“Contribution to the development of the English language by William Shakespeare”;
William Shakespeare tremendously contributed to the development of the English language through his work. He wrote poems, plays and acted in some of the plays. His works include King Lear, the Merchant of Venice among others. Through his work and life, a debate has been around on whether Shakespeare's religion was Catholic. Therefore, this essay seeks to find out if William Shakespeare was a Catholic.
Shakespeare's family members were Catholics who were referred to as recusants during that period for refusing to conform to state religion (Dwight NC register). Further research claims that John Shakespeare his father was fined for not attending the Protestant church services during the Era of Queen Elizabeth I. This showed that Shakespeare had strong links rooted to the catholic religion hence he could have been one. Notably, Pearce (31) asserts that Shakespeare was a Catholic because of his father’s will in 1757, which was an affirmation of his faith. It showed that John's household was Catholic and their children were raised in Catholic values and beliefs.
In his comedy, the divine comedy, Shakespeare addressed the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church (Pearce 22). He talked about the sin of pride, Adam and unchastely behavior, which he regarded as least deadly. However, Shakespeare further explained that even in the least deadly sin the wage is still death. That is to say that all sins are equal. According to Pearce (24), its either Shakespeare might have practiced catholic at some point or he remained a Catholic his entire life. This is evident from the way he revealed the exact knowledge of Catholic practices.
Shakespeare used his work to condemn the discrimination that Catholics were facing during Queen Elizabeth's rule. The queen was a Protestant and she wanted everyone to be loyal to her by becoming a Protestant (Dwight). Therefore, anyone who did not comply would be tortured and killed or forced to comply. This forced many Catholics to go underground to protect their faith. It is this oppression motivated William Shakespeare to write the play Merchant of Venice. Two men, Roderigo, and Robert that the queen tortured and killed form the foundational inspiration of the play (Pearce 1). They were killed because of being disloyal by being Catholic. Shakespeare wrote about Roderigo as shylock in his play. Shylock was described as a wolf that was hanged for human slaughter (Pearce 2). This showed the similarity with Roderigos’ hanging for betraying the queen. Shakespeare also borrowed heavily from Robert’s work. For instance, Shylock was referred to as a wilderness of monkeys, a phrase that had its origin from Robert’s work Epistle unto his father. The extract from the poem Shakespeare incorporated was a ‘wilderness of serpents’ (3). Pearce concluded that Shakespeare’s empathy towards the killings of these two was because he was one and he was honoring his fellow Catholics.
Shakespeare criticized the evil acts that came about because of the Protestant regime in his play Hamlet. Dwight (N C register) asserts that the Protestants brought the vices talked about in the play. In other words, the vices of incest, murder, and infertility were allegations the Catholics accused the queen’s administration of. According to Dwight, the Protestant Revolution caused the effects of incest and murder. Therefore, Shakespeare condemned the Protestant regime because it was going against the teachings of the Catholic faith. This was evident that Shakespeare was a Catholic and he was not happy with the Protestant rule.
The evidence that confirmed claims of William Shakespeare being a Catholic was overwhelming. From being raised in a Catholic family, his father's will, and his works criticizing non-Catholic beliefs it can be concluded that he was a Catholic. However, there arose a point of a doubt because Shakespeare never confirmed publicly about his religion. In addition, Pearce (19) said that Shakespeare had two choices, Christianity and nothing. He chose to have no beliefs and lived his life celebrating his heroes. This also suggested that he might not have been a Catholic. He, therefore, concluded that Shakespeare portrayed more Catholic elements than Protestant (20). This made it easier for Catholics to claim him.
In conclusion, from the existing evidence, it is shown that Shakespeare might indeed have been a Catholic. However, this could also be false because there exists supporting evidence that he was not a Catholic. As William Shakespeare never expressed that he believed or belonged to a particular religion it is hard to tell for sure what religion, if any, he belonged to.
Works Cited
Fr. Dwight Longenecker. 10 signs that Shakespeare was a Catholic. National Catholic Register, 25 May 2018, http://www.ncregister.com/blog/longenecker/10-signs-that-shakespeare-was-catholic Accessed on 15 November 2018.
Pearce, Joseph. Through Shakespeare's Eyes. Ignatius Press, 2010. Print.
Pearce, Joseph. The Quest for Shakespeare. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008. Print.