Book Explores Catholic-Protestant Presence in Shakespeare

by Jennifer Hannah, associate marketing manager, Baylor University Press, (254) 710-4800

In her new book Shakespeare's Christianity, author Beatrice Batson investigates the Catholic and Protestant foundations in three of Shakespearean tragedies: Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Throughout the each of these plays are distinct footprints of Elizabethan England's religious struggles and tensions. Baylor University Press is pleased to announce the December 2006 publication of this book.

"This stimulating collection of smart essays demonstrates not only that Shakespeare was theologically informed but also that Christian language and concepts were integral to the design of his major tragedies. The formidable contributors enable us to hear lost echoes of Scripture and sermon, polemic and Prayer Book that reverberate in nearly every scene," said Peter Leithart of New St. Andrews College.

Bypassing the discussion of Shakespeare's personal religious beliefs, Batson instead focuses on Catholic and Protestant traditions that underlie and inform Shakespeare's artistic genius.

"As we make our way through these essays, here observing Shakespeare's Catholic sensibility and there his Protestant one, we see the playwright's infinite variety in a light both familiar and critically new," said Joseph Candido of the University of Arkansas.

Batson received her doctorate from Vanderbilt University and is now Professor Emerita of English at Wheaton College.

Established in 1897, Baylor University Press serves the academic community by publishing works that integrate faith and understanding. The Press features publications in the areas of religion and public life, Judaism and Christianity, Christianity and literature, religion and higher education, religion and rhetoric, and philosophy of religion.