Shakespeare, Christ Figures, and the Critics
Two books in roughly the past half-century have done a good job identifying the flaws in sloppy or superficial Christian criticism that tries too hard at times to find Christ-figures everywhere. These have had good and bad effects on the way that people who are less aware of the field of Shakespeare and Religion sometimes perceive it. On the one hand, Christians should not proselytize sloppily through Shakespeare, finding religious allegories anywhere or everywhere, and if they point out religious themes or biblical echoes, they should cite evidence to support their claims. Fair enough. But some of this criticism of the Christian theologizers is fraught with its own flaws and distortions, as well as having unintended negative effects. Roland Mushat Frye was a scholar-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and his book, Shakespeare and Christian Doctrine (1963), is often cited. Chapter 1 (19-42) is called "Theologizing Analyses: The School of Knight," named after...