Religion
The question of Shakespeare's religion is an interesting one. We can tell from his works that his knowledge of the old Catholic rituals never left him. As a young man, he may have moved between both worlds, like many of his generation. But in his case, the persistence of private loyalties may have been more a matter of choice.
'...a story surfaced in the Cotswolds that Shakespeare had "dyed a papiste"...'
A sensational new analysis reinforces this idea. It concerns Shakespeare's most enigmatic poem, The Phoenix and Turtle, published in 1601. Until now, this work has defied all attempts at explanation, but it has recently been convincingly argued that it was a memorial poem for Anne Line, a Catholic widow executed at Tyburn in 1601 (see Times Literary Supplement, April 2003).
If this account becomes accepted, it will show that in mid-career Shakespeare was not only sympathetic to a figure such as Mrs Line, but well connected with the intellectual circles of Catholicism. Whether or not this was the case, documents from 1603 show that a Catholic writer, working in secret, was moved to reject the secular agenda of Shakespeare's plays - the playwright, then, pursued his own path in matters of conscience.
In the later 17th century, a story surfaced in the Cotswolds that Shakespeare had 'dyed a papiste', in other words, that he took the last rites of the old faith. If he did, it would reflect his sense of conflicting loyalties, typical of many of his generation.
Published: 2003-06-01
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