The Bible on the Shakespearean Stage : Cultures of Interpretation in Reformation England

Shakespeare's audience was not simply well-versed in the Bible's content - they were also informed in biblical exegesis, modes of interpretation such as typology and harmonizing, and on the polemics of literal versus figurative reading. This is the first volume to consider how this interpretive knowledge shaped Shakespeare's plays.

The Bible was everywhere in Shakespeare's England. Through sermons, catechisms, treatises, artwork, literature and, of course, biblical reading itself, the stories and language of the Bible pervaded popular and elite culture. In recent years, scholars have demonstrated how thoroughly biblical allusions saturate Shakespearean plays. But Shakespeare's audiences were not simply well versed in the Bible's content - they were also steeped in the practices and methods of biblical interpretation. Reformation and counter-reformation debate focused not just on the biblical text, but - crucially - on how to read the text. The Bible on the Shakespearean Stage is the first volume to integrate the study of Shakespeare's plays with the vital history of Reformation practices of biblical interpretation. Bringing together the foremost international scholars in the field of 'Shakespeare and the Bible', these essays explore Shakespeare's engagement with scriptural interpretation in the tragedies, histories, comedies, and romances.