Replying to Thread: Shakespeare's Catholic Code: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare [Feature] Created On November 30, 2005 12:51 AM
by Godspy
Was William Shakespeare a pillar of Reformation England or an underground Roman Catholic dissident? Hidden for centuries, the 'Shakespeare Code' has finally revealed its secrets, thanks to Clare Asquith's ground-breaking scholarship, detailed in her new book, 'Shadowplay.'
If one reads shakespeare carefully one can see he uses so much of the Wisdom Books, which was certainly not an anglican priority (Biblicly). At that time I believe the Wisdom books were used quite extensively to teach the faith. The judgment in Merchant of Venice was or could be related the truth of the Eucharist that is one cannot have the Body without the Blood Mike Hurcum:
"But in the case of Shakspere the argument is long and complicated, ..., though sufficiently simple and direct for people with a sense of reality. I believe that recent discoveries, as recorded in a book by a French lady, have very strongly confirmed the theory that Shakspere died a Catholic. But I need no books and no discoveries to prove to me that he had lived a Catholic, or more probably, like the rest of us, tried unsuccessfully to live a Catholic; that he thought like a Catholic and felt like a Catholic and saw every question as a Catholic sees it. The proofs of this would be matter for a seperate essay; if indeed so practical an impression can be proved at all.It is quite self-evident to me that he was a certain real and recognizable Renaissance type of Catholic; like Cervantes; like Ronsard. But if I were asked offhand for a short explanation, I could only say that I know he was a Catholic from the passages which are now used to prove he was an agnostic." - GK Chesterton, The Thing, Why I am a Catholic, 1929