"Hamlet" and the reformation of the Eucharist
In recent work, critics have found it a fruitful exercise to read Shakespeare as a writer who is interested in the effects and implications of the English Reformation, and who makes very effective use of the theatrical possibilities of Catholic liturgy and ritual. This article attempts to read Hamle...
| Published in: | Literature and theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2007
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| In: |
Literature and theology
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Shakespeare, William 1564-1616, Hamlet
/ Lord's supper
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| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KBF British Isles NBP Sacramentology; sacraments |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In recent work, critics have found it a fruitful exercise to read Shakespeare as a writer who is interested in the effects and implications of the English Reformation, and who makes very effective use of the theatrical possibilities of Catholic liturgy and ritual. This article attempts to read Hamlet in this historically contextualised manner. Whilst it does not suggest that the multiplicities of meaning in the play can be easily collapsed into a simple defence of the doctrine of transubstantiation, and the Eucharist of traditional Catholicism, it does argue that Hamlet is a play in which the politics and theology of commemoration occupy a central position, a text that mobilises the extraordinary signifying power of the Eucharist in its attempt to dramatise the cultural impact of the reformation. |
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| ISSN: | 0269-1205 |
| Contains: | In: Literature and theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/litthe/frl059 |