ENGLISH 11H/AP Seminar (Shakespeare): Biblical and Literary Allusions in Hamlet

Shakespeare's Ghosts

Moorman, F. W. “Shakespeare’s Ghosts.” The Modern Language Review, vol. 1, no. 3, 1906, pp. 192–201. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3713608. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

King Hamlet's Ambiguous Ghost

West, Robert H. “King Hamlet’s Ambiguous Ghost.” PMLA, vol. 70, no. 5, 1955, pp. 1107–17. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/459890. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

Discerning the Ghost in Hamlet

Joseph, Miriam. “Discerning the Ghost in Hamlet.” PMLA, vol. 76, no. 5, 1961, pp. 493–502. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/460542. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

Garden of Eden:  The story of the Garden of Eden is a theological use of mythological themes to explain human progression from a state of innocence and bliss to the present human condition of knowledge of sin, misery, and death. According to the Genesis account (2:4–3:24), God created Adam from the dust of the ground and then planted the Garden of Eden with the “tree of life” and the forbidden “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” at its center. God tasked Adam with tending the garden and naming the animals therein and gave him the single command to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Lacking a helper for his work, Adam was put into a deep sleep while God took from him a rib and created a companion, Eve. The two were persons of innocence and lived unashamedly without clothes as husband and wife. However, an evil serpent in the garden deceived Eve, who ate the prohibited fruit and gave some to Adam. With newly opened eyes, they recognized their nakedness and donned fig leaves as garments. Immediately God saw their transgression and proclaimed their punishments—for the woman, pain in childbirth and subordination to man and, for the man, relegation to an accursed ground with which he must toil and sweat for his subsistence. God clothed them with animal skins and then cast them out of the paradise garden, posting an angel armed with a sword of fire there to prevent their return.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Garden of Eden". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Jun. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Garden-of-Eden. Accessed 7 September 2023.

Murder of Abel by Cain, his brother:

The first story of sibling rivalry involves Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve. According to Genesis, Abel, a shepherd, offered the Lord the firstborn of his flock. The Lord respected Abel’s sacrifice but did not respect that offered by Cain, a farmer.  In a jealous rage, Cain murdered Abel. Cain then became a fugitive because his brother’s innocent blood put a curse on him.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Cain". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cain-biblical-figure. Accessed 7 September 2023.

10 Commandments: The Ten Commandments are a list of religious precepts that, according to passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy, were divinely revealed to Moses by God and engraved on two stone tablets. They are also called the Decalogue.

1. I AM THE LORD THY GOD: THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.
2. THOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.
3. KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY.
4. HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.
5. THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
6. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
7. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
8. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
9. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE.
10. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S GOODS.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ten Commandments". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Jun. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ten-Commandments. Accessed 7 September 2023.

7 Deadly Sins:  

 Also called seven capital sins or seven cardinal sins, these are seven vices that spur other sins and further immoral behavior. First enumerated by Pope Gregory I (the Great) in the 6th century and elaborated in the 13th century by St. Thomas Aquinas.  Each of them can be overcome with the seven heavenly virtues of humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, and diligence.

1. Pride on vanity

2. Greed or covetousness

3. Lust

4. Envy

5. Gluttony

6. Anger or wrath

7. Sloth                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "seven deadly sins". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/seven-deadly-sins. Accessed 7 September 2023.

Purgatory in Catholicism: The condition, process, or place of purification or temporary punishment in which, according to Roman Catholic belief, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for heaven. Purgatory (Latin: purgatorium; from purgare, “to purge”) has come to refer as well to a wide range of historical and modern conceptions of postmortem suffering short of everlasting damnation.

Zaleski, Carol. "purgatory". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Aug. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/purgatory-Roman-Catholicism. Accessed 7 September 2023.

Julius Caesar- Read the following excerpt below. Use it to analyze the effect of this  allusion as it appears in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 1 (lines 124-137).