Lesson Thirty-Four: Parallels Of The “Loss/Restoration” Theme in the Books of Genesis and Revelation

14. In Hamlet, 5.1.34, Shakespeare alludes to the murder Abel by his brother, the biblical

Cain (Genesis 4): “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if 'twere Cain's jawbone, that did the first murder!” 15. In the Scriptures, Cain uses a rock instead of a jawbone to kill his brother Abel. 16. These lines from Hamlet, 3.42-44 allude to Cain killing his younger brother Abel: “O, my offence is rank; it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder.” 17. In The Merchant of Venice, 1.3.52-55, the lines: When Jacob graz'd his uncle Laban's sheep—This Jacob from our holy Abram was, As his wise mother wrought in his behalf …” allude to Abraham’s grandson Jacob, Jacob’s mother Rebekah, and

Abraham’s brother Laban (Genesis 24). 18. The words “They will be kin to us, or they will fetch it from Japhet” in Henry IV Part

II, 2.2.44 allude to Japheth, one of Noah's three sons (Genesis 10:21). 19. The line: “No, sir, . . .Noah’s flood could not do it” in The Comedy of Errors, 3, 2.9192 refers to Noah in the Flood narrative that begins in Genesis, Chapter 3. 20. In King Henry VI, 2.3.15, the words, “Thy brother’s blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,” allude to Genesis 4,10–11 when the ground cries out after Cain kills his brother.

Study Questions:

Article: “Shakespeare and the Geneva Bible” by Leland Ryken (https://www.reformation21.org/articles/shakespeare-and-the-geneva-bible.php)

Directions: Based on the information in the study guide, are the following statements (A) CORRECT or (B) INCORRECT?

1. Mainstream scholars are indebted to studies about the influence of the Hebrew Bible on the writings of William Shakespeare. 2. Naseeb Sheheen deals with the subject of the Bible’s influence on Shakespeare’s works in his book Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays. 3. The story of Shakespeare and the Bible partly relates to the Protestant English Bible translation in the sixteenth century. 4. Shakespeare lived during a movement in which English Reformers dedicated their energies into translating the Bible. 5. During the Protestant Reformation, children learned how to read by using the Hebrew

Bible. 6. Members of Shakespeare’s family were Catholics. 7. Shakespeare's drama has more references to the Bible than the plays of any other

Elizabethan playwright. 8. An estimated count of biblical references in Shakespeare’s works totals 1200. 9. The Bible story of Cain and Abel appears more than twenty-five times in Shakespearean writings. 10. Shakespeare's allusions are generalized, but often the biblical parallels require prior scholarly knowledge. 11. Until 1598, Shakespeare's biblical references were primarily to the Bishops' Bible.

12. As a writer, Shakespeare used the Geneva Bible in his plays during the second half of his career. 13. The Geneva Bible is commonly called the Puritan Bible. 14. The Geneva Bible was the "mass Bible" of its day because it was more portable and affordable than other English translations. 15. The writer proposes that Shakespeare's first acquaintance with the Geneva Bible took place when he was a student at the Stratford Grammar School. 16. During his studies in grammar school, Shakespeare translated passages from the Geneva

Bible into Latin and English. 17. Shakespeare's writings referred to the marginal notes of the Geneva Bible. 18. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare alludes to the Cain and Abel narrative when King

Hamlet's brother kills him in a garden. 19. Shakespeare's contemporaries pictured him as an unlearned genius who invented his writings from his own imagination. 20. English poet and intellectual, John Milton, viewed Shakespeare as a writer who "warbled his native wood-notes wild." 21. The poem, “On Shakespeare, 1630” by John Milton describes inappropriate monuments dedicated to the life of William Shakespeare. 22. Shaheen said that "it would be strange if the most often printed book of the day was not part" of Shakespeare's library. 23. The writer, Shaheen, asserted that Shakespeare did not take story material from the Bible the way Milton did. 24. The Hebrew Bible influenced Shakespeare in choosing his subject matter. 25. During Shakespeare’s times, biblical references were a part of everyday usage among the people. 26. The writer speaks of the Bible as a subtext for Shakespeare's play, showing Shakespeare how to achieve the dramatic effects that he wanted. 27. Universally, literary writers have linked fictional characters to characters in the Bible in

Christian tradition. 28. Links to the Bible in works of literature can be proved through allusions. 29. According to the writer of the article, one scholar speaks of biblical phrases and images as "an echo-chamber of the imagination" for Shakespeare.

For Reflection:

The Renaissance historian John Strype (1737) wrote about the fervent appeal of the appearance of the vernacular Bible in England during his times. He said: “It was wonderful to see with what joy the book of God was received, not only among the learned sort and all the vulgar [uneducated] and common people; with what greediness God's word was read, and what resort to places where the reading of it was. Everybody that could, bought the book and among the elderly learned to read on purpose. And even little boys flocked among the rest to hear portions of the Holy Scriptures read.”

Directions:

 Examine the list of major English Bible translations at https://carm.org/king-jamesonlyism/chronological-list-of-major-english-bible-translations/.

 Explain the significance of the statement: “Everybody that could, bought the book and among the elderly learned to read on purpose.” (John Strype)  Tell what made Bible-reading so special during the Renaissance period in contrast to the earlier times.  Discuss the impact that the Hebrew Bible had on the young as well as the elderly during the Renaissance period?  Write your responses in full sentences.  Edit your writing to correct errors.  Post your reflection on the discussion board.  Label the post: A Reflection on the Translation of the English Bible during the 1600s.

(An added resource: Article: “The History of Translation In The Renaissance Period”

https://renaissance-translations.com/translation-in-the-renaissance/)

A Closing Thought:

“Consideration, like an angel, came And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him, Leaving his body as a paradise.”

-William Shakespeare (Henry V, 1.1.28-33)