Hamlet , Pirates, and Purgatory
Hamlet's abduction by pirates during his voyage to England is an episode that does not appear in the main narrative source of Shakespeare's play, Belleforest's Histoires tragiques. This essay surveys the various sources that have been proposed, including the Ur-Hamlet, Plutarch's...
| Published in: | Renaissance and reformation |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Iter Press
[2015]
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| In: |
Renaissance and reformation
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| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KBF British Isles KDD Protestant Church |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Hamlet's abduction by pirates during his voyage to England is an episode that does not appear in the main narrative source of Shakespeare's play, Belleforest's Histoires tragiques. This essay surveys the various sources that have been proposed, including the Ur-Hamlet, Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar, and an event in the biography of Martin Luther, before proposing a further possibility in the form of a sermon by the Swiss theologian Heinrich Bullinger where purgatory is compared to pirate capture. It discusses the likelihood of Shakespeare encountering this sermon directly or indirectly, and then argues that reading Hamlet in the light of it has important implications for our understanding of the relationship between the prince, his father, and Claudius. L'enlèvement d'Hamlet par des pirates durant son voyage vers l'Angleterre est un épisode n'apparaissant pas dans les Histoires tragiques de Belleforest, la principale source narrative de l'œuvre de Shakespeare. Dans cet article, on revoit les différentes sources possibles de cet épisode, incluant le Ur-Hamlet, la « Vie de Jules César » de Plutarque et un événement de la biographie de Martin Luther. On propose enfin une autre possibilité : un sermon du théologien suisse Heinrich Bullinger, dans lequel le purgatoire est comparé à un enlèvement par des pirates. On y discute de la possibilité que Shakespeare ait pu prendre connaissance de ce sermon, directement ou indirectement, et on y avance que la lecture de Hamlet à la lumière de cette source possible entraîne plusieurs conséquences quant à notre compréhension des liens entre le prince, son père, et Claude. |
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| ISSN: | 2293-7374 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Renaissance and reformation
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