Shakespeare a Catholic?

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Timothy17

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Hello,

I am getting somewhat tired of everybody trying to claim Shakespeare as their own. I recently read a post that quoted C.S Lewis’ “Screwtape” work that has the devil claim Shakespeare as his own. Besides C.S Lewis’ seeming portrayal of Shakespeare as the devil’s pupil, I have heard Shakespeare claimed by the Masons as one of their own, and just recently read that ‘we [Catholics] have reason to believe he may have been a Catholic’, and that was in the Original Catholic Encyclopedia entry on England (if I recall correctly), though no evidence was presented to back that statement up.

Is anyone aware of the actual reasons for the different groups separately claiming Shakespeare as their own? I happen to enjoy Shakespeare and have a large volume containing all of his works. If he’s the devil’s or the Mason’s prodigy I would certainly like to know, and if he was a secret Catholic in Elizabeth’s England I would also like to know 🙂

Anyways, any info about this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Tim
 
Joseph Pearce wrote a book on this topic, “The Quest for Shakespeare” and hosted an EWTN series of the same name though I’m not sure it’s still airing. He presents some compelling arguments based on Shakespeare’s familiy, personal associations, and themes of some of his plays & sonnets.

Pearce has also been on Catholic Answer Live several times (check October, 2008.)

-C
 
Everyone tries to claim Shakespeare the way everyone tries to claim Christ. It appears that some of Shakespeare’s family were recusants, that is they did not participate in the Church of England. This could mean that they were Catholic or more Puritan than the contemporary Anglican Church or some other branch of Protestant. There does not appear to be conclusive evidence available at this point to say that William Shakespeare was anything in particular, just enough to leave it an open question.

As far as C.S. Lewis’ quote (from a fictional account, let us remember) is concerned, I find it rather interesting, though more for the inclusion of Swift with Napolean and Shakespeare. Swift was an Anglican cleric and harsh critic of the corruption of his time (although his work was lost on his contemporaries, they thought he was serious in his Modest Proposal). I think Lewis may have lumped them together only by their popularity, not based on any belief about the inspiration or origin of their works.
 
CDNowak said:
Everyone tries to claim Shakespeare the way everyone tries to claim Christ. It appears that some of Shakespeare’s family were recusants, that is they did not participate in the Church of England. This could mean that they were Catholic or more Puritan than the contemporary Anglican Church or some other branch of Protestant. There does not appear to be conclusive evidence available at this point to say that William Shakespeare was anything in particular, just enough to leave it an open question.
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Yes, that is my feelings too. He was an artist, which in my opinion would normally mean someone who was very open to ideas and naturally would make him hard to tie down to any particular belief. The inspiration for his works may have been religious in nature, due to the times and the persecutions, but it could simply have just been a passion he cultivated too.
CDNowak said:
As far as C.S. Lewis’ quote (from a fictional account, let us remember) is concerned, I find it rather interesting, though more for the inclusion of Swift with Napolean and Shakespeare. Swift was an Anglican cleric and harsh critic of the corruption of his time (although his work was lost on his contemporaries, they thought he was serious in his Modest Proposal). I think Lewis may have lumped them together only by their popularity, not based on any belief about the inspiration or origin of their works.
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I think you are right 🙂

Thank you!
Tim.
 
I do believe that if Shakespeare was not a closet Catholic, he at least had sympathies for them. Protestants in his works are often described as “low” and “dark” whereas Catholics are “high” and “light.”
 
There is NO evidence to support a claim that Shakespeare was a Catholic.
 
Thanks Annie, that is a very useful link. Given the times in which Shakespeare lived he would have had to be discrete if he wanted to live. Given the Catholic background of his parents, it is not unreasonable to assume it must have had some influence in his life. After all he was born only six years after the death of Queen Mary who had restored England to the faith.

c.
 
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