Dr Vladimir Brljak vladimir.brljak@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor
Hamlet and the Soul-Sleepers
Brljak, Vladimir
Authors
Abstract
The article argues that the soliloquy, ‘To be, or not to be,’ in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is informed by soul-sleeping: the belief that on its separation from the body at death, the soul enters an unconscious state typically described as sleep or a sleep-like stupor, in which it remains until wakened and joined with the resurrected body, and then assessed at the Last Judgment. The doctrine was advocated in some of Luther’s works of the 1520s and 1530s and found acceptance among some early English Protestants, but was destined to be repudiated by later Protestant orthodoxy, and was universally condemned by mainstream Protestant thinking of Shakespeare’s day. The article surveys the history of this heterodoxy in England, demonstrates its continuing significance in the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth century, elucidates the references to the doctrine in Hamlet’s soliloquy, and discusses their relevance to the broader understanding of the religious subtext of the play.
Citation
Brljak, V. (2018). Hamlet and the Soul-Sleepers. Reformation & Renaissance Review, 20(3), 187-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/14622459.2018.1498056
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Online Publication Date | Jul 18, 2018 |
Publication Date | 2018 |
Deposit Date | Oct 12, 2018 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 29, 2024 |
Journal | Reformation and Renaissance Review |
Print ISSN | 1462-2459 |
Electronic ISSN | 1743-1727 |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis Group |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 20 |
Issue | 3 |
Pages | 187-208 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/14622459.2018.1498056 |
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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Reformation and renaissance review on 18 July 2018 available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14622459.2018.1498056
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