Catholicism in the Life of Shakespeare

In Shakespeare’s time, 1564-1616, practicing Catholicism was illegal in England. Some historians have claimed that William Shakespeare was Catholic and hid this fact out of fear of persecution. Others go as far as to say that Shakespeare shaped parts of his plays after his own Catholic beliefs. Between Shakespeare’s youth upbringing, education, and the availability of Catholic literature, William Shakespeare had a basis if not a belief in the Catholic faith.

There are many Shakespearean experts who hold true to the belief that Shakespeare was a Protestant as was the custom of the time in England. Those who are in this manner of belief, point out the one thing that can be universally agreed on in the debate, the fact that there is no concrete evidence in the case for Shakespeare’s Catholicism. There is however a plethora of potential and speculative evidence to support the idea that William Shakespeare was a Catholic.

Although it was illegal to practice Catholicism in Shakespeare’s youth, this was a fairly new practice, less than fifty years old, meaning that Shakespeare’s elder relatives could easily have been Catholic previously. This possibility is accepted by many, including David Beauregard who writes, “It has long been known, of course, that Shakespeare’s family background was heavily Catholic.” (15) In George Seibel’s book, The Religion of Shakespeare, he cites about Shakespeare’s youth and specifically his father that; “He [Shakespeare] was passed amid Catholic influences, for there seems no room for reasonable doubt that his father was ‘a Popish recusant’ and suffered many things as such.” (6) This is not definitive proof by any means that Shakespeare or his father, John, was Catholic. If John Shakespeare was Catholic ...

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...l evidence to support the idea that he was a Catholic or was sympathetic of Catholics, whether it is his youth, family, education, environment, or even his adult works.

Works Cited

Beauregard, David N.. "Shakespeare's Catholic Background." Catholic Theology in Shakespeare's Plays . Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2008. 13-20. Print.

Collinson, Patrick. Elizabethans . London: Hambledon and London, 2003. Print.

Pinciss, Gerald M.. Forbidden matter: Religion in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. Newark: University of Delaware Press , 2000. Print.

Seibel, George. The Religion of Shakespeare. London: Watts, 1924. Print.

Shakespeare, William. "All's Well That Ends Well." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . MIT, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. .

The New English Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972. Print.