Catholic Bias in Clare Asquith's 2005 book "Shadowplay" (Part 11: Religious Bias in Shakespeare Scholarship)
Clare Asquith’s 2005 book, Shadowplay , is interesting in spite of weaknesses that reviewers have noted. ( In the New York Review of Books, one can read James Shapiro's review of her more recent book, whcih mentions Shadowplay, either with a subscription or by registering for free.) While significant numbers of scholars still cling either to the idea of a Protestant Shakespeare, or of a Shakespeare whose religious allegiances don’t matter, Asquith is among those committed to the idea of of a secretly Catholic Shakespeare who used analogies or coded messages to carefully convey messages that were at odds with or critical of the religious and political status quo. More scholars (like E. A. J. Honigmann and Stephen Greenblatt, mentioned in the blog post here last week ) tend to agree with Asquith’s conclusion about Shakespeare’s religious sympathies, but many may question how Asquith arrives there. [Image via Public Affairs , pubisher of Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefts and C...