FREE ESSAY ON SHAKESPEARE AND CATHOLICISM

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 ordinances the
monarchy effectively closed down the Catholic church in England, but this did not stop
the people from being loyal to Catholicism in their hearts. 
One of the effects of the break from Rome was the welcoming of an English translation of
the Bible. One of the first English translations of the Bible was written by William
Tyndale. Known as Cranmer's Bible or the Great Bible, this Bible along with the Geneva
Bible would have been the two translations used widely during Shakespeare's lifetime
(Milward 85). With the invention of the printing press before this time, the Bible was
becoming a household item. Access to Scripture was at it highest point in history to that
time. The accessibility of the Bible greatly impacted the work of Shakespeare because he
had such a resource at his disposal. Along with these two translations of Scripture
already available to Shakespeare came a new translation authorized by King James I. Today
this translation is known as the King James Authorized Version (Milward 86). At this
point in time, the climate was right for Shakespeare to learn a great deal about
Christianity directly from Scripture, even if the church in England was still in
upheaval. 
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford, England. Being a small town meant that
these religious changes occurred more slowly and later than they did in London. As with
the majority of English towns, Stratford did not welcome the reformations of their
religion imposed by the state (Milward 17). In time, the town bore these mandated changes
out of necessity. 
There is some evidence that Shakespeare's parents were Catholic before the Reformation
and remained so at heart after it. John Shakespeare, William's father, held a high
position in Stratford. 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). Later in his life, when John's
fortunes had slipped some, his attendance in Protestant meetings stopped (Milward 19).
Other evidence of John's adherence to Catholicism comes from an archaeological find. A
spiritual testament of John Shakespeare was found after his death. Spiritual testaments
were popular among English Catholics of that time. They were professions of adherence to
the Catholic faith (Milward 21). 
Shakespeare's mother, Mary, came from a devout Catholic family that held positions
throughout the Catholic church before its demise in England (Milward 21). Shakespeare's
family appears, at most, nominally Protestant, merely for the purpose of remaining a
functioning part of Stratford (Milward 22). Once John's fortunes ran out, he no longer
identified with the church of the state. 
Religious topics are encountered throughout all of Shakespeare's work. Topics such as
prayer, judgment, justice, Satan, Hell, Heaven, faith, repentance, sin, man's
responsibility, mercy, atonement, redemption, Jesus Christ as Savior, and providence are
found numerous times in his writing (Ackermann 82). One Shakespeare scholar believed that
Shakespeare's works were so full of religious topics because he studied the Book [the
Bible] until its thought and teachings, its story and personalities, had fairly burned
themselves into his memory and became a part of his being (Ackermann 27). 
All of these religious ideas are rather generic to Christianity whether Catholic or
Protestant. Several themes that are only Catholic also can be incurred throughout his
works. For example, Shakespeare, at times, used the word holy in the sacramental sense
that Catholics used it. Characters in his plays showed devotion to various saints. They
also blessed themselves with the sign of the cross. Friars and nuns are important
characters in several of his plays due to their cunning in their attempts to bring things
to an ultimate good (Maura 84).
Three plays in particular, Measure for Measure, Othello, and The Winter's Tale, give a
general overview of the Christian emphasis of his work. Measure for Measure was a tale
that displayed the controversy between grace and law. After abiding under the rule of the
law-obsessed Angelo, grace in the form of the Duke swept in and remedied the situation.
It was evident that grace, although not fair according to justice, was best for mankind.
It was a story that moved from the Old Testament law to the New Testament grace
(Mutschmann 90).
Othello provided a picture of the fallibility of humanity. When presented with a choice
between good and evil, Othello mistakenly chose evil. Of course, his decision had been
shaped by Iago, who quite possibly was the Devil embodied. After realizing his error,
Othello attempted to rectify the situation by killing himself. This showed that without
divine intervention, sin cannot be atoned for. (Mutschmann 237). Good did not exude from
Othello's suicide, only a sad continuation of the evil that had already been evident
throughout the story. 
Throughout The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare moved from writing comedy to history to tragedy
to romance. Shakespeare began to write in a slightly more optimistic view and started
writing romances. These stories moved from a very bleak beginning to a positive ending
that was very bittersweet (Mutschmann 257). Just as the death and resurrection of Jesus
was a bittersweet tale, Shakespeare's romances combined tragedy with a good ending,
making the eventual happiness found better appreciated. 
In conclusion, Shakespeare's plays ranged from light-hearted comedies to gut-wrenching
tragedies. Characters of the highest character as well as the most immoral persons to
grace the stage appeared in his works. The scope of Shakespeare's work seemed to cover
almost all aspects of life. Through all of these tales, the theme that occurred
consistently was the spiritual longing of every individual for love (Knight 69).
Shakespeare's plays move from a hope in political salvation to a desire for spiritual
salvation, just like the Bible does. All of his plays end with some hope that life will
go on and things will get better, just as Christianity hopes for a perfect world to come.

His works emphasized the common beliefs of both sects of Christianity as well as some
distinctly Catholic ones. This in no way makes Shakespeare a Christian or, more
specifically, a Catholic. At its most fundamental point it does mean that Shakespeare had
knowledge of the Bible and the Christian religion. The bizarre religious circumstances of
Shakespeare's world played a large role in molding his works into what they became.