Jonson's Beard and Shakespeare's Purge: Hamlet, Parnassus, and the Poet's War

According to almost all editors and commentators, Hamlet was presented largely in its extant form in the months immediately following. (All discussed at more length below.) Sohmer (1996, supported by Roth 2002a) has suggested even more specific dating for the internal action in Hamlet (and perhaps e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMedieval & Renaissance drama in England Vol. 35; pp. 98 - 11
Main Author Roth, Steve
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cranbury Associated University Presses 01.01.2022
Subjects
Dialogue
Drama
Dramatists
English literature
Jonson, Ben (1573-1637)
Literary criticism
Literary history
Poets
Shakespeare plays
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Social criticism & satire
Text analysis
Theater
Theater history
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Summary:According to almost all editors and commentators, Hamlet was presented largely in its extant form in the months immediately following. (All discussed at more length below.) Sohmer (1996, supported by Roth 2002a) has suggested even more specific dating for the internal action in Hamlet (and perhaps even a date for its 1601 season opening), based on calendrical evidence: the ghost's four appearances on the ramparts are identified with the nights of Friday 30 October through Monday 2 November 1601-the Feast of Marcellus, All Hallows Eve, All Saints', and All Souls'. Viz: the ghost's "Remember me," thrice echoed by Hamlet.) That dating also sets up a telling conjunction between the King's murder and the death of Shakespeare's father John just under two months prior ("But two months dead, nay not so much, not two" 1.2.138). Multiple editors (most recently Thompson and Taylor [36]) have found intuitive appeal in the coincidence of Shakespeare's father's death, the litany of half a dozen dead fathers in Hamlet, and Hamlet's final composition date.
ISSN:0731-3403