Publisher Description

This book sets Shakespeare in the religious context of his times, presenting a balanced, up-to-date account of current biographical and critical debates, and addressing the fascinating, under-studied topic of how Shakespeare's writing was perceived by literary contemporaries, whose priorities were more obviously religious than his own. It advances new readings of several plays, including Hamlet, King Lear and The Winter's Tale, and draws on under-exploited contemporary analogues, ranging from conversion narratives, books of devotion and polemical pamphlets to manuscript drama and emblems.This study describes a writer whose language is saturated in religious discourse but whose invariable practice is to subordinate religious matter to the aesthetic demands of the work. For Shakespeare, as for few of his contemporaries, the Judaeo-Christian story is something less than a master narrative.

Author Biography

Alison Shell is Professor of English at University College London, UK, and currently runs the English Department's MA in English: Shakespeare in History, and sits on the steering committee for the UCL Centre for Early Modern Exchanges. She is an editor for the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies' series 'Catholic and Recusant Texts in Early Modern England'. She reviews for the Times Literary Supplement, the Church Times and a number of academic journals.

Table of Contents

Textual NoteAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsList of IllustrationsIntroduction1. Antitheatricalism in Shakespeare's Age2. Shakespeare's Life and Works: Catholic Critiques3. Good Works: Shakespeare's Use of Religious Moralism4. Providence, Fate and Predestination: From Tragedy to TragicomedyConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

Review

[This] constitutes the most sophisticated account of Shakespeare and religion that I have encountered. It is the work of a sharp and distinctively original intelligence. * Blair Worden *
Shakespeare and religion is a hot topic these days ... Anyone wanting to know more about all this could well start with Alison Shell's excellent survey... * Times Literary Supplement *

Promotional

A major study of the representations of religion in Shakespeare's plays now available in paperback.

Long Description

This book sets Shakespeare in the religious context of his times, presenting a balanced, up-to-date account of current biographical and critical debates, and addressing the fascinating, under-studied topic of how Shakespeare's writing was perceived by literary contemporaries - both Catholic and Protestant - whose priorities were more obviously religious than his own. It advances new readings of several plays, especially Hamlet, King Lear and The Winter's Tale ; these draw in many cases on new and under-exploited contemporary analogues, ranging from conversion narratives, books of devotion and polemical pamphlets to manuscript drama and emblems. ..Shakespeare's writing has been seen both as profoundly religious, giving everyday human life a sacramental quality, and as profoundly secular, foreshadowing the kind of humanism that sees no necessity for God. This study attempts to reconcile these two points of view, describing a writer whose language is saturated in religious discourse and whose dramaturgy is highly attentive to religious precedent, but whose invariable practice is to subordinate religious matter to the particular aesthetic demands of the work in hand. For Shakespeare, as for few of his contemporaries, the Judaeo-Christian story is something less than a master narrative.

Review Quote

"[This] constitutes the most sophisticated account of Shakespeare and religion that I have encountered. It is the work of a sharp and distinctively original intelligence." -- Blair Worden "Shakespeare and religion is a hot topic these days ... Anyone wanting to know more about all this could well start with Alison Shell's excellent survey..." -- Times Literary Supplement

Promotional "Headline"

A major study of the representations of religion in Shakespeare's plays now available in paperback.

Feature

A thoughtful and informative study with particular focus on Shakespeare's tragedy and late tragicomedies

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