Shakespeare and Religion

"Like Beatrice Groves in Texts and Traditions, the contributors argue that nailing down Shakespeare's confessional identity is neither possible nor, in the end, productive. Instead, the collection divides between various historicisms and more 'universal' readings, many of them inspired by phenomenology, that address the functions of religion—including the term 'religion' itself—in Shakespeare and their fruitfulness for thinking about 21st-century religious culture." —Choice

“The essays included in this volume reflect theoretical sophistication and serious critical and scholarly engagement, and they reveal the wide spectrum of ideas and approaches prevalent in the turn to religion in Shakespeare criticism.” —Huntington Library Quarterly

“The essays in Shakespeare and Religion are admirably eclectic, both in their methodology and in their engagement with the plays and their historical context. They range from Hannibal Hamlin’s exhaustive historical discussion of the Book of Job in early modern English theological discourse and in King Lear to Julia Reinhard Lupton’s phenomenological treatment of the same Biblical allusions in Lear, Timon, Merchant of Venice and Othello, this time drawing on the philosophical work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty.” —Literature and History

“Shakespeare and Religion bridges a gap within Shakespeare studies by bringing under one cover early modern and postmodern perspectives on religious experience. Its hybrid vision pushes beyond the binaries of entrenched doctrinal and scholarly positions to show that the search for community is a past and present concern, a particular and universal quest.” —Renaissance Quarterly

“These discussions are impressive and valuable in that they range over a variety of different religious perspectives from the Catholic to the Calvinist and they lead to the conclusion that in his plays Shakespeare reflected a substantial accumulation of contemporary religious problems. The essays promote the view that there are many skeptical elements in Shakespeare’s religious position but that he did not come down firmly in support of a particular stance.” —Ecclesiastical History

“Any scholar interested in Shakespeare, or religion, or both will find an essay or ten to pique her interest in this collection. I recommend treating this volume as an Advent calendar, devoting time to slowly savor each critical treat on its own rather than devouring it all at once. The most engrossing moments in the collection occur when, as in transubstantiation, the historical, material aspects meet spiritual, theological matters and when we can see both strands of thought functioning dialectically.” —Sixteenth Century Journal

“To assume that religion necessarily requires the deconstructive gift of death is to presume . . . that all religion is Abrahamic in its character. Others might beg to differ, although to do so seems ungenerous in light of Jackson’s wonderful, generative text.” —Modern Philosophy

“Shakespeare & Abraham has much to offer for scholars interested in the work of Shakespeare, particularly those interested in both Shakespeare’s religious perspective and how dramatic texts are capable of internalizing and participating in the interpretative tradition of the Bible.” —Parergon

“Jackson provocatively argues that the moments when Shakespeare’s plays treat religious subject matter as strange, paradoxical, and morally challenging are not instances of secularity, but rather of genuine religious understanding.” —Religion and Literature

“This book examines the work of William Shakespeare through the eyes of eleven writers. This is a book for scholars . . . intended to clarify the ways that Shakespeare and religion co-exist.” —Catholic Library World