The faith of William Shakespeare
By: Graham Holderness
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Lion Books
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 238
ISBN-13: 9780745968919
Subjects: Religion
Description: In this authoritative new study, Graham Holderness takes us through the context of Shakespeare's life, the times of religious and political turmoil, and looks at what we do know of Shakespeare the Anglican. But then he goes beyond that, and mines the plays themselves, not just for the words of the characters, but for the concepts, themes and languages which Shakespeare was himself steeped in--the language of the Bible and The Book of Common Prayer. Considering such plays as Richard II, Henry V, The merchant of Venice, Measure for measure, Hamlet, Othello, The tempest and The winter's tale, Holderness shows how the ideas of Catholicism come up against those of Luther and Calvin; how Christianity was woven deep into Shakespeare's psyche, and how he brought it again and again to his art.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: "Faith alone": the Reformation; title: "The only merits": the faith of William Shakespeare; title: "Pattern to all princes": The Famous History of the Life of King Henry VIII; title: "King of snow": Richard II; title: "Mirror of all Christian kings": Henry V; title: "A pattern in himself": Measure for Measure; title: "The quality of mercy": The Merchant of Venice; title: "A special providence": Hamlet; title: "Incomprehensible justice": King Lear; title: "The hand of God": The Tempest and The Winter's Tale.