Shakespeare and the Bible

Someone once asked for a recommendation for a book listing Shakespeare's references to Scripture.

I found myself today recognizing a biblical allusion in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice ("the sins of the father / are to be laid upon the children" Act III, Scene 5), and I was looking to see if there was a book of such allusions in Logos. All I found was The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional.

Here are some more I found on Amazon, any of which would be a good addition to Logos. All links are to my suggestions on UserVoice in case you want to vote for any of them.

The Bible in Shakespeare by Hannibal Hamlin (Oxford University Press, 2018)
The Bible in Shakespeare: A Study of the Relation of the Works of William Shakespeare to the Bible by William Burgess (Andesite Press, 2017) - public domain
Shakespeare's Debt to the Bible by Charles Bullock (Palala Press, 2018) - public domain
Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays by Naseeb Shaheen (University of Delaware Press, 2011) - very expensive!!
Holy Shakespeare!: 101 Scriptures That Appear in Shakespeare's Plays, Poems, and Sonnets by Maisie Sparks (FaithWords, 2016)

Finally, two others that aren't strictly about Shakespeare's biblical allusions but are broader:

The Gospel According to Shakespeare by Piero Boitani, translated by Vittorio Montemaggi & Rachel Jacoff (University of Notre Dame Press, 2014) - "Piero Boitani develops his earlier work in The Bible and Its Rewritings, focusing on Shakespeare’s “rescripturing” of the Gospels. Boitani persuasively urges that Shakespeare read the New Testament with great care and an overall sense of affirmation and participation, and that many of his plays constitute their own original testament, insofar as they translate the good news into human terms."
A Will to Believe: Shakespeare and Religion by David Scott Kastan (Oxford University Press, 2014)

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Brad

[Y]

RRD

https://ebooks.noet.com/products/129235/holy-shakespeare-101-scriptures-that-appear-in-shakespeares-plays-poems-and-sonnets

https://ebooks.noet.com/products/151904/biblical-references-in-shakespeares-plays - even more expensive!

Sascha Andreas John

for free you could do your own Research in the Logos Shakesperes Work...just if you dont know it

GaoLu

I recall Louis Malcolm (LM) Boyd (raised in Bremerton, WA) many years ago revealing how important Shakespeare was to the Bible. Here is why:

Shakespeare, born in 1564, was 46 years old when the KJV was getting finishing touches in 1610. In the KJV version of Psalm 46, if you count down 46 words from the beginning (not including the title) we see "Shake." Then count 46 words from the bottom (not counting "Selah") and we find the rest of the hidden name, "Spear." There it is, more or less. Shakespeare. Whats more, the full name William Shakespeare is an anagram of “Here was I, like a psalm.”

Who could argue with reason like that? Better buy those books.

Rosie Perera

William Shakespeare is an anagram of “Here was I, like a psalm.”

His name also anagrams to:

I am a weakish speller.
Is a sharp male we like.
Hear me, as I will speak.
I swear I will make heaps.
A hallmark is weepies.
Spieler was like a ham.

(These are all constructed by various people on the Anagrammy Awards Forum.)

Rosie Perera

https://ebooks.noet.com/products/129235/holy-shakespeare-101-scriptures-that-appear-in-shakespeares-plays-poems-and-sonnets

https://ebooks.noet.com/products/151904/biblical-references-in-shakespeares-plays - even more expensive!

Oh thanks! I had neglected to search Noet. The first one isn't available in my country (Canada). [:(]