Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency: Not to BeBuilding on current scholarly interest in the religious dimensions of the play, this study shows how Shakespeare uses Hamlet to comment on the Calvinistic Protestantism predominant around 1600. By considering the play's inner workings against the religious ideas of its time, John Curran explores how Shakespeare portrays in this work a completely deterministic universe in the Calvinist mode, and, Curran argues, exposes the disturbing aspects of Calvinism. By rendering a Catholic Prince Hamlet caught in a Protestant world which consistently denies him his aspirations for a noble life, Shakespeare is able in this play, his most theologically engaged, to delineate the differences between the two belief systems, but also to demonstrate the consequences of replacing the old religion so completely with the new. |
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... Inhis Interpretation of Dreams Freudomitted personal inspirationwhen he announced whathe there christened ... in his servants; and hisangels hecharged with folly: How much lessin themthat dwell inhouses ofclay, whose foundation is in the ...
... inhis boots.What couldhedo? Virtually nothing, Curran'sCalvinists reply. “Angels and ministers ofgrace defend us!” Hamlet exclaims atthe outset— would they could! If Hamlet reflects psychological and religious crisesof Protestant ...
... inhis power to getagayne that is gone. Vacillating between Claudius' greedy impatience and Polonius' garrulous impotence, Shakespeare's occasionridden protagonist cannot willbackhis powerful,proactive forebear/self thatisgone. The ...
... inhis Metaphysical Disputations, defining the contingent as that which isable simultaneouslytobe andnotto be, ascribed contingency to all things relativetothe first cause, and refuted Calvinistic necessity; and the Englishman Thomas ...
... inhis revengeor howhe carries itout.Even he hasa growing senseof the futility ofitall, knowing himself assured of hellas hisfinal destination.Right about operating asif inscribed in aplay, he is wrong about hisdegree of control overhis ...
Contents
TheLoss of Contingency 2TheBe the Eucharist and the Logic of Protestantism | |
4The Theater of Merit 5 Chastity andthe Strumpet Fortune 6 The BeProtestantism and Silence | |
Index | |
Other editions - View all
Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency: Not to Be John E. Curran Jr Limited preview - 2016 |
Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency: Not to Be John E. Curran Jr Limited preview - 2016 |
Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency: Not to be John E. Curran Limited preview - 2007 |