Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

The word “plague” is used in very interesting ways in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and an examination of each instance in its context in the play as well as the historical context is quite revealing. [Michael Wolgemut, “Image of Death” from The Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), woodcut with watercolor, 14 7/16 x 10 5/16 inches (courtesy Blanton Museum of Art, the University of Texas at Austin, the Karen G. and Dr. Elgin W. Ware, Jr. Collection)] LAST WEEK I listed a number of words that may have been associated with highly contagious and deadly diseases, their number of occurrences in Shakespeare’s work overall, and their numbers of occurrences in Hamlet. These words included the following: Plague; Contagion; Pestilence/Pestilent; Sick; Ill; Pox; Blister; Forehead (not an exhaustive list). This week I’ll focus just on the word “plague” in Hamlet, and just on the first of two instances. Here’s the count again for how often the word appears in Shakespeare’s writing overall, and how ofte...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a continuation of a four-part series of blog posts, “Who am I to interpret  Hamlet ?” June 16, 2019:  To be or not? (Part 1: English Studies & Teaching) June 23:  How Literally Did Shakespeare Take the Bible? (Part 2: Religious Studies & Assumptions) July 30:  Reading  Hamlet  through personal & national traumas (Part 3: Lies & PTSD) August 6:  Hamlet , PTSD & Entitlement (Part 4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hamlet is a play about lies. Claudius kills his brother by poison but lies to all of Denmark, claiming his brother died because he was bitten by a snake while napping in his garden. Gertrude seems to have been deceived by Claudius’ lies. It is also a play about sexual transgressions: The marriage of Claudius to his dead brother's widow is considered incestuous by the play, as it would have been considered in Shakespeare's England, not only in light of how people int...

“Who am I to interpret Hamlet ?” is a four-part series reflecting on why I've been working for years to consider biblical influences in Shakespeare's famous play. June 16, 2019: To be or not? (Part 1: English Studies & Teaching) - This first part was a general introduction regarding my studies and teaching. https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/07/who-am-i-to-interpret-hamlet-part-1-of-4.html June 23: How Literally Did Shakespeare Take the Bible? (Part 2: Religious Studies & Assumptions) - This second part addressed my studies in theology and my tendency to take biblical literature seriously but often not literally. https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/07/how-literally-did-shakespeare-take.html July 30: Reading Hamlet through personal & national traumas (Part 3: Lies & PTSD) - This third part considered how certain personal and national traumas have influenced my studies of Hamlet . https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/07/hamlet-...

Starting in 2017, I did a number of posts about Francisco and Bernardo, two sentinels in the opening scene who may have been named not only after the Catholic saints (Francis of Assisi, and Bernard of Clairvaux), each of whom have rich stories and possible reasons for allusions, but also after the two assassins in the Pazzi Conspiracy. The possible implications for holding up a mirror to the times and to Shakespeare's original audiences are wide-reaching and profound. MIGHT ART LOST IN DISSOLVED MONASTERIES HAVE HELPED CONNECT HAMLET'S FRANCISCO & BERNARDO TO THE SAINTS? https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/might-lost-art-in-dissolved-monasteries.html - April 03, 2017 FATHER ISSUES FOR HAMLET & FRANCISCO https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/01/shakespeares-hamlet-has-father-issues.html - April 10, 2017 TOP SIX REASONS Shakespeare probably named sentinel Francisco after Francis of Assisi https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/top-six-reas...