Dr Laurel on Shakespeare and the Bible

In case anyone was wondering if Dr Laurel is a medical doctor, let me lay that to rest. She dissects words, not bodies. She has her PhD in Shakespeare, and we have pics to prove it.

Over at CPX, John Dickson, Greg Clarke and Simon Smart asked her to write on Shakespeare and Christianity. This is her first article, click on this:

'Take Up and Read'—the importance of the Bible in understanding the works of Shakespeare.

It's great -- and worth a read (and maybe even a link to your Blog!)

Here is a taste:

It is one thing to know that Shakespeare knew the Scriptures well; it is quite another to know the Scriptures and understand Shakespeare’s works in light of the references and themes that he uses. I agree with Shakespeare’s friends that we should read Shakespeare, ‘and again and again.’ But, in order to get under the skin of his plays and truly enjoy and understand what we’re reading, it would help us to also read the Scriptures that Shakespeare obviously knew so well. Reading the Scriptures, if only as literature, gives a contemporary reader knowledge shared by Shakespeare and his original audience, a group of people who, like Shakespeare, would have known the Bible and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer if not through their own private reading, then through their mandatory attendance at church services.

Love that Dr.

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