"HAMLET" AND THE REFORMATION OF THE EUCHARIST

In recent work, critics have found it a fruitful exercise to read Shakespeare as a writer who is interested in the effects and implications of the English Reformation, and who makes very effective use of the theatrical possibilities of Catholic liturgy and ritual. This article attempts to read Hamle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Literature & theology 2007-03, Vol.21 (1), p.11-28
Main Author: Sweetnam, Mark S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catholicism
Celebrations
Christianity
Commemorations
Eucharist
Prayer
Religious rituals
Sacraments
Theater
Theology
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Summary:In recent work, critics have found it a fruitful exercise to read Shakespeare as a writer who is interested in the effects and implications of the English Reformation, and who makes very effective use of the theatrical possibilities of Catholic liturgy and ritual. This article attempts to read Hamlet in this historically contextualised manner. Whilst it does not suggest that the multiplicities of meaning in the play can be easily collapsed into a simple defence of the doctrine of transubstantiation, and the Eucharist of traditional Catholicism, it does argue that Hamlet, is a play in which the politics and theology of commemoration occupy a central position, a text that mobilises the extraordinary signifying power of the Eucharist in its attempt to dramatise the cultural impact of the reformation.
ISSN:0269-1205
1477-4623
DOI:10.1093/litthe/frl059