The Impact of the Bible and Christianity on Shakespeare

【Abstract】：In terms of the direct impact， ancient Greek mythology and Christian Bible have become the main factors to influence the western literature. William Shakespeare is the most outstanding humanist playwright in the period of European Renaissance. The Bible and the Christianity have great influence on Shakespeare and even his works.

【Key Words】：Shakespeare， Bible， Christianity， Impact

1. Introduction

Many European first-class works， whether it is poetry， fiction， drama or prose， grew out of the idea of the Bible， and their feelings come from the Bible. So as the Bible to Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare is the most outstanding humanist playwright in the period of European Renaissance. With his thirty-eight plays， one hundred and fifty four sonnets and two long poems， he has dominated the world literature for several centuries. What’s more， his refined language， lofty thought and the miraculous power of the art in his works have won him high reputation. According to all the material involving William Shakespeare， we can find that Shakespeare has a close relationship with Christianity from the cradle to the grave.

2. The Reason for Choosing Shakespeare

Shakespeare is one of the western writers who I like very much. I like read western literature， eapecially Shakespeare’s works. In order to understand Shakespeare’s works more objectively and authentically， it is necessary for us to study Shakespeare and his works from the perspective of Christian culture， which is particularly significant for the development of Shakespeare study in China in the historical context that Christian culture was once thought to be a forbidden zone in Shakespeare study.

3. The Impact of the Bible on Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s drama is closely linked with the Christian classical “Bible”. The contact between Shakespeare’s play and the “Bible” mainly in two aspects： First， the huge influence of the concept and spirit of the “Bible” （mainly refers to kindness， forgiveness， fraternity） on writers; second， writer’s clever use of the classical allusion from the Bible on his art.

It is well known that the Bible is a classic of Christianity， is also a shining pearl in treasure house of world literature.Shakespeare’s drama is in the Christian doctrine. Shakespeare’s plays not only have the strong spirit of againsting the feudal shackles， fighting for personality liberation and social progress as advanced literature at that time， but also have the writer’s unique kindness， forgiveness， and love spirit of Christ. Christianity is the religion of love. We can see the proverbs and admonishment of kindness， forgiveness， and love in the bible everywhere.

According to the Bible， the world is full of sin， human being is born as sinners from head to foot， from inside to outside， full of fornication， evil， greed， pride， selfishness， lies， hate.... The bible says： “all have sins， and the outcome of sin is death”. God loves the world and he put his love in the world. He also gave his only child Jesusall to human. Jesus on behalf of his love; Jesus is love. Love is the most powerful weapon， with love everything can be melt. These thoughts， for Shakespeare who is a true christian， will undoubtedly have a profound and lasting influence. In fact， kindness， forgiveness， and love has always been the theme of Shakespeare’s works， which constitutes a distinct personality in Shakespeare’s drama.

Shakespeare’s works cited a lot of references from the Bible story， which make him become a master who quotes biblical allusions. By reading the Bible， Shakespeare not only attained the knowledge of what he needs， but also clearly understand the essence of religious reformers. Shakespear’s biblical allusions reflects the religious reform essence. It showed writer’s hatred of ugly things in real life.

4. Conclusion

Shakespere lives in an era immersed in the Christian belief， while the religious reformation is taking place and the humanism begin to take effect on common people’s mind. When appreciating Shakespeare’s works， we should think it from various angles.

The point of view of religion is very important since the Bible and the Christianity have great influence on Shakespeare and even his works. Shakespeare not only borrows a large number of biblical materials skillfully in the creation of his plays， but also has the ability to make use of them perfectly and appropriately to advance the development of the plot of the play， to enrich the personality of the characters in the plays and to strengthen the artistic impressive force.

References

[1] Battenhouse， Roy. Shakespeare and the Bible. The Gordon Review， 1964.

[2] Marx， Steven， Shakespeare and the Bible. Oxford： Oxford University Press

2000.

[3] 李偉防. 莎士比亞與圣經 [J]. 洛陽師范學院學報，2002， 4

[4]肖四新. 莎士比亞悲劇的宗教解讀[J]. 三峽大學學報，2004， 5