In Hamlet in Purgatory, renowned literary scholar Stephen Greenblatt delves into his longtime fascination with the ghost of Hamlet's father, and his daring and ultimately gratifying journey takes him through surprising intellectual territory. It yields an extraordinary account of the rise and fall of Purgatory as both a belief and a lucrative institution--as well as a capacious new reading of the power of Hamlet. In the mid-sixteenth century, English authorities abruptly changed the relationship between the living and dead. ...
Read More
In Hamlet in Purgatory, renowned literary scholar Stephen Greenblatt delves into his longtime fascination with the ghost of Hamlet's father, and his daring and ultimately gratifying journey takes him through surprising intellectual territory. It yields an extraordinary account of the rise and fall of Purgatory as both a belief and a lucrative institution--as well as a capacious new reading of the power of Hamlet. In the mid-sixteenth century, English authorities abruptly changed the relationship between the living and dead. Declaring that Purgatory was a false "poem," they abolished the institutions and banned the practices that Christians relied on to ease the passage to Heaven for themselves and their dead loved ones. Greenblatt explores the fantastic adventure narratives, ghost stories, pilgrimages, and imagery by which a belief in a grisly "prison house of souls" had been shaped and reinforced in the Middle Ages. He probes the psychological benefits as well as the high costs of this belief and of its demolition. With the doctrine of Purgatory and the elaborate practices that grew up around it, the church had provided a powerful method of negotiating with the dead. The Protestant attack on Purgatory destroyed this method for most people in England, but it did not eradicate the longings and fears that Catholic doctrine had for centuries focused and exploited. In his strikingly original interpretation, Greenblatt argues that the human desires to commune with, assist, and be rid of the dead were transformed by Shakespeare--consummate conjurer that he was--into the substance of several of his plays, above all the weirdly powerful Hamlet. Thus, the space of Purgatory became the stage haunted by literature's most famous ghost. This book constitutes an extraordinary feat that could have been accomplished by only Stephen Greenblatt. It is at once a deeply satisfying reading of medieval religion, an innovative interpretation of the apparitions that trouble Shakespeare's tragic heroes, and an exploration of how a culture can be inhabited by its own spectral leftovers. This expanded Princeton Classics edition includes a new preface by the author.
Read Less
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition to cart. $3.66, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition (Princeton to cart. $3.68, good condition, Sold by PaceSetter Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Saint Charles, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition (Princeton to cart. $8.20, fair condition, Sold by Academybookshop rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Long Island City, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition to cart. $11.20, like new condition, Sold by LibriVenditore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, SC, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition (Princeton to cart. $11.50, very good condition, Sold by Bookfeathers LLC rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lewisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine. Book Not ex-lib. Softcover in brown and blsack wraps with Hieronymus Bosch artwork to front, 8vo. xv + 322pp. Index, endnotes. NF to Fine. Minute wear with touch of card separation extreme tip of lower corner front wrap. Else as new: clean, tight, square and unmarked with very bright wraps.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition to cart. $14.19, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition to cart. $15.33, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 344 p. Contains: Tables, black & white, Figures. Princeton Classics, 4. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Hamlet in Purgatory: Expanded Edition to cart. $16.02, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Princeton University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 344 p. Contains: Tables, black & white, Figures. Princeton Classics, 4. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
