SHAKESPEARE'S DRAMATIZATION OF RELIGIOUS ISSUES AND IDEAS 2
Shakespeare's Dramatization of Religious Issues and Ideas
Presented in the forms of comedies, tragedies, and histories, most Shakespearean plays
internally displayed religious ideology in expressive ways. In many cases, these issues and ideas
revealed themselves in characterization and thematic dispositions. While various biblical
allusions and religious texts may have occasionally appeared in the arts of Shakespeare, most
religious issues remained engraved in the creation of characters, their reactions to various
challenges, and their beliefs regarding the way the world should function. A review of King
Lear, Hamlet, and Othello by Shakespeare reveals that the subjects of religious controversy,
inexplicability of God’s will, compassion, reconciliation, and religious morality among others
are extensively covered.
The background of King Lear’s composition presents evidence of the knowledge of the
Bible and Christian practices. Linley (2015) indicates that the mystery of human existence and
the inexplicability of God’s will characteristically dominate the play. This is witnessed
throughout the play and specifically at the end when the character Cordelia dies in a
controversially tragic manner. The contentions surrounding this death present the Catholic and
other Christian belief that God’s judgment remains a mystery in the eyes of humans. Throughout
King Lear, relations among characters depict codes of conduct that signify religious compassion,
reconciliation, and morality.
Shakespeare presents the prince in Hamlet as a staunch believer in Christian values and
the important prevalence of God’s supreme will in all circumstances. This creates an element of
optimism and humanism. Hamlet reveals that the will of God and not human reason should form
the basis for human morality (Loewenstein & Witmore, 2015). Lastly, Othello reveals the
controversy between morality and secularism. This is witnessed in the depiction of the Moor as a
