Revelations 14:13 and Hamlet I.v.91-108: 'Write, Blessed are the Dead!'

Students of Shakespearean sources acknowledge the principles adumbrated by the Lockean empiricist Walter Whiter, in his Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare, often credited as being the first work of literary criticism to employ modern scientific psychology. Over the decades, more particularly, so...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Notes and queries 2013-09, Vol.60 (3), p.415-418
Main Author: Stritmatter, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Drama
English literature
Exegesis & hermeneutics
Literary criticism
Principles
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Students of Shakespearean sources acknowledge the principles adumbrated by the Lockean empiricist Walter Whiter, in his Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare, often credited as being the first work of literary criticism to employ modern scientific psychology. Over the decades, more particularly, some interest has focused on the possible biblical associations of Hamlet I.V.91-108 and Revelations 14:13. While these passages are no doubt suggestive and may well have influenced Hamlet's speech incidentally, here, Stritmatter proposes a more dynamic and thematically apt pivot of scriptural influence, echoes of which are woven continuously into the fabric of the second half of Hamlet Lv as well as attested in other glancing but cumulatively impressive allusions in the play.
ISSN:0029-3970
1471-6941
DOI:10.1093/notesj/gjt116