Shakespeare and early modern religion / edited by David Loewenstein and Michael Witmore.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Loewenstein, David, editor.

Witmore, Michael, editor.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Religion.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

Religion.

Religion and drama.

Religious tolerance in literature.

Cultural pluralism in literature.

Religion in literature.

England--Religion--16th century.

England.

England--Religion--17th century.

Physical Description:

xi, 317 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Summary:

"Shakespeare and Early Modern Religion contains contributions from both literary scholars and historians of religion; as such, it is a cross-disciplinary volume that illuminates Shakespeare's plays and the early modern religious beliefs that circulated in Shakespeare's England. Most notably, this volume explores Shakespeare's creative engagement with early modern religious culture, but it does so without assuming that Shakespeare can himself be aligned with any specific doctrinal beliefs, religious group, or confession. The essays in this book thus eschew firm or reductive assertions about Shakespeare's personal religious convictions. Instead, contributors focus on his imaginative recasting of different currents of early modern religious culture and beliefs in their great variety, an array of perspectives that was at once contradictory, competing, and deeply contested"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Introduction David Loewenstein and Michael Witmore; Part I. Revisiting Religious Contexts in Shakespeare's England: 1. The debate about Shakespeare and religion David Bevington; 2. Choosing sides and talking religion in Shakespeare's England Peter Marshall; 3. Experiencing religion in London: diversity and choice in Shakespeare's metropolis Felicity Heal; Part II. Representing Religious Beliefs and Diversity in the Plays: 4. Delusion in A Midsummer Night's Dream Alison Shell; 5. The siege of Jerusalem and subversive rhetoric in King John Beatrice Groves; 6. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and the search for a usable (Christian?) past Peter Lake; 7. Lucretius, Calvin, and natural law in Measure for Measure Adrian Streete; 8. Agnostic Shakespeare?: the God-less world of King Lear David Loewenstein; 9. 'Another Golgotha' Ewan Fernie; 10. Shakespeare and wisdom literature Michael Witmore; 11. Awakening faith in The Winter's Tale Richard McCoy; 12. Hamlet, Henry VIII, and the question of religion: a post-secular perspective Paul Stevens; 13. Converting Henry: truth, history, and historical faith in Henry VIII Michael Davies; 14. Shakespeare's non-Christian religions Matthew Dimmock; Afterword Brian Cummings.

Notes:

"Written by an international team of literary scholars and historians, this collaborative volume illuminates the diversity of early modern religious beliefs and practices in Shakespeare's England, and considers how religious culture is imaginatively reanimated in Shakespeare's plays. Fourteen new essays explore the creative ways Shakespeare engaged with the multi-faceted dimensions of Protestantism, Catholicism, non-Christian religions including Judaism and Islam, and secular perspectives, considering plays such as Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King John, King Lear, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale. The collection is of great interest to readers of Shakespeare studies, early modern literature, religious studies, and early modern history"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781107026612

110702661X

OCLC:

887855894

Online:

Cover image