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Catholicism and Shakespeare

The debate surrounding William Shakespeare's ties to Catholicism has lasted over a century. Although most evidence points to his affiliation with the Anglican Church, references to Catholicism in a number of his plays suggest that he may have been Catholic. This, in addition to various forms of evidence regarding his relatives and upbringing have caused some scholars to investigate his views of the Catholic Church. With the Protestant Reformation causing upheaval in England while Shakespeare's plays were written and performed, religion has become a popular topic of discussion regarding Shakespeare .

Historical Background

Queen Elizabeth I

The Protestant Reformation created an environment of religious tension during Shakespeare’s time through causing historically Catholic England to gradually become Protestant.  At the time, the religious affiliation of England’s population was considered “multi-layered”, with many struggling to abandon Catholic tradition and fully convert to Protestantism. The Third Act of Uniformity, imposed by the Elizabethan regime in 1559, officially required all those living in England to convert to the Church of England, making failure to attend church illegal. Although some argue England was "a Protestant nation, not a nation of Protestants", those who failed to convert and remained Catholic faced fines and persecution. Anyone writing during this time, including Shakespeare, would face persecution as well if their work revealed non-conformity or rejection of the Church of England.

Shakespeare's Religious Affiliation

Several factors have been discussed relating to the question of Shakespeare's religious beliefs. Making a definite statement regarding his faith is challenging considering there is no physical documentation of his faith, but some have argued both for and against his affiliation with the Catholic Church. Regarding his upbringing, his mother came from a Catholic family, and records of his father, John Shakespeare, on the recusant rolls suggests that he could have been Catholic as well. It has also been argued that Shakespeare's family could have had a relationship with the Jesuits from the discovery of writings of the Jesuit Carlo Borromeo under John Shakespeare's name in the 18th century. In addition, Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford was known to be an area of recusancy and Catholic resistance. This explains why Shakespeare's schoolteachers were also known Catholic sympathizers.

Jesuit Emblem, 1653

While there are several factors that suggest Shakespeare's Catholicism, these only point to the possibility of his affiliation with the Church. Aside from the lack of documentation of his religion, there are various other objections to the claim that Shakespeare was Catholic. It has been argued that Catholic references in Shakespeare's plays were only aesthetic considerations

. An example of this is the presence of friars in Catholic cities in his plays, such as Verona, that improve the play's historical accuracy. Another argument is that Shakespeare's Catholic references are only projections of his heritage that survived the Reformation or an effort to cater to various religions in his audiences rather than a reflection of his actual beliefs. This is only supported by the notion of "multi-layered" religious practices of the time period.

Catholic References in Shakespeare's Plays

Although England had become a Protestant nation by the time of Shakespeare's birth, references to Catholic ritual and doctrine are still present in his plays.

Penance

The Reformation brought about a change in the traditional Catholic practice of penance. The Council of Trent in 1545 defined penance in the Catholic Church as three parts: contrition, confession, and satisfaction. Also holding an important role in this practice are priests acting as mediators between those confessing and God. The Reformation rejected the role of a mediator during confession, making the Protestant practice of penance between the sinner and God alone. A distinction is also made between the Catholic belief in absolution during penance and the Protestant practice of a declaration of forgiveness. Several references to Catholic confession of this sort are made in Shakespeare's plays. In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence's statement that "Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift"(2.3.56), Romeo's explanation that Juliet "shall at Friar Lawrence' cell / be shriv'd and married"(2.4.181-182), and Juliet's intention to "make confession and to be absolv'd...I'll to the friar know his remedy"(3.5.233,241) all reference the Catholic practice of penance. Presence of a friar and mention of absolution suggest that Shakespeare was envisioning a Catholic form on confession, however it has been argued that this is merely a subconscious reference to the traditional view of penance or a representation of the religious practices of Italy, where the play takes place, rather than a projection of his actual religious belief. Penance is referenced again in Measure for Measure, with Juliet's interaction with Duke Vincentio:

The presence of a priest during the sacrament of confession suggests that it is performed in the Catholic Church

DUKE.   Repent you, fair one, of the sin you carry?

JULIET. I do; and bear the shame most patiently.

DUKE.   I’ll teach you how you shall arraign your conscience,

And try your penitence, if it be sound,

Or hollowly put on…

…but lest you do repent

As that the sin hath brought you to this shame,

Which sorrow is always toward ourselves, not heaven,

Showing we would not spare heaven as we love it, But as we stand in fear—

JULIET.   I do repent me as it is an evil,

And take the shame with joy.

DUKE.   There rest…

…Grace go with you, Benedicite! (2.3.19-39)

Juliet's confession to the Duke acting as a friar and his absolution suggests the Catholic version of penance, however this act has been interpreted as hypocrisy. Since the Duke is not an actual friar, posing as one and performing a sacrament is, in fact, a violation of Catholic doctrine.

Marriage

The Protestant Reformation brought about differences between Catholic and Protestant wedding ceremonies. In 1520, Martin Luther rejected the sacramentality of marriage, teaching that it did not convey grace. As a result of this teaching, marriage was taken less seriously by Reformers, as well as celibate life and canon law. In 1576, Elizabethan law made representations of old sacraments illegal, including references to Catholic wedding ceremonies in productions. This makes any mention of matrimony in Shakespeare's plays somewhat unclear, but they are still present.

Some of these references suggest belief in marriage as a sacrament, meaning they could be interpreted as conforming to Catholic rather than Protestant teachings. In King John, marriage is referred to as "sacred vows"(3.1.229) and having "sacred bands"(3.2.160) in Hamlet. The use of the word 'sacred' implies that marriage was considered a sacrament by the playwright, but these references are too obscure to categorize the representations as strictly Catholic. This applies to mention of weddings in Romeo and Juliet with "holy marriage"(2.3.61) and "honorable marriage" in Much Ado About Nothing (3.4.30). Shakespeare also uses the word 'contract' in reference to weddings, which was also frequently used in relation to marriage at the Council of Trent. Although this is a slightly clearer connection to Catholic theology in reference to Shakespeare, representations of marriage in Shakespeare's play remain too ambiguous to assume they were intended to represent Catholic ritual.

Friars and Nuns

In addition to the mention of nuns in his plays, Shakespeare's depiction of Isabella in Measure for Measure can be interpreted as an expression of temperance, a cardinal virtue. Through her placement between two drastically different characters, shy and obedient Francisca and dishonest Lucio who is "boldly contemptuous of virginity", Shakespeare creates and example of temperance that the Catholic Church encourages in its followers. This is only strengthened by Isabella's resistance to Lucio's mockery when she enters into monastic life in Act 1 Scene 4. Through the presence of nuns in Shakespeare's plays, Catholic influence is prevalent. The extension of these characters as Catholic teaching and belief, however, could suggest Catholic sympathies in the author himself.

In contrast, Duke Vincentio's posing as a friar in Measure for Measure represents vice rather than virtue. Throughout the play, he addresses Friar Peter as "holy Father," "holy sir," "pious sir," and "my father"(1.3.1,7,16,39), showing his respect for the position, yet he chooses to disguise himself as a friar in the play as a way to investigate power. Unlike other representations of consecrated life in literature that are satirical, such as works by Boccaccio or Chaucer, Shakespeare's representations of clergy, especially in Measure for Measure, do not have the intention of highlighting issues within the Church.