act of religion uponShakespeare's works. Certainly there is much more to be uncovered than this brief sectioncan conceivably reveal. Religious topics are copiously encountered throughout all ofShakespeare's work. Topics such as prayer, judgment, justice, Satan, Hell, Heaven, faith,repentance, sin, man's responsibility, mercy, atonement, redemption, Jesus Christ asSavior, and providence are found numerous times in his writing . One Shakespearescholar believed that Shakespeare's works were so full of religious topics because he"studied the Book [the Bible] until its thought and teachings, its story and personalities,had fairly burned themselves into his memory and became a part of his being"(Ackermann 27). All of these religious ideas are rather generic to Christianity whether Catholic orProtestant. Several themes that are only Catholic also can be incurred throughout hisworks. For example, Shakespeare, at times, used the word holy in the sacramental sensethat Catholics used it. Characters in his plays showed devotion to various saints. Theyalso blessed themselves with the sign of the cross. Shakespeare incorporated references toPurgatory into some of his plots (Milward 24-27). and are important characters inseveral of his plays due to their cunning in their attempts to bring things to an ultimategood. Shakespeare's upbringing certainly came into play in his familiarity of thesesubjects. There are three plays in particular, Measure for Measure, Othello, and The Winter's Tale,that give a general overview of the Christian emphasis of his work. Measure for Measurewas a tale that displayed the controversy between grace and law. It asks the question,"What is true justice?" After abiding under the rule of the law-obsessed Angelo, grace inthe form of the Duke (a Christ figure) swept in and remedied the situation. It was evidentthat grace, although not fair according to justice, was best for mankind. It was a story thatmoved from the Old Testam...
