Why mention a Lunar eclipse in Hamlet 1.1?
Imagine that you have been teaching Hamlet this week, and a student notices not only last night’s lunar eclipse, but also the lunar eclipse mentioned in Hamlet 1.1: …the moist star, Upon whose influence Neptune’s empire stands, Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse. (1.1.130-132) The "moist star" that rules the tides - "Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands" - is the moon. [1] [Images, L-C-R: Left: An image of a lunar "blood moon" eclipse. Source: NASA . Cropped. Fair use. Center: Folding almanac, 15th century. Diagrams of solar and lunar eclipses: British Library Harley MS 937, f. 8r . Cropped. Fair use. Right: God creating the Sun and the Moon: British Library Additional MS 18856, f. 5v . Cropped. Fair use.] Perhaps after some digging, your students also find that Shakespeare scholars like Naseeb Shaheem identified a possible connection (for comparison or contrast) to events including a solar eclipse (real, or fictional) at noon...