], the first Christian martyr, reminding Christendom that this infant allegedly born in Bethlehem was born to die for the salvation of all humankind, and that others would be persecuted and killed in his name. Bible readings for the feast include Acts 7 (first lesson), telling the tale of Stephen’s martyrdom, and Matthew 23, a prophesy and history of the killing of prophets. Of course there were other tales of martyrdom or self-sacrifice available to people in Shakespeare’s time, not found in the Bible [2], including the Greek tale of Alcestis, willing to die in place of her husband. English law did not require people to read or hear Greek, non-biblical tales. It did, however, require church attendance, so the tale of the martyrdom of Stephen was required, a non-optional element of the broad fabric of religious and literary stories and literature that would have informed Sh...

How do we make sense of recent events in the US, after the death of George Floyd, held down by four cops, one kneeling on his neck for eight minutes? [ CNN photo ] Does Shakespeare matter, help, or get in the way at times as we strive to make sense of the unfolding chaos, of the actions of provocateurs, the violence of the police and national guard against peaceful protesters? I'd like to offer a brief account of my understanding of the context, and then just a few insights from a handful of Shakespeare's plays, not an exhaustive list. [Note: I am not observing "Blackout Tuesday" in part because some have criticized it for being counter-productive at a time when people in the US should have access to information and discussion of current events , but I don't criticize or judge anyone who observes it due to their own convictions.] GEORGE FLOYD IN CONTEXT George Floyd was accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. We don’t know if in fact it was ...