Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

In addition to Laertes’ “double blessing” remark (1.3.58), which points to the biblical Jacob story ( as noted in a previous post ) [1], note how in both Hamlet and the biblical Jacob tale, “purposes mistook” fall on the “inventor’s heads” (Horatio in (5.2.426-427)): What goes around comes around. A perennial theme. As Shakespeare develops this theme richly, echoing biblical themes, we are right to ask if Shakespeare was influenced by the Jacob story - besides a myriad of others, including biblical teachings. [2] DECEIVER BECOMES DECEIVED IN THE JACOB TALES (Gen 25-33): 1.a. By pretending to be his brother, Jacob deceives his father to obtain the birthright. - Later, his father-in-law Laban deceives Jacob on the wedding night, substituting the older sister Leah for the agreed-upon bride of Rachel. [3] 1.b. Jacob who struggles with sibling rivalry is later burdened with two wives, sisters who struggle with sibling-rivalry. IN HAMLET : 2.a. Hamlet tries to deceive the court, pretending...

[Stephen Christopher Anthony (who played Evan Hansen in Minneapolis), on tour (image from Youtube); David Tennant as Hamlet, image from The Guardian] This past June 7, my daughter, spouse and I saw Dear Evan Hansen in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre. The 2017 Tony Award winner is on tour, and it was very moving. I'd heard and liked many of the songs already. But in the context of the play, lines of lyrics that I had taken to be commonplace phrases or idioms ("When you're fallin' in a forest and there's nobody around, do you ever really crash or even make a sound?") suddenly took on new meaning in light of the unfolding plot. These included early lines about climbing trees, / falling, / being found, someone will come running, / etc. Three-fourths of the way through the show, we gasped with insight. (I will try to avoid spoilers....) It made us want to see it again, knowing what we came to know. By the end, I also realized that Dear Evan Hansen als...