The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 13.1853  Friday, 6 September 2002

From:           Takashi Kozuka <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Thursday, 5 Sep 2002 20:56:49 +0100 (BST)
Subject:        Re: James and Superstitions

Re: Shakespeare and the Catholic Religion by Carol Curt Enos

I may be one of a few who have read this book. By no means is this post
a book review. (At the moment I don't have time to write a longer post.)

This book is based on her MA thesis (so the books says), and in my
opinion, it doesn't go beyond that level. It has some interesting
materials, but it's often rather unscholarly (see my comment below).

>It is very hard to ignore the evidence
>presented here [...]

It is also hard to ignore the fact that the book lacks analyses of
counter-evidence and arguments. Materials she uses are selective. One of
the best examples to illustrate my point is her chapter/section on
'Shakeshafte'.

>One suggestion she makes too is that perhaps WS
>studied abroad--even at
>Rheims or Douai [...]

Needless to say, her book is not the first one to suggest this fanciful
hypothesis. See, for example,
Keen's Annotator.

>All in all, I found it a worthwhile book, well worth
>reading.

I can't 'recommend' the book to uncritical readers for the reason said
above, although some of her
observations sound intriguing and thus do deserve further examinations.
Let's hope that the second
edition will be better (if there ever will be).

Best wishes,
Takashi Kozuka

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