| This dissertation evaluates the dramatic works of William Shakespeare in the context of the Protestant Reformation. Although previous Shakespearean analyses articulate the playwright's Judeo-Christian world view and his heavy reliance on biblical imagery, no writer has linked Shakespeare's work with the Reformed theological tenets and texts that had entrenched themselves within the Bard's culture.; The study focuses on four Shakespearean works and juxtaposes them with late fifteenth and early sixteenth-century artifacts that bespeak a cultural fixation on the theological tenets of the Reformation: justification by faith, predestination, and an emerging focus on the worth of the individual apart from group identity.; The results of this project display Shakespeare's awareness of Reformed theology. In Measure for Measure, Angelo, the spokesperson for human effort, fails to reform the city and also succumbs to personal, moral temptation. Conversely, Isabella proffers mercy and grace, and in so doing reveals the true path to reforming a culture. The second work under consideration, King Lear, demonstrates Shakespeare's fixation with the topic of predestination. Both Gloucester's and Lear's desperate need for assurance mirrors sixteenth-century England's quest for signs of divine election. The third work under consideration, Romeo and Juliet, reveals an increasing cultural awareness of the value of the individual. The study argues that this realization emerges from the biblical concept of the individual priesthood of believers. Martin Luther and other reformers maintained that each individual who is empowered by the Holy Spirit is uniquely equipped to serve both in the church and in society as a whole. Romeo illustrates how this new realization runs cross-grained to entrenched societal expectations.; Finally, this dissertation provides a new focus for Shakespearean studies wherein critics may analyze the Bard's work in the context of two of the most significant events of the fifteenth century: the Reformation of the church and the translation of the Bible into the English language. |
