Catholicism key to mystery of Shakespeare

By 
  • November 20, 2014

Before I became convinced that William Shakespeare was a Roman Catholic, I was one of those conspiratorially minded chaps who believed Shakespeare was not the person who wrote the greatest single cache of plays in the English language. 

The body of work attributed to Shakespeare is indubitably history’s greatest in artistic accomplishment and variety, and the author is an epoch-shaping literary colossus of the stature of Homer and Dante. One can only marvel at the range of this very singular genius’ sympathies and insights. 

Contrast the aching depiction of first love in Romeo and Juliet with the iron-in-the-soul pessimism of King Lear; the moon-drenched hilarity of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the oppressive menace of Othello or Macbeth. The great psychological motherlode of Hamlet juggles more themes than most playwrights tackle in their entire careers. And the only printed document that beats a script of Hamlet for more perfectly polished aphorisms to the page is a copy of Bartlett’s or The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

Digital Columnists

The article you have requested is only available to subscribers of the Catholic Register.


There are two ways to read this article.

1. Subscribe to our digital edition and read the complete newspaper, plus additional features, on your PC, laptop or tablet.  Subscription rates start at just $3.99.

2. Subscribe to our weekly newspaper and have the print edition delivered right to you door each week.