Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

Claudius I (reigning 41-53 AD) married his niece [1], which in Shakespeare’s time would have been considered incestuous. The same niece and wife later allegedly poisoned him [2]. During “The Mousetrap,” while the court views the playlet about a poisoned king, Hamlet says the poisoner is “nephew to the king” [3]. Instead of merely catching his uncle’s conscience, Hamlet makes a veiled threat upon the life of Claudius. [4]. INCEST, ANTI-TRANSCENDENCE, CANNIBALISM: In Shakespeare, incest has more than literal meanings: Monarchs who marry too close a familial relation may fear they must defend their throne from outsiders (so foreigners and strangers may not be welcome, contrary to biblical mandate). Fear and self-concern become more important than more healthy and transcendent concerns. Incest also took on great importance as the reason Henry VIII gave for seeking a divorce from his first wife [5]. In Pericles, Shakespeare will later pair cannibalism (traditionally and metaphorically) ...

A number of weeks ago, three of my LinkedIn connections posted some passages from various sources that caught my attention and seemed somewhat related, as if belonging in a cluster - and to which I would add a fourth. 1) Gordana Lekovic shared the following quote from Bertrand Russell (British philosopher, 1872–1970), among other Russell quotes: “It is normal to hate what we fear, and it happens frequently that we fear what we hate. I think it may be taken as the rule among primitive men, that they both fear and hate whatever is unfamiliar.” This seems natural or normative, like a survival instinct: We hate and fear our enemies, as we often do strangers. 2) But this brought to mind Hamlet’s words to Horatio: Late in 1.5, upon seeing the ghost again, Horatio says, “this is wondrous strange!” Hamlet replies, “And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.” Hamlet seems to be thinking of the biblical injunctions to welcome the stranger: Hebrews 13:2 (in the Geneva translation wi...

Consider two moments in Hamlet when it is made explicit: Maybe God is not paying attention to human suffering? THE FIRST is when the First Player tells the revenge tale of Priam’s death at the hands of Pyrrhus (2.2). Hecuba, Priam’s wife, watches. [See note #1 below: "Who in Shakespeare's England was like Hecuba, witness to a brutal killing of a loved one?"] The First Player says that the “synod” of the gods (like bishops and cardinals?) should take away the powers of the goddess Fortune (like an excommunicated Elizabeth I?), breaking her wheel, and “bowling” her “down the hill of heaven, / As low as to the fiends!” First Player: But if the gods themselves did see her [Hecuba] then, [/...] The instant burst of clamour that she made (Unless things mortal move them not at all) Would have made milch [milk] the burning eyes of heaven.... [In a fresco (circa 1532-1534) by Giulio Romano (1499–1546), the image above depicts the gods overcoming the titans. Public ...