The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 13.1907  Tuesday, 17 September 2002

From:           Bob Rosen <
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Date:           Monday, 16 Sep 2002 11:00:10 EDT
Subject:        Major Clerical Characters

>So is Biblical literalism.  It's bad theology, but it's also bad
>scholarship, since it misrepresents the Christianity of almost any given
>time.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that even those who proudly
>proclaim themselves Biblical literalists actually aren't.

Dear Colleagues,

This question occurred to me: Are there any MAJOR clerical characters in
Shakespeare? There are minor ones. Claudius prays to some sort of god,
but whether he is invoking the grace of Christianity I don't know.
Hamlet makes use of the symbolic cross his sword provides as protection
against the devil, but is that a mere dramatic effect? His ruling dukes,
etc. are rather secular fellows. Humanists in keeping with Renaissance.

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