Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

"So critics want to see Shakespeare as early modern and secular, but Shakespeare is also Late Medieval and Christian. And tragedy for Shakespeare is, I would say, essentially the same thing it is for 15th century, 16th century vernacular drama: tragedy is the failure of a sinner to repent. Whereas for Aristotle, tragedy is something very alien to a Christian sensibility. Aristotle doesn't really care about moral character. [PF note: in the context of his poetic, though he does care about moral character in his ethics]. What Aristotle means by 'hamartia' is not sin, but something more like a mistake. And what he means by 'anagnorisis' is not repentance, but something more like a discovery, like a correction of an error as regards to matters of fact. So for Aristotle, tragedy is amoral: it's like the process of legal discovery that occurs in a court of law. Nonetheless, I think many critics continue to use Aristotle's terms to describe Shakespeare's...

Often we speak of Ophelia as having really gone mad, while Hamlet only pretends . But in fact the play uses the word “mad” in many ways, as do critics. So, with a nod to Wallace Stevens’ poem title [1], a list: MADNESS AS DEMONIC POSSESSION: Horatio worries that the ghost is demonic and “might deprive [Hamlet] sovereignty of reason / And draw [him] into madness” (1.4.77-82). MADNESS AS FEIGNED: After meeting with the ghost (1.5), Hamlet says he will “put on” “an antic disposition” (1.5.189-192), as did Odysseus, King David, and Amleth in the Saxo Grammaticus source; but Hamlet’s encounter with the ghost may actually be driving him insane… [Edit 9/24/2023: In 3.1.7-10, Guildenstern also comments on Hamlet's feigned madness: "Nor do we find him forward to be sounded, But with a crafty madness keeps aloof When we would bring him on to some confession Of his true state." ] MADNESS AS WHAT LOST LOVE CAN DO: Polonius believes Hamlet has been made insane by the los...

There is a Pentecost echo in Hamlet... [Images, clockwise from UPPER LEFT: Pentecost, circa 1310 and circa 1318, from "Seven panels with scenes from the Life of Christ" by Giotto and workshop (1266–1337). National Gallery, London. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons . RIGHT: "The Pentecost," Part of Doña María de Aragón Altarpiece, circa 1600, by El Greco (1541–1614). Museo del Prado, National Museum of Spain, Madrid. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons . LOWER LEFT: "The Pentecost" by a follower of Bernard van Orley, circa 1530. North Carolina Museum of Art, USA. Public domain, via Wikimedia.org .] Hamlet contains more biblical allusions than plays by others of the age, and Shakespeare’s other plays.[1] There is a rhythm in the gospels: Jesus is a mentor and leader who is crucified, rises, and appears to the disciples.  - He appears to women at the tomb (Lk 24:1-8, Jn 20:11-18), echoed by Claudius: "Where's the body?" [2];  - on the road...

Besides blogging here, I post links to new blog posts on FaceBook forums related to Shakespeare as well as on Twitter and LinkedIn. Last week, on LinkedIn , in a discussion thread below last week's blog post on anagnorisis , Dan Decker noted: " Hamlet is a tale of redemption. It is not a revenge plot." In fact, if one compares Hamlet (as many often do) to The Spanish Tragedy , it's interesting to note not only the many similarities scholars point out, but also how, while the protagonist in TST sinks deeper into revenge before the very bloody ending, while in contrast, Hamlet descends into violent and bloody thoughts, but then reascends after having his life saved by pirates, and after finding the skull of Yorick, identified with the help of the gravedigger. Yes, he still fights with Laertes over Ophelia's grave, but something has changed in him.  Yes, after being wounded by Laertes and unknowingly poisoned in what was supposed to be a fair fencing match, ...