Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

On the 6th day of Christmas (December 30) if Shakespeare attended church for morning or evening prayer, what Bible passages would he have heard? MORNING: Psalm 30 - The House of David [1]. Isaiah 63 - A vengeful God [2]. Acts 27 - Paul shipwrecked.* EVENING: Isaiah 64 - Divine intervention [3]? 3 John 1 - Welcome strangers [4]? “Demetrius” [5]? * Acts 27 is about St. Paul and a shipwreck, reminding us of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night , but also of the Shakespeare collaboration, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, which echoes the geography of Paul’s travels. Hannibal Hamlin refers to the play as “The Acts of 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴” for all of its resemblances to Paul’s journeys [6]. After Paul’s shipwreck, Roman soldiers at first want to execute all prisoners so they don’t escape, but one wants Paul to be spared, an act of mercy. Paul argues that they can all swim to shore: Paul takes the gift of the soldier’s mercy and expands it to include all of the prisoners, not just himself (like a figurative multiplica...

In "The Case for Catholic Shakespeare," Kenneth Colston argued in 2016 that Shakespeare was Catholic. Colston's position is similar to that of Joseph Pearce (cited in Colston's biographical bibliography). Colston mentions that the ghost in Hamlet seems to come from purgatory, but that proves little: in fact the ghost seems superficial in his embrace of Catholic and Christian ideas, seeking revenge through his son. The ghost sounds a bit like Lorenzo de' Medici, seeking revenge for the death of his brother. Maybe some things are better left to die with the old king? [Lorenzo de Medici, image public domain via Wikipedia .] There is a tendency to pigeonhole Shakespeare as either one thing or another in his religious allegiances. Perhaps people belonging to a group wish to claim him as part of their group: Atheist, Catholic, Protestant, Puritan, or a professing member of the Church of Theater Enthusiasts? - Some have proposed that as a dramatist with dive...