Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

When Shakespeare's Hamlet was first produced, a hot topic in reformation England was faith vs. works: Are we justified in the eyes of heaven by our faith, or our works? All English Christians (Catholic, Protestant, and others) used bible translations featuring St. Paul who wrote of salvation by faith (e.g. Romans 3:28, 5:1; Galatians 2:16). But a letter of James said that "faith without works is dead" (2:14-26) and that "a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" (v.24). This apparent contradiction is similar to what Shakespeare's Richard II notes while imprisoned, comparing what seem to be incompatible scripture phrases: "...thoughts of things divine, are intermixed With scruples, and do set the word itself Against the word..." (5.5.12-14). On faith v. works, Protestants preferred Paul's formulations, while Catholics preferred James. Events on Hamlet's sea voyage relate to this debate without ever using the words “faith” or “...

HAMLET, SUPERMAN, AND FRANCIS OF ASSISI WALK INTO A BAR.  What do they talk about? Fathers.  Was it ever more honorable to disobey your father than to obey him?  SUPERMAN, in the latest film (dir. James Gunn, 2025), faces a choice: His biological father on Krypton had recorded messages for him. One had been damaged, at first thought irretrievable. When finally decoded, Superman learned that he was sent to earth because its inhabitants were weaker, so that he could dominate them.  Should he obey his biological father’s plans for domination?  He disobeys and heeds the advice of his adoptive parents, using his powers to serve.  The first sentinel in Hamlet?  FRANCISO, named after FRANCIS OF ASSISI, once a soldier and prisoner of war. His father, a rich merchant, was not quick to ransom him for early release.  Francis later heard a voice: “Repair my church.” At first he thought this was about church buildings, but soon realized it was about repairin...

In the last few weeks, my research that started with the Lazarus allusion in Hamlet 1.5 ("lazarlike") has moved out in concentric circles or spirals, from Lazarus and the rich man, to King Hamlet and to his stealthy, usurper-brother, Claudius, who has stolen the kingdom - and its queen. So already we have broadened our scope from rich men and beggars, to kings, thieves and usurpers: The king seems to play the role of the rich man, and Claudius may have been like one of the beggars neglected too long , and who finally turned thief and murderer. I also considered how the theft of the commons created more poverty, more beggars, the criminalization of beggars and vagabonds created more hardships , and how Shakespeare was familiar with bread riots, and included such things in his plays . [Coriolan supplié par sa famille (Coriolanus begged by his family), circa 1652-1653, by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), Musée Nicolas-Poussin, Les Andelys. Photographed by Aiwaz....

Three official Cranmer & Jewell homilies mention the beggar Lazarus - and have many other connections to Hamlet. Shakespeare heard these homilies many times during his life. The first, “An Exhortation Against The Fear Of Death” (Cranmer) comes uncomfortably close to conflating beggars and thieves (not necessarily synonymous). I will consider these three homilies in upcoming weeks, but for this week, will focus on a few key ideas from this one. Some consider Shakespeare an atheist, but he probably didn’t (always) work secretly on poems and plays while homilies were read in church; in fact, he utilized their ideas and vocabulary in his writing, making them his own. Yes, if one is an atheist and wishes to view Shakespeare as an atheist because of certain things certain characters say, it's possible to find evidence for that. And it's certainly possible to sit in church while a priest is talking, and to have one's thoughts on other things instead of listening. But...