Shakespeare and Catholicism
By researching the life and writings of William Shakespeare, it can be shown that many Christian values and beliefs are displayed through his literary works. In order to understand the religious content in Shakespeare's work it is helpful to first understand what the religious environment in England was like around Shakespeare's time. England, ever since it was ruled by the Romans, had been a Catholic nation. Before Shakespeare's lifetime, a drastic change occurred that completely upended the existing Catholicism of the English people. During King Henry VIII's reign, the English people were, for the most part, content with Catholicism. Through a series of very complex political maneuvers, Henry eventually seized power of the English church. The benefits of this control were enormous for the state. First of all, Henry obtained his divorce from his first wife. Second, the state received the tithes and taxes from church property, thus making the break very profitable for the state. Finally, with the closing of all of the monasteries, England gained large tracts of land to sell to land owners and tax heavily. The break with the Church of Rome, on the other hand, was not welcomed by the people. Through various laws and ordi
Of course, his decision had been shaped by Iago, who quite possibly was the Devil embodied. At its most fundamental point it does mean that Shakespeare had knowledge of the Bible and the Christian religion. All of these religious ideas are rather generic to Christianity whether Catholic or Protestant. The accessibility of the Bible greatly impacted the work of Shakespeare because he had such a resource at his disposal. Shakespeare's family appears, at most, nominally Protestant, merely for the purpose of remaining a functioning part of Stratford (Milward 22). There is some evidence that Shakespeare's parents were Catholic before the Reformation and remained so at heart after it. Today this translation is known as the King James Authorized Version (Milward 86). Once John's fortunes ran out, he no longer identified with the church of the state. Shakespeare's mother, Mary, came from a devout Catholic family that held positions throughout the Catholic church before its demise in England (Milward 21). Characters in his plays showed devotion to various saints. Measure for Measure was a tale that displayed the controversy between grace and law. In conclusion, Shakespeare's plays ranged from light-hearted comedies to gut-wrenching tragedies. It was a story that moved from the Old Testament law to the New Testament grace (Mutschmann 90). With the invention of the printing press before this time, the Bible was becoming a household item. At one point in his life, in order to receive a promotion, John had to take an oath that was anti-Catholic in nature and affirmed Queen Elizabeth I as the head of the Church of England (Milward 18-19).
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Acceptance Essays
