The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-08-05
wa Shakespeare without Religion?

. a.g,e q iptersst in + very I'd subject bas teen revived by ar article ia a
recent uumtsr Of the Nsp YORK worldly Prot ssntaysoa 4 Harvard University
On tn. question ot the -Hetaa. element N the writing. q Shak~Pan Con
tHr. to the belief a many Professor oantsyana thinks that tb' great English
poe, has oppressed no religions ~n3mett Shakespeare he ~y. Is remark
sM. smons ,he gr~ater pts for t~nE without = philosophy or without a
religion This lack II n ro~1Bia background and Of spiritual Pu7n~ to hs
so,, n,s,sn, lhm b. ,bat. from ,ttslping to the very hish~, dignity and
,sth~ Th. defect IL attrputei to the times in which Shakespeare lived
Chrtstsnity .. formulated in te sixteenth nntuy. wa to narrow for The poet :
,ord ,n,t,5nr mind nnt h, brnirr conception had come to him
Professor Ssntsra ns md. however il t religion. At beast the suggestion
Of spiritual passion in Shakespeare sonnet. The anHets ss a whole he
.r ar spiritual their passion is transmitted INTO discipline Their love
which. whatever rn nominal object isbarry any thing I'm. love Of beauty and
vonhh In general is made to triumph over time by a metaphysical transtonns
ton Of, the o,tec, n,o~ something eternal A, ant this is the t.auty of the
u. renewing I~i. by generation then it Is the description Of i~anty in the
poet. v.r~; and. finally iii the immortal ~nl inrch4 by the contemplation
',h., h-.nty"
The Christian Register Unitarian Boston refer. to the opinion. thus Ell
pressed by Professor santsyana and rt~a recent book by + ] banning The.
Genesis Of Shakespeare Art for 3 contrary and as it think.a more ~nnd and
satisfactory view II nys
Whatever may be the verdict Of shak~Iearan critic, uEou his special
theory Of the composition Of the ~nnet> the student OF religion must he grateful
OF religion. emotion
Shakespeare may have been n saint nor neither was he Il stranger to tender
and r.v.cntinl feeling and he canld write
ii"r mani at"' ama"n"noro' tear
Who ~ read the ninety fifth sonnet without being tonnhoa by its sweet 4eious
nsw a. the ethical Is lifted above the cAhcte in the appeal to ne endowed with
the beauty which doth over every blot
TAKE bd dear hear, nfn, large privilege.
III. whole iha Of consecrnton is expressed in the address in the l4eth to the
Poor soui thc centre of my sinful earth, where it is urged to
@ WHY ,%% % " "i' .r n" "s,1 iS S 4" ", %" " "s>"
When Shakespeare speaks Of love he begins with natural human love
which wa' natural becomes spiritual that which was individual becomes unver
al The boyi'h love Of Dante for the httc Florence girl Beatrice rortinari was
the suggestion, but not the measure Of his worship for the Beatrice of the Dvi
"a Conmeda' Tenny@ns affection for Arthur Helam led him to write In
NemoHam' bt before the poem ends he Gays My love is vaNer passion low
And whatever may have been the original occasion or intent of Shakespeare in
his snnets. 1t Is eyidentt hath he was soon swept along by \ vastcr passion.
Then his love became to him more than n heetug emotion lie speaks of it
rehgioudy II is bound up with thoughts about duty and destiny 1t il thus he
writes Of his hearts love as something no longer the sport of time, t founded
on the eternal
Mott wN lniirdf rf from accident
II suffers not ns smiling pmp nor tW,
ihhrr the blow ~ hrNlci iNun,nf
Nhtt,tot the Inviting TIM, our ashton cas
1t harNnh policy, that lrruc
which works. l"a",of> hoT-uum"r,l hour,
hUt alt ahm stand, hugely polite
Professor $sntaynna may be right in saying that Shakespeare "a without
religion II by that is meant that he was unable to accept and form of religion
which In hsd day had b~na accepted by the church. But if we think of reipion
u an elemental force W Q cannot admit its absence from HI. works"