UNMASKING
SHAKESPEARE:
DISCUSSION/STUDY
GUIDE


John
Hudson
founded
the
Dark
Lady
Players
and
developed

the
Amelia
Bassano
theory
after
pioneering
new
business

models
in
several
industries.
He
has
worked
on
innovation,

strategy
and
communications
since
the
1970s.
In
addition
to

degrees
in
management
and
social
science,
he
is
a
graduate

of
the
Shakespeare
Institute
at
the
University
of

Birmingham,
and
trained
in
Dialogue
at
MIT.
Watch
an

extract

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwX5sM3xLsM
from
his
University
lecture
at
Eastern
Connecticut
State

University.
To
explore
ways
of
working
together,
invite
him

to
give
a
talk,
lead
a
discussion,
or
for
the
Dark
Lady
Players

to
perform
their
upcoming
production
at
your
location,
please
ring


(212)
769
9537
or
email
JohnHudson41@gmail.com.





“Thrilling”

(Rabbi
Mark
Sameth,
Pleasantville
Community
Synagogue).

“New
and
breathtaking”
(Professor
Kelly
Morgan,
Dean
of
Arts
,and
founder
of
the
Mint

Theater).

“Marvelous
and
revolutionary”
(Professor
Vicky
McMahon,
University
of
Winnipeg).

“Valuable
and
exciting"
(Dr.
Jack
Wann,
former
Chair
of
Theater,
Northwestern
State
University).

“Amazing”
(Professor
Melody
Brooks,
founder
of
New
Perspectives
Theater).




The
 Elizabethan
 Renaissance
 was
 a
 period
 of

intellectual
 transformation,
 the
 beginning
 of
 the

‘modern’
 and
 an
 explosion
 of
 innovative
 science,

discovery,
 theater,
 and
 economic
 growth.
 
 Here

are
five
areas
of
questioning
that
groups
may
like

to
 discuss
 after
 reading
 Michael
 Posner’s
 article,

together
with
further
materials
to
explore.

All
of

them,
in
different
ways,
invite
you
to
take
the
kind

of
 detailed
 questioning
 you
 might
 use
 in
 reading

the
 Torah,
 and
 apply
 them
 to
 Shakespeare.
 The

results
are
astonishing.



www.darkladyplayers.com
 1




 Discussion 1. Thinking Out-of-the-Box

Human
 beings
 often
 fall
 into
 a
 kind
 of
 thought
 process
 that
 social
 scientists
 call

‘groupthink’.
This
is
a
kind
of
delusional
system
or
‘bubble’
in
which
the
thinking
of
an

entire
 group
 rejects
 rational
 evidence
 and
 outside
 data,
 but
 colludes
 in
 maintaining
 a

delusional
 system,
 known
 as
 a
 ‘mental
 model’,
 which
 is
 backed
 up
 by
 defensive

routines.
Nay
sayers
and
contrarians
are
dismissed.

This
happens
in
political
life,
where

Iraq’s
non‐existent
weapons
of
mass
destruction
were
one
such
delusional
model.
It
also

happens
 in
 business‐‐where
 false
 beliefs
 about
 the
 Internet
 led
 to
 a
 massive
 stock

market
crash.

Most
recently
the
false
belief
in
ever
increasing
property
prices
led
to
the

current
economic
crisis.
Yet
another
is
the
belief
that
Mr.
Shakespeare
wrote
the
plays

that
bear
his
name.
Groupthink
can
be
countered
by
a
kind
of
critical
thinking
known
as

‘dialogue,’
which
asks
a
group
to
explore
its
underlying
assumptions,
and
the
metaphors

which
 underlie
 them,
 in
 order
 to
 get
 beyond
 mere
 opinion
 and
 political
 posturing.


Major
 corporations
 have
 used
 this
 approach
 to
 reframe
 their
 businesses,
 rethink
 their

products
and
create
innovations.
It
is
suggested
that
the
Jewish
community
should
use
it

to
explore
their
assumptions
about
Shakespeare.




Questions
 to
 ask:
 Leading
 scholars
 like
 Brian
 Vickers
 have
 already
 shown
 that

‘Shakespeare’
 was
 a
 name
 under
 which
 acts
 and
 scenes
 by
 Fletcher,
 Peele,
 Wilkins,

Nashe
 and
 Middleton
 were
 published.
 Why
 then
 has
 it
 never
 before
 been
 suggested

that
another
contributor
to
this
work
was
England’s
major
woman
poet?
How
important

would
it
be
to
the
Jewish
community
if
a
major
co‐author
of
these
plays
was
a
Marrano

Jewess?
 
 Does
 this
 make
 Shakespeare
 much
 more
 important
 because
 it
 is
 part
 of
 the

Jewish
historical
tradition?




Would
this
new
paradigm
cause
‘disruptive’
change
or
could
it
happen
smoothly?
How

important
 is
 it
 if
 the
 plays
 contain
 Jewish
 allegories
 that
 offer
 a
 comic
 parody
 of

Christian
doctrine?
If
the
plays
were
created
as
Jewish
revenge
literature,
what
are
the

implications
 for
 performance?
 Should
 these
 plays
 be
 taught
 as
 part
 of
 a
 syllabus
 of

Jewish
 education?
 Can
 techniques
 of
 reading
 Torah
 be
 applied
 to
 the
 study
 of
 the

Shakespearean
works?
Can
the
Jewish
community
be
mobilized
around
these
issues?
If

the
 dominant
 system
 of
 ideas
 about
 Mr.
 Shakespeare
 is
 simply
 groupthink,
 what
 is

necessary
to
break
it?
Who
should
take
the
lead?



Does
 this
 new
 perspective
 on
 the
 plays
 allow
 a
 richer
 and
 more
 complex
 reading?
 If

these
plays
were
written
to
communicate
knowledge
that
could
not
be
expressed
in
any

other
way,
how
does
this
transform
our
understanding
of
Jewish
history?
Is
it
possible
at

last
to
communicate
the
underlying
meanings
of
the
plays?
Has
reading
these
plays
at

the
 Peshat
 level
 for
 400
 years
 dumbed
 down
 not
 only
 our
 understanding
 of

Shakespeare,
but
our
ability
to
comprehend
complexity?
Can
restoring
a
deep
reading

of
 these
 texts
 help
 improve
 advanced
 literacy?
 What
 are
 the
 implications
 of
 this
 for

tikkun
and
social
justice?
What
are
the
implications
for
the
future
growth
of
Judaism?

How
can
we
apply
breakthrough
thinking
in
our
own
lives
and
careers
to
reframe
new

opportunities?


www.darkladyplayers.com
 2




Reading

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16820098/Supreme‐Court‐Pricks‐Shakespeare‐Bubble

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29101755/Shapiro‐s‐Contested‐Will‐Who‐Wrote‐Shakespeare

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/was‐shakespeare‐a‐woman/article1433158/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20215319/Can‐Innovation‐Remake‐the‐Theater‐Industry

http://www.clydefitchreport.com/?p=2039

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GXI5S85Jms

http://www.enotes.com/topic/The_Dark_Lady_Players


 Discussion 2. Shakespeare’s Brain: Complex Problem Solving

The
Elizabethans
approached
these
plays
equipped
with
a
very
good
knowledge
of
the

Bible,
Latin,
the
classics,
and
with
long
attention
spans.
They
also
had
a
good
integration

of
rational
and
intuitive
thinking,
with
the
right
brain
and
the
left
brain
working
together

on
advanced
problem
solving.

The
theater
building
itself
made
it
clear
that
a
play
was

not
realism,
not
a
slice
of
life
but
‘metatheater’,
an
artificial
construction
or
puzzle
that

had
to
be
solved‐‐‐much
as
we
do
crossword
puzzles
today.




We
have
lost
that
problem‐solving
approach
to
the
plays.
Yet
Elizabethan
literary
theory

was
 that
 the
 wise
 would
 ‘digest
 the
 allegory’
 in
 any
 literary
 work,
 and
 only
 the
 most

uneducated
 would
 focus
 on
 the
 ‘honeyed
 surface
 of
 the
 verse’.
 The
 plays
 were

performed
 without
 frills
 and
 gimmicks,
 and
 without
 scenery,
 so
 there
 would
 be
 no

distractions
 to
 listening
 very
 carefully
 and
 working
 out
 the
 meaning.
 
 This
 required

complex
 multi‐tasking,
 mentally
 identifying
 allusions
 and
 sources,
 understanding
 what

other
 texts
 were
 being
 referred
 to,
 and
 how
 those
 allusions
 created
 new
 contextual

meanings.
We
have
lost
that
ability
to
concentrate,
to
decode
the
allusions.
Indeed
for

many
years
the
most
significant
work
of
modern
allegory—the
Harry
Potter
series—was

not
understood
as
an
allegory,
not
even
after
J.K.
Rowling
stated
that
it
was!

The
sorts

of
 complex
 depictions
 in
 the
 plays
 are
 occasionally
 found
 in
 movies,
 but
 much
 more

commonly
 found
 in
 advertisements,
 where
 there
 is
 a
 high
 investment
 and
 subliminal

meanings
are
deliberately
used
as
part
of
the
subtle
process
of
persuasion.




Questions
 to
 ask:
 How
 do
 we
 know

when
 a
 play
 is
 asking
 us
 to
 think

allegorically?
When
we
follow
a
train

of
 reasoning,
 we
 may
 discard
 it

because
 of
 our
 assumptions
 about

what
 the
 author
 could
 be
 saying.
 So

for
 instance
 in
 the
 Nurse’s
 Scene
 in

Romeo
 and
 Juliet,
 the
 Nurse
 who
 is

called
 Angelica,
 oddly
 refers
 several

times
 to
 Susan
 in
 her
 discussion
 of

why
Juliet
should
be
‘married’.
This
is


www.darkladyplayers.com
 3




a
parody
of
the
Annunciation
in
which
the
Angel
appears
to
the
Virgin
Mary,
holding
a

lily,
to
announce
she
will
be
having
a
child.
But
instead
of
a
physical
lily
the
playwright

gives
 us
 Susan,
 echoing
 the
 word
 Susannah,
 the
 Hebrew
 for
 lily.
 If
 however,
 we
 allow

that
the
author
might
have
been
a
Marrano
Jew
making
a
comic
parody
of
Christianity,

then
we
can
understand
the
meaning.

Elizabethan
literature—like
today’s
commercials

adverts—was
 complex
 and
 contained
 multiple
 meanings.
 Elizabethans
 were
 highly

media
literate,
a
skill
we
badly
need
today.



Consider
As
You
Like
It.

Look
at
the
forest.
Its
trees
have
been
cut
down
and
it’s
being

turned
 into
 a
 desert.
 People
 are
 hung
 on
 trees
 physically
 or
 in
 their
 verse
 bodies.

Everyone
 is
 starving.
 The
 forest,
 called
 a
 temple,
 is
 surrounded
 by
 a
 circle,
 and
 the

inhabitants
are
being
killed
like
“greasy
citizens.”
A
hunt
(an
Elizabethan
metaphor
for
a

battle)
 is
 under
 way
 and
 a
 Roman
 conqueror
 is
 mentioned.
 Now,
 compare
 all
 these

characteristics
to
the
siege
of
Jerusalem
during
the
Roman‐Jewish
war.




Then
look
at
just
one
of
the
rhetorical
figures
in
the
play,
the
‘staircase’.
Two
staircases

surround
 Rosalind’s
 description
 of
 how
 Celia
 conquered
 Oliver,
 giving
 it
 great

prominence.
 
 She
 conquers
 him
 like
 Caesar
 conquered
 Gaul.
 
 Oliver
 is
 a
 standard

metaphor
 for
 the
 Olive
 Tree,
 the
 symbol
 of
 the
 Jewish
 people.
 So
 we
 are
 invited
 to

identify
Celia’s
allegorical
identity.

We
know
that
she
is
the
companion
of
Ganymede,

so
her
name
Aliena
is
not
the
correct
one,
bur
rather
an
alienated
name.
Look
up
the

name
of
Ganymede’s
companion
online
or
in
a
classical
dictionary.
You
will
find
it
closely

resembles
 that
 of
 Titus
 Caesar,
 who
 did
 indeed
 conquer
 the
 Olive
 (the
 Jews)
 like
 a

Caesar
during
the
Roman‐Jewish
war.




Now,
apply
the
same
thinking
to
identify
who
Rosalind
and
Orlando
are,
and
where
the

first
part
of
the
play
is
set.
(Clue
is
the
orchard
and
the
character
called
Adam).
So
what

is
this
play
really
about?

What
really
is
the
deep
Biblical
story
underneath?
How
does

this
 explain
 what
 is
 happening
 at
 the
 end
 of
 the
 play,
 when
 one
 character
 warns
 that

another
 Flood
 is
 coming
 and
 that
 two
 animals
 are
 coming
 for
 the
 ark.
 Why
 are
 these

two
 characters
 
 ‘saved’?
 How
 important
 are
 such
 interpretive
 skills
 in
 understanding

complexity
 in
 the
 modern
 world?
 How
 important
 are
 advanced
 analytical
 skills?
 Can

working
on
these
plays
help
us
improve
our
creative
skills
by
combining
right
brain
and

left
brain
thinking?



Reading

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15585621/Performing‐Shakespeare

http://www.scribd.com/doc/26574747/Why‐are‐there‐Jewish‐Allegories‐in‐Shakespeare‐s‐
Plays

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18324722/Understanding‐Allegory‐From‐Harry‐Potter‐to‐
Shakespeare

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15486494/As‐You‐Like‐It‐a‐Religious‐Allegory

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20628060/Othello‐and‐the‐End‐of‐High‐Concept‐Shakespeare


www.darkladyplayers.com
 4




 Discussion 3. Turning Stories into Performance

Much
 of
 everyday
 life
 is
 spent
 creating
 new
 stories
 or
 revising
 old
 stories,
 getting

attention
 for
 them,
 telling
 them
 to
 people.
 
 Any
 organization
 is
 really
 a
 set
 of
 living

stories.
Managers
who
create
new
strategies
have
to
communicate
them
to
employees

and
customers,
get
them
implemented
as
new
products,
and
have
to
ensure
that
those

implementations
 are
 expertly
 performed.
 The
 law
 is
 ultimately
 about
 people
 offering

competing
stories.
Advertising,
publishing,
and
of
course
family
and
community
life
is
a

constant
process
of
creating
new
stories.
So
the
story‐shaping
process
that
Shakespeare

goes
 through
 of
 taking
 old
 stories
 and
 reshaping
 them
 ‐‐‐in
 a
 way
 that
 will
 capture

audience
attention,
subtly
communicate
new
hidden
meanings,
and
provide
an
exciting

experience
that
people
will
want
to
see‐‐‐is
more
relevant
today
than
ever.




The
work
of
the
Dark
Lady
Players
is
based
on
leading
edge
scholarship
about
how
these

plays
were
crafted
and
then
focusing
on
the
process
of
live
performance.
Our
work
uses

applied
 theater
 to
 create
 deep
 understandings
 of
 the
 plays
 and
 build
 new
 skills
 in

diagnostics
and
critical
thinking,
which
can
then
be
transferred
into
everyday
life.





Questions
to
ask:
How
can
these
deep
meanings
be
brought
out
in
performance?


(a)
In
approaching
a
play,
the
first
step
is
to
understand
the
sources
that
it
uses
and
how

the
 playwright
 introduced
 changes.
 For
 instance
 in
 King
 Lear,
 the
 playwright
 deleted

about
 40
 religious
 references
 in
 the
 source
 and
 added
 in
 200
 new
 ones.
 Why?
 Why

overall
does
the
playwright’s
canon
make
3,000
Biblical
and
religious
references?
These

references
create
inter‐textual
allusions,
puns
and
allegories
that
convey
the
underlying

meanings.

(b)
How
do
we
know
that
such
an
allegory
is
real?

One
way
is
to
look
at
the

other
 plays
 and
 see
 if
 the
 playwright
 is
 making
 the
 same
 allegorical
 identification

multiple
 times.
 For
 instance,
 Romeo
 and
 Juliet,
 Othello,
 and
 Hamlet
 all
 contain

depictions
of
the
Annunciation
to
the
Virgin
Mary,
and
all
of
them
are
mocking
parodies.

(c)
 In
 some
 cases
 plays
 have
 multiple
 layers
 of
 allegory,
 referring
 to
 contemporary,

classical,
and
Biblical
levels
of
meaning.

To
solve
the
play,
all
these
layers
of
meaning

need
 to
 be
 lined
 up
 and
 made
 to
 correspond
 with
 each
 other.
 When
 they
 do,
 like
 a

Rubik’s
cube,
you
know
that
you
have
solved
the
puzzle.
By
conducting
these
kinds
of

analyses,
 it
 is
 possible
 to
 work
 out
 the
 underlying
 meanings
 of
 the
 plays,
 and
 thus

understand
something
about
the
author
and
their
intention.
(d)
Finally,
an
adaptation
of

the
 play
 is
 made
 using
 creative
 dramaturgical
 techniques
 from
 the
 medieval
 stage
 to

enable
the
audience
to
follow
the
allegorical
motifs.




Working
on
the
plays
in
this
way
builds
creative
competence,
imagination,
the
ability
to

handle
 complexity,
 as
 well
 as
 analytical
 rigor,
 all
 of
 which
 are
 important
 aspects
 of

human
 intelligence.
 Our
 applied
 theater
 approach
 invites
 people
 not
 simply
 to
 come

and
see
a
performance
as
entertainment,
but
to
work
intensively
on
a
play
together
in

groups,
 as
 if
 they
 were
 studying
 Torah.
 That
 is
 how
 our
 actors
 work
 on
 it
 during
 our

unusual
 rehearsal
 process.
 The
 result
 is
 a
 new
 kind
 of
 performance
 based
 on
 the

meanings
that
have
been
concealed
for
400
years.




www.darkladyplayers.com
 5




Reading

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18742836/Managing‐Complexity‐From‐Plays‐to‐Performance

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15732601/Layers‐of‐Meaning‐in‐Shakespeare

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16176454/Shakespeares‐Spoofs‐of‐the‐Virgin‐Mary‐

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18732431/Shakespeares‐Virgin‐Marys‐An‐Academic‐Analysis


 Discussion 4. The Authorship: the Life of a Genius

Shakespeare
scholar
Stephen
Greenblatt
claimed
that
nothing
in
the
plays
“provides
a

clear
link
between
the
timeless
work…
and
a
particular
life.”
He
argued
this
because
it

applied
 to
 Mr.
 Shakespeare.
 But
 he
 was
 wrong‐‐there
 was
 just
 one
 person
 whose
 life

links
very
precisely
to
the
knowledge
shown
in
the
plays.



In
 Elizabethan
 England,
 out
 of
 a
 population
 of
 two
 million
 people,
 only
 200
 were

Marrano
Jews,
who
practiced
their
Judaism
in
secret.

Being
a
Marrano
was
not
a
matter

of
 ethnicity,
 nor
 of
 descent,
 but
 of
 practice.
 Probably
 the
 largest
 Marrano
 family,
 of

around
 40
 individuals,
 was
 the
 Bassano
 family,
 originally
 from
 Venice,
 who
 had

intermarried
with
a
family
of
Portugese
Marranos.
Practicing
Judaism
was
punishable
by

imprisonment,
 torture
 or
 execution.
 
 Christianity
 was
 a
 totalitarian
 system
 of
 belief,

which
 necessitated
 compulsory
 church
 attendance.
 A
 State
 owned
 theater
 company

was
run
by
the
head
of
the
secret
service,
books
were
censored,
and
pro‐government

impressions
created
by
glamorous
pageants
on
the
streets.
In
this
environment
Amelia

Bassano
 Lanier
 used
 the
 then
 emerging
 new
 technology
 of
 the
 public
 playhouses
 in

order
to
transmit
a
radical
critique
of
Christianity
that
could
not
otherwise
be
expressed.



A
 creative
 environment
 is
 highly
 important
 in
 nurturing
 the
 mind
 of
 a
 genius.
 The

Bassanos
 were
 creative
 musicians,
 theater
 artists,
 musical
 instrument
 makers
 and

composers.
 Her
 subsequent
 life
 exposed
 her
 to
 all
 the
 areas
 of
 rare
 and
 unusual

knowledge
demonstrated
in
the
plays.
As
a
major
poet—the
first
woman
in
England
to

publish
a
volume
of
original
poetry—her
verse,
published
in
1611,
used
the
conventions

of
 the
 time,
 but
 also
 used
 odd
 Shakespearean
 words
 and
 word
 clusters,
 the
 same

compositional
techniques
and
sources,
as
well
as
the
style
of
the
late
plays.
Moreover,

her
 final
 poem
 in
 the
 collection,
 ‘Description
 of
 Cookham’,
 written
 a
 decade
 earlier,

shows
direct
connections
to
A
Midsummer
Night’s
Dream.




Questions
 to
 ask:
 
 How
 has
 bias
 prevented
 Bassano
 Lanier
 from
 being
 identified

previously
 as
 the
 likely
 co‐author
 of
 these
 plays?
 What
 entrenched
 interests
 prevent

critics
 and
 Shakespeare
 directors
 from
 studying
 the
 matter
 objectively?
 
 Why
 is
 this

probably
 the
 first
 time
 information
 about
 the
 authorship
 issue
 has
 been
 synthesized

with
traditional
scholarship
and
with
the
issues
of
performance?
What
has
been
gained

or
lost
by
keeping
these
apart
for
so
long?
How
does
understanding
the
Jewish
element

of
the
Shakespearean
plays
help
us
to
connect
to
them
in
new
ways?



Why
do
writers
create
works
that
they
have
to
publish
under
pseudonyms?
How
does

such
work
contrast
with
that
published
under
their
own
names?
Which
is
more
reliable


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as
an
indicator
of
authorship
‐‐
the
name
on
the
cover,
or
an
individual
who
matches
all

the
areas
of
rare
knowledge
displayed
in
the
writing?

Why?
Granted
that
women
were

not
permitted
to
write
plays,
what
would
it
have
been
like
living
a
multiply
marginal
life,

as
a
woman,
as
a
forbidden
writer,
as
a
Jew,
and
as
a
person
with
a
dark
skin
in
white

Elizabethan
 London?
 What
 unique
 perspective
 and
 sensitivity
 would
 this
 marginal

position
 have
 given
 her?
 How
 do
 Venetian
 values—about
 liberty,
 about
 the
 rights
 of

women
 and
 sexuality
 enter
 into
 the
 plays?
 How
 does
 the
 playwright’s
 depiction
 of

Shylock
differ
from
the
normal
depiction
of
stage
Jews
as
devils?
Why
does
Shylock
have

three
trials,
and
where
does
his
name
come
from?
If
he
does
not
convert
to
Christianity,

what
exactly
does
he
leave
to
his
hungry
daughter
at
the
end
of
the
play?




What
 must
 it
 have
 been
 like
 writing
 allegorical
 parodies
 of
 Christianity
 in
 Elizabethan

London?
Look
at
the
poem
on
Cookham
and
compare
the
passages
about
‘bird,’
‘ditty’

and
‘pretty’
with
the
comparable
passages
in
A
Passionate
Pilgrim
and
in
A
Midsummer

Night’s
 Dream.
 Then
 compare
 their
 uses
 of
 imagery
 on
 how
 winter
 weather
 impacts

plants.
 Being
 forced
 by
 circumstances
 to
 remain
 unacknowledged,
 consider
 how

Bassano
Lanier
might
have
felt
about
her
play‐broker
Mr.
Shakespeare.
Look
closely
at

the
characters
of
William
in
As
You
Like
It
and
in
Merry
Wives
of
Windsor.
What
do
these

depictions
 tell
 you?
 Compare
 them
 with
 the
 depiction
 of
 herself
 as
 the
 bad
 poet

Touchstone.

Why
would
anyone
deliberately
write
bad
poetry?
Look
at
the
depiction
of

the
death
of
Pyramus
in
A
Midsummer
Night’s
Dream,
the
appearance
of
Hymen
in
As

You
Like
It,
and
the
descent
of
Jupiter
in
Cymbeline.
How
do
these
depictions
of
a
parody

crucifixion
and
a
parody
theophany
compare
to
their
equivalent
events
in
Salve
Deus?

How
does
the
identification
of
Bassano
Lanier
as
the
co‐author
of
the
plays
impact
our

appreciation
 of
 women
 as
 geniuses
 and
 as
 playwrights?
 How
 does
 it
 change
 our

understanding
of
the
plays?




Reading

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyn‐3GNOd7w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwX5sM3xLsM

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15488374/New‐Shakespeare‐Theory

http://www.scribd.com/doc/22137835/Amelia‐Presentation

http://www.scribd.com/doc/26148596/Why‐did‐Shakespeare‐visit‐the‐small‐town‐of‐
Bassano

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21346115/Merchant‐of‐Venice‐A‐Cannibal‐Satire

http://www.scribd.com/doc/28139028/Shakespeare‐s‐Late‐Plays‐and‐Amelia‐Bassano‐Lanier‐
s‐Salve‐Deus


 Discussion 5. Hamlet: Undoing Christian Apocalypse

The
book
of
Revelation,
which
forms
the
final
chapter
of
the
Christian
Bible,
is
a
work
of

fantasy
 literature
 describing
 in
 vivid
 symbolic
 language
 the
 destruction
 of
 Jerusalem


(the
whore
of
Babylon),
during
the
Jewish
war
fought
against
the
forces
of
Rome
(the

beasts),
 except
 that
 the
 forces
 of
 righteousness
 are
 triumphant.
 It
 was
 unfortunately

later
 adopted
 in
 Christianity
 as
 a
 prophetic
 work
 that
 was
 claimed
 to
 predict
 the
 so‐

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 7




called
Last
Day
or
Apocalypse,
the
end
of
the
world.
Such
beliefs
often
accelerate
at
the

end
 of
 each
 century,
 and
 this
 was
 also
 true
 around
 1600
 when
 Hamlet
 was
 being

written.
It
was
written
to
parody
such
beliefs
as
a
satirical
reversal
of
the
most
sacred

Christian
 doctrine.
 
 In
 1596
 the
 playwright
 wrote
 A
 Midsummer
 Night’s
 Dream
 on
 the

same
assumption.




Look
at
the
way
that
the
Wall
comes

down,
 allowing
 Pyramus
 and
 Thisbe

to
 re‐unite.
 Consider
 that
 in

Renaissance
 allegory
 Pyramus

represented
 Jesus,
 and
 Thisbe

represented
the
Church,
and
the
Wall

or
Partition
was
the
barrier
between

Heaven
 and
 Earth.
 
 What
 does
 the

fact
 that
 both
 die
 imply?
 Look

carefully
 at
 the
 death
 scene
 of

Pyramus.
 Note
 the
 two
 uses
 of
 the

term
 ‘passion’,
 and
 the
 sequence
 of

events
 in
 his
 death.
 Compare
 this
 to

the
account
in
the
gospels
of
the
death
of
Christ.
What
is
the
revolutionary
implication?




Questions
 to
 ask:
 
 Why
 would
 a
 playwright
 dare
 mock
 Christian
 doctrine
 in
 this
 way?


What
would
have
been
the
risks?
Would
a
Catholic
like
Mr.
Shakespeare
have
done
so?


In
what
ways
does
the
structure
of
Hamlet
(using
the
technique
of
chiasmus)
resemble

Hebrew
literature?
Count
the
number
of
times
that

angels
appear,
or
trumpet
blasts,
or

letters
opened.
How
do
these
compare
to
the
Book
of
Revelation?




Look
 at
 the
 passage
 where
 Laertes
 describes
 himself
 as
 a
 life‐giving
 pelican
 and
 has

outstretched
 arms.
 Compare
 this
 to
 standard
 images
 of
 Christ.
 Look
 at
 the
 Woman

crowned
with
the
sun
and
standing
on
the
moon.
Compare
her
to
Ophelia.
Compare
the

way
 that
 Polonius
 is
 stabbed
 to
 the
 way
 that
 the
 Talmud
 describes
 Titus
 stabbing
 the

curtain
 in
 the
 Temple.
 
 Look
 at
 Gertrude
 holding
 her
 chalice
 and
 compare
 it
 to
 the

Whore
of
Babylon
holding
her
chalice.
How
can
all
these
identities
be
made
clear
in
a

production?
How
important
is
it
that
a
production
makes
these
explicit?
Is
it
possible
to

recover
an
Elizabethan
allegorical
way
of
viewing
the
text?
What
are
the
pros
and
cons

of
demonstrating
the
allegories
on‐stage?
How
does
an
audience
need
to
be
prepared

for
such
a
radical
new
understanding
of
the
play?



Reading

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15732718/‐The‐Real‐Meaning‐of‐Midsummer‐Nights‐Dream

http://www.scribd.com/doc/26623778/Hamlet‐s‐Apocalypse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEA_4V0mk_A

http://www.scribd.com/doc/27741046/Hamlet‐as‐a‐Religious‐Allegory

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15766563/Hamlet‐the‐Annunciation‐to‐the‐Virgin‐Mary















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