Was William Shakespeare a crypto-Roman Catholic or not?

Question

At least one writer posited the view that Shakespeare had a code in his verses indicating he was a Roman Catholic. However, because of the persecution against Catholics unleashed by Elizabeth I, he was allegedly reluctant to declare the same in public. Is there solid basis for this view?

Answer 1

I think that view is wrong, especially as to the "code". You have to undestand the historical period Will grew up in. Henry VIII created himself head of the church when he moved from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism. Bloody Mary came in and made martyrs of the protestants. When she died Elizabeth came in an decreed Protestantism to be the law of the land.
She did not persecute in the same way as Mary (except where Catholic priests came in whom she perceived as threats to the political stability of the country).

Attendance at Anglican church as enforced by law and one suffered fines and public humiliation if you stayed away from church for too long.

There is a great deal of evidence that Will's family were Catholics, including his father's will found pasted into the ceiling of the family house. His mother's family, the Årdens, had a Catholic background.

But Will would have attended Anglican services from a child, and his schooling would have been Anglican oriented (yes I know some of his masters had Catholic leanings).

If you read his plays carefully what you find is a kind of a mixture of religious views--some tending towares Catholicism
(as when Hamlet will not kill Claudius when he thinks he has just confessed his sins and is therefore ready as a good Catholic to meet God), and yet where he, as it were, parses the human soul, (as in the dissolution of Macbeth through ambition and the sins that ambition drives him further into) you get a view of MacBeth that is reminescent of King Saul, and in it's flavor has more to do with Reformation views of the soul and it's relationship to God.

I think it had to be a confusing and mixed up time for all English peoples and that that confusion comes across in Shakespeare's plays, being much more a view of the society in which he worked and wrote than of any secret "codes".

For some reason secret codes seem to get to us. I suppose we still long to find some treasure where X marks the spot.

Hey Ho, Maggie!

Answer 2

Even if he was, it wouldn't be a big deal. A number of prominent people were crypto-Catholics - the composers Robert Carver and William Byrd are the two that I know of best - and it's quite credible that it was common in the general population too, maybe 10 or 15 per cent. As long as you kept your head down, and didn't give the authorities any other grounds for coming after you, you would be okay. Sincere Catholics had to emigrate.

Answer 3

Yes, I think that there is sufficient venerable evidence that Shakespeare is if not a closet catholic (when that really meant something), he is at least sympathetic to the old religion and generally opposed to the Elizabethan settlement of the Church of England. Its late and I have no research to hand. However there are several recent books on Elizabethan espionage, some new counter reformations studies in the works and a recent PBS multiparter on just this subject. " In Search of Shakespeare" ? spending more time with key strike errors than info... night night. Good luck with this topic its worth the time.

Answer 4

Well, his father lost his elected position because of being Roman Catholic. In fact, because of this, Shakespeare was unable to finish his schooling and probably had a little inferiority complex regarding this for a while. Additionally, there is a lot of respected research that suggests that Shakespeare was clearly affected by his ties to the church and the ties of others he was close with. Also, one of his history plays was shown one night with the intention that it create a riot in London (remember that during the 1600s, the plays was the only mass media in town) at the Globe. Shakespeare was not exactly involved, but he was connected with the folks. His main benefactor over the years was executed for being Catholic and taking part in subversive activities. Shakespeare was fined for not going to church. I suspect that he was a little afraid of what would happen to him if he declared himself a full-fledged Catholic. I also suspect that he was really one of the many who just wasn't interested that much in religion. Ultimately, we'll never know exactly.

Answer 5

I've heard lots of stories about codes in his writing, and have come to a conclusion that the folks who dreamed up such things have nothing better on their hands but mull over what is not there. There isn't a basis in any of their claims.

Because Shakespeare is famous, he will always be subject to such treatment. Some say he's actually Francis Bacon, some say he's Elizabeth I's son, some say that he said something profound, hidden in between the lines of Macbeth.

Answer 6

Most cryptic stuff in Shakespeare plays is largely our own invention (much like such "discoveries" in the Bible). The more interesting question is "Who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays?" The shocking answer, his brother. It can be shown conclusively that his brother was a non-Catholic and would thus have no reason to insert a Catholic code.

Answer 7

As a Roman Catholic of 55+ years now, I can refer you to the Apostle's Creed, and you'll find exactly what I believe, to some extent. Enroll in the RCIA classes and you'll learn more. Just because you enroll in those classes doesn't mean you have to become a Roman Catholic, but you'll surely learn more, much more than I can outline here. You're feeling of the Roman Catholic Church being the right one is excellent. I will quickly address why we pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints. We like to have people praying for us, just as you ask us to do here. We figure the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints have a LOT of extra "pull" with Jesus, so we like to make our pleas to Him a little (or LOT) more emphatic or "influential" when we get the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints praying for us as well. You MOST DEFINITELY have my prayers for your conversion to Roman Catholicism!! God Bless you always!! And "ditto" here on how "David" represents someone else, but not Jesus our Christ. And that "My dog don't like liberals" is just as bad from the sounds of it, as is "johnno". Stick with Christ and His Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and I'll pray most heartedly for your vocation to become a Priest or Monk. That would be so wonderful. Again, God Be With You Always!!

Answer 8

Yes, most certainly

Answer 9

Yes, most certainly