Religion in Shakespeare

King Lear is a Christian Play About a Pagan World It is evident that King Lear contains references to both the Christian and Pagan doctrine. However, they seem to be expressed in entirely different styles. King Lear is purposefully set in a pre Christian era with numerous references to classical Gods but conversely there appears to be a striking resonance of Christian theology throughout the play. These echoes appear in various forms including the idea of Edgar being a Christ-like figure and also the presence of a supposed divine justice.

An English student from Calvin College writes that, "Several themes that are only Catholic also can be incurred throughout his works. For example, Shakespeare, at times, used the word holy in the sacramental sense that Catholics used it. Characters in his plays showed devotion to various saints. They also blessed themselves with the sign of the cross. Shakespeare incorporated references to Purgatory into some of his plots… [His] upbringing certainly came into play in his familiarity of these subject." (Brydon). It is true that Shakespeare did have all of those references and signs of Catholicism in his plays, it should also be remembered that what a playwright instills in his characters does not necessarily reflect what he himself believes.

The concepts of nature, humanity, power and love lay as a foundation for Shakespeare’s, King Lear. These notions are examined through the actions and realizations of King Lear, himself. Throughout the discourse of this play we view the portrayal of humans as animals and witness King Lear’s mistreatment after he gives away his power. When doing so he makes clear his view on love and its value, solely based on the flattery of words.Through nature, King Lear becomes grounded and recognizes the animalistic behaviors of the rich and the struggles of the poor. This recognition brings him to an utmost discovery that presents the reality of vicious humanity and changes the way he views the world.

In 1600 Europe had abandoned the ideas and teachings of Catholic Christianity and began having a Protestant view on the world. When Protestants changed their worldview they rejected the idea of purgatory, causing a key foundation of their new religion. The Protestant Worldview and reaction of it can be reflected in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this time of religious and spiritual changes many people are very confused which can be closely related to Prince Hamlet’s immense amount of anxiety and “madness” that causes tension, due to the lack of knowledge and the ghost of his father.

King Lear is a Shakespearian tragedy revolving largely around one central theme, personal transformation. Shakespeare shows in King Lear that the main characters of the play experience a transformative phase, where they are greatly changed through their suffering. Through the course of the play Lear is the most transformed of all the characters. He goes through seven major stages of transformation on his way to becoming an omniscient character: resentment, regret, recognition, acceptance and admittance, guilt, redemption, and optimism. Shakespeare identifies King Lear as a contemptuous human being who is purified through his suffering into some sort of god.

King Lear is understandably one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, it encompasses the journey through suffering and explores, in detail, the idea of justice. Each character in the play experience s one or the other throughout the progression of the plot, it is evident that through compositional features such as these, the play write is trying to convey this meaning. Through methods such as intense imagery, motifs, repetition of words and rhyming the play write has given intensity to certain passages, speeches and conversations. Shakespeare, through the use of character development, unravels the way in which humanity responds to injustice, the character relationships, specifically character foils, give rise to a number of notions

At the beginning of “King Lear,” an authoritative and willful protagonist dominates his court, making a fateful decision by rewarding his two treacherous daughters and banishing his faithful one in an effort to preserve his own pride. However, it becomes evident during the course of the tragedy that this protagonist, Lear, uses his power only as a means of projecting a persona, which he hides behind as he struggles to maintain confidence in himself. This poses a problem, since the audience is prevented from feeling sympathy for the king. Shakespeare’s ironic solution is to allow Lear’s progressing madness to be paired with his recognition of truth, thereby forcing Lear to shed his persona, and

William Shakespeare's 'King Lear' is a tragic play of filial conflict, deception and loss. Characters Lear and Gloucester

William Shakespeare alludes to the Bible in Hamlet constantly because many of the characters, including Claudius and Hamlet, are experiencing a personal crisis concerning sin. Claudius prays, “O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven;/ It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t,/ A brother’s murder.” The reflection made by Claudius to the killing of his brother, an allusion to the biblical story of “Cain and Able,” is influential because it captures the importance and failure of religion present during the play’s depicted period of time. Pamela Ronson, a Professor at Yale, states, “[Claudius] asks God for forgiveness, yet knows he does not merit it, since he cannot commit to penance for his crime. His prayers are empty: while he may repent breaking the sixth commandment by murdering his brother (a direct reference to Cain & Able), he refuses to preform any penance for it because of his pride (a Deadly sin)” (11). Religion proves important to Claudius because he does decide to reach out in prayer, but religion

Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear can be interpreted in many ways and many responses. The imprecision’s and complication of the play has led

Some interpretations of Shakespeare bring a new light to his viewpoints on Christianity and Judaism. “The religious themes of the work, inaccessible to Chinese people unacquainted with the minutiae of Christian doctrine and anti-semitism, allow us to see who the Chinese filled in the inaccessible Western parts of the plot with interpretation accessible to them” (Shen). An interesting viewpoint Chinese objectivity in terms of the conflict between Jews and Christians helps to exploit how much Shakespeare really used it to push his own societal and political views within his lighthearted play. One Chinese interpretation that has been made is by Professor Lian Shiqiu who stated that “‘Shakespeare does not stand on Shylock’s side and he does not

King Lear is set in a time where even though swords and kings existed, and knights still roamed the land, people still believed in the pagan gods. This is elucidated by the various mentions of the gods (plural) throughout the play, and the lack of a single entity (God). When King Lear disowns Cordelia, he does so by invoking “the sacred radiance of the sun” and “the mysteries of Hecate and the night.” (I.i.110-111) He later swears “by Apollo” to warn Kent, in which Kent rebukes by saying “Thou swear’st thy gods in vain.” (I.i.164) Lastly, when France proclaims his love for Cordelia he blames the “Gods” for possessing in him a quality that allows him to be so attracted Cordelia’s virtues. (I.i.263)

   Though William Shakespeare accurately portrays both Christianity and Judaism in his play The Merchant of Venice, the characters in the play do not represent their religions well. A reader unfamiliar with these religions could easily misinterpret flaws in a character's nature as the teachings of his religion. After a preliminary glance at the play, one would assume that Shakespeare wrote unjustly of the two religions depicted therein. However, Shakespeare had to write the play to please his audience, so he added a twist. By making characters not wholly perfect in their faith, in compliance with reality, Shakespeare was able to add the insults and bigotry and anti-Semitic feelings

The opportunity to view both productions of King Lear has appeared twice for me in the past two years. The first time I viewed Trevor Nunn’s 2009 production of King Lear my review would have been based solely on my ability to understand the dialogue and my appreciation of the acting of Ian McKellen. Two years later I have a better understanding of the actual play and while I still enjoy the 2009 production the 1982 production directed by Jonathan Miller presents the words of William Shakespeare in a more accurate and period specific manor.

allows us to see man's decent into chaos.  Although Lear is perceived as "a man