Religions in Shakespeare's Writings

Offering a wide range of scholarly perspectives Religions in Shakespeares Writings explores Shakespeares depictions throughout his canon of various religions and matters related to them. This collections fifteen essays explore matters pertaining to Catholic Anglican and Puritan Christianity the Albigensian heresy of the high middle ages Islam Judaism Roman religion different manifestations of religious paganism and even the religion of Shakespeare practiced by Shakespeares nineteenth-century admirers. These essays analyze how Shakespeare depicts both tensions between religions and the syntheses of different religious expressions on topics as diverse as Shakespeares varied portrayals of the afterlife religious experience in Measure for Measure and Black natural law and The Tempest. This collection also explores the political ramifications of religion within Shakespeares works as well as Shakespeares multifaceted uses of the Bible. Additionally while this collection does not present a Shakespeare whose particular religious beliefs can definitely be known or are displayed uniformly throughout his canon various essays consider to what extent Shakespeares individual works demonstrate a Christian foundation. Contributors include John D. Cox Cyndia Susan Clegg Grace Tiffany Matthew J. Smith Bethany C. Besteman Sarah Skwire Feisal Mohamed Benedict J. Whalen Benjamin Lockerd Bryan Adams Hampton Debra Johanyak John E. Curran Emily E. Stelzer David V. Urban and Julia Reinhard Lupton.