Why is Shakespeare so mysterious? Because he was a Catholic in an age of vicious persecution

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/ ^ | April 23, 2014 | Joseph Pearce

[NKP_Vet]

Today is St George’s Day. It is also Shakespeare’s birthday and, believe it or not, it is the day on which Shakespeare died. Apart from the astonishing coincidence that Shakespeare died on his own birthday, it is also singularly appropriate that England’s greatest poet should have been born and should have died on the feast day of her patron saint. It seems appropriate, therefore, that we should celebrate the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birthday with a reference to cricket, that most quintessential of all English sports. Shakespeare is “450, Not Out”, continuing to hit his audiences for six after reaching several consecutive centuries of continuing relevance.

On such a prestigious anniversary it would do well to remind ourselves of the enduring stature of the Bard of Avon.

Arguably the three greatest writers of all time are Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare. Of the first of these, very little is known. Homer, it seems, has disappeared amid the murk and mists of history. So great and wide is the chasm that separates him from us that he is almost invisible. What we know of him, for what it’s worth, is gleaned from allusive and elusive clues embedded in his work. Thus, for instance, it is widely presumed that, like Milton, he was blind. If so, like the blind seer Teiresias, he sees more in his blindness than those blinded by their own unwillingness to see.

[NKP_Vet]

Only 52 years old at his death, William Shakespeare wrote in his Will:

"In the name of God, Amen! I, William Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, in the county of Warr., gent., in perfect health and memory, God be praised, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say,

First, I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting, and my body to the earth whereof it is made."

[NotTallTex]

“Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare. Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones.” From the Bard’s tombstone.

[DManA]

Bach was a Lutheran. So there.

[Slyfox]

The textual evidence to be gleaned from his work includes thinly veiled and sympathetic allusions to the work of the Catholic poet and martyr, St Robert Southwell,

Robert Southwell (pronounced Suth-ell) and he were cousins. Just after Shakespeare wrote his first play about Venus and Adonis, Southwell wrote an open letter to his "cozen" and encouraged him to not write in a way which capitalized on the fleshly senses, but instead write to lift the soul. Shakespeare took his cousin's writing to heart and wrote everything else after that "to lift the soul."

Shakespeare also was the only playwright at the time who did not make fun of Catholic priests or monks and did not make them the bad guys. Instead, he portrayed them much like he did in "Romeo and Juliet" as kind and understanding.

Shakespeare was personally related to two Catholic martyrs. He was never indifferent to the plight of Catholics at the time.

[Salvation]

Why is Shakespeare so mysterious? Because he was a Catholic in an age of vicious persecution
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Shakespeare Did Write Lear; What is More, He Was a Catholic
Was Shakespeare A Secret Catholic? The Evidence Is Mounting…
Cryptic Signatures That ‘Prove Shakespeare Was a Secret Catholic’

[Tallguy]

If Will Shakespeare was a catholic, one wonders why he acted as a propagandist for the Lancastrian Dynasty (protestant)? I know, I know. Complicated. Like much of English history.

[Pecos]

I would point out that William Shakespeare, like a large number of Englishmen during that general period, changed their religion as necessary to stay on the right side of the ruling monarch. Initially, the Church of England held to all of the Roman Catholic beliefs, except for the issue of who was head of the church. I am not trying to diminish that question by my statement; merely pointing out that theology was not the real reason for the split. So, the changing of allegiance from Pope to King to Pope to Queen was largely one of self-preservation for a good percentage of the people. Catholics burned Protestants and Protestants burned Catholics - making the Salem witch trials look like a safer bet, all considered.

[Verginius Rufus]

None of the kings before Edward VI was a Protestant. Henry VIII broke with Rome, but rejected Luther's teachings.

The idea that Shakespeare was Catholic has been around for some time. There is some evidence indicating that his father remained Catholic.

[RegulatorCountry]

I know a family that believes “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is the best movie ever made.

They’re Greek.

[Tallguy]

I probably should have said “Tudor” instead of “Lancaster”... But I understand what your saying.

Recently read a re-post of an article about Richard III (House York). I think it had to do with some analysis of his remains. But he gets a pretty bad rap from Shakespeare and that comes down to modern times. Unless you study the late middle ages you probably have an attitude colored by what Shakespeare wrote about that king.

[onedoug]

Stephan Greenblatt, in his, “Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare” makes a very convincing argument that this indeed seems to have been the case.