In this act, Macbeth begins to bear the consequences of his actions. Ironically, this occurs while his conscience is less pricked about his ethical decisions in the moment. Still his guilt–manifested through Banquo’s ghost–shows that he cannot hide from himself the sanctions he knows his actions deserve. Scene 1 opens with Banquo alone. He suspectsContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 3 Commentary”
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Macbeth: Act 2 Commentary
In Act 2, Macbeth murders Duncan and begins to experience temporal blessings and punishments. Macbeth knows the afterworld awaits the dead. He tells Duncan to mark the bell that “summons thee to heaven or to hell.” This is a Christian world with eternal rewards and punishments. One question: why is this a question? I thoughtContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 2 Commentary”
Macbeth: Act 1 Commentary
The first act presents Macbeth with an ethical dilemma: how should he respond to the prophecy that he will be king? His decision hinges on his concept of sanctions. The witches begin the play by talking about “when the battle’s lost and won.” The witches are agents of confusion, and part of their confusion willContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 1 Commentary”
Macbeth: A Covenantal Outline
I begin writing on Macbeth today, the play I have connected with the covenantal concept of Sanctions. It could really be a play about ethics too, but I think the play’s action is more about the consequences for Macbeth’s murder of Duncan rather than the ethical decision itself. PLOT Macbeth, Scotland’s greatest warrior, receives aContinue reading “Macbeth: A Covenantal Outline”
The Bible as Literature or Literature as The Bible
The following is an abstract for a paper I’m working on. It’s at the heart of my covenantal literature project. Literary scholars seeking to integrate faith and literature have faced a perpetual problem: an inability to agree on the how the Bible and literature are connected. On the surface, the ubiquitous “Bible as Literature” courseContinue reading “The Bible as Literature or Literature as The Bible”
Hamlet: Two Final Contexts
In this post, I complete the work begun here. These contextual details involve sanctions and succession. Classical vs. Christian Views of the Afterlife: When Hamlet pictures an actual example of revenge, his image is classical. In his dialogue with the player king, Hamlet remembers Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, who avenges his father’s death byContinue reading “Hamlet: Two Final Contexts”
Tess of the D’urbervilles: A Covenantal Plot
Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’urbervilles displays the doubt and religious skepticism of the late Victorian period. I’m teaching it right now. It is more overt in its engagement with religion than Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations and more problematic. Here’s an outline of the plot using the covenant model. Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful country girl, appears fated for troubleContinue reading “Tess of the D’urbervilles: A Covenantal Plot”
Hamlet: Contextual Questions
I continue to follow up my commentary and exploration of symbols with research into Hamlet‘s contexts. Here are the questions I am attempting to answer. Transcendence: Does Roman Catholic or Protestant theology determine how you read the play? Hierarchy: What were the key debates in political theory at the time about how to handle an unjustContinue reading “Hamlet: Contextual Questions”
Hamlet: Additional Contexts
I am currently reading through Paul Cantor’s short book on Hamlet and finding it illuminating on the subject of ethics/sanctions. Cantor argues that the tension in the play is not primarily between Catholic and Protestant ethics but between Classical and Christian ethics. We can sum up the difference by saying the former encourages revenge while the latter prohibits it.Continue reading “Hamlet: Additional Contexts”
Experiments in Criticism 