Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

“Words, words, words”: Hamlet, the Second Commandment & Idolatries of Reformation Literalism In Shakespeare’s lifetime, Protestants accused Catholics of idolatry, taking too literally their Eucharist (“this is my body”). Protestants claimed that more figurative meanings had been intended. To them, Catholics - like the ghost in Hamlet - went through the motions mechanically, without sincerity. To Protestants, this was artificial and idolatrous [1]. Shakespeare scholar Jennifer Rust (2003) [2] has noted that the mechanical reproduction of translated Bibles created new, similar problems of idolatry for Protestants, citing Greenblatt (1980) [3] regarding what he calls a fetishism of the printed word (94). Instead of a Latin Bible interpreted by the authority of bishops alone, greater access resulted in an exponentially higher number of contentious disagreements and potential idolatries [4]. Many factions claimed that they possessed true interpretations, and that others did not. B...

It is said that in Shakespeare’s plays, all resurrections are staged, faked: Much Ado About Nothing (Hero) [1]; Henry IV, Part 1 (Falstaff) [2]. Staging can fail badly: Romeo and Juliet [3] (as if to admit the limitations of such staging?). Poor Tom/Edgar stages a miracle for Gloucester in King Lear [4].   Sonnet 18 ends, “So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee,” as if the poem bestows (stages) everlasting life. What to make of this? As is said in Hamlet of Ophelia’s “mad” speech, many will “botch” these facts up “fit to their own thoughts” [5]: Atheists may claim this proves Shakespeare’s atheism. Christians may note: Miracle and Mystery Plays were banned by Henry VIII, still restricted in Elizabethan times. Even if Shakespeare wanted to portray resurrections, his hands were tied. Many of Hamlet’s verbal tricks with Claudius [6] and Polonius [7] (and Claudius again [8]) – and the gravedigger’s with Hamlet [8] – depend on ta...

In Hamlet 3.4, the scene in Gertrude's closet, Hamlet tells her that he will show his mother her "inmost part," and it's clear to the audience or readers that he's talking about her conscience. But she quickly jumps to the conclusion that perhaps he is going to kill her: "What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murther me? Help, help, ho!" This scene is often played with some violence by Hamlet toward his mother, throwing her on her bed, to help explain why she jumps to this conclusion. But this is not in the stage directions, and perhaps there are other reasons why she jumps to this conclusion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With me in the "Rethinking Science and Religion" seminar at Shakespeare Association of America this spring, there were two members who wrote about Renaissance anatomists and drawings of the dissected human body. This made me think about Elizabethan public executions of Catholics and others, sometimes inv...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first sentence in Hamlet is a question that Bernardo asks Francisco: “Who’s there?”  If the audience feels that the question is directed at all of us as well, we might ask: Who are we, reading or viewing this play? This week I’ll consider some key moments in my religious studies that changed my assumptions about the Christianity in which I was raised, assumptions I also ruminate about in my study of Shakespeare generally, and Hamlet in particular. Who a...