Discovering Scripture in Shakespeare – 400 years on

‘When shall we three meet again?’ ‘Kiss me, Kate!’ ‘Et tu, Brute?’ ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep.’

Imagine a world without the Forest of Arden, Malvolio’s yellow stockings or the drama of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor’s Antony and Cleopatra. Were it not for a small group of men in 1623, we wouldn’t have any of them.

This November marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, a compilation of 36 of his plays, many of which can only be found in this collection. Without the careful work of Shakespeare’s friends and colleagues, John Heminges and Henry Condell, and their access to unpublished papers and actors’ prompt scripts, plays such as Antony and Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, As You Like It, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night and The Winter’s Tale would be lost to us.

There are many exhibitions currently taking place around the UK where you can see one of the surviving First Folios for yourself, as well as numerous documentaries and books about Shakespeare by actors, literary scholars and historians.

The story of the First Folio (which you can read about in detail in Chris Laoutaris’ Shakespeare’s Book) is an amazing account of how a small group of people helped create something which has shaped literature and culture across the world. But I wonder if you’ve ever thought about how Shakespeare relates to Christianity? An extraordinary man from humble beginnings who died in his prime. A group of his close friends and co-workers who wanted to share his words with the world. A global impact and an instantly recognisable name. Sound slightly familiar?

When we love and respect and appreciate someone, we want to share them with others, just as Shakespeare’s friends did. It seems to be a human instinct, and we see the disciples doing much the same thing when they first meet Jesus. ‘The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him… Philip found Nathaniel and told him…’ (John 1:41-46). This of course continues after Jesus’ death and resurrection, as the gospel message goes out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.

The obvious difference between Jesus and Shakespeare, is that however much of a Shakespeare fan you are, he has been dead for 407 years. You can visit his tomb in Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as his birthplace and many other interesting sites. Shakespeare’s words and works also owe a huge debt to the words of Jesus, shared by his friends, centuries before. Alongside various Greek and Roman authors, English histories and other sources, Shakespeare’s works are suffused with a knowledge of the Bible. As Hannibal Hamlin puts it: ‘All of Shakespeare’s plays regularly allude to other works. Yet no book is alluded to more often, more thoroughly, or with more complexity and significance than the Bible’ (The Bible in Shakespeare). Even in those uniquely preserved plays in the First Folio we see traces of the Divine author, from the title of Measure for Measure to the crucifixion imagery of Macbeth and the resurrection motifs of The Winter’s Tale.

Hamlet may have flippantly referred to reading as ‘words, words, words,’ but Shakespeare knew the power of words and shaped them in a way that we can still appreciate and give thanks for today as we celebrate 400 years of the First Folio. Perhaps as we do so, we can also remember the power of THE Word become flesh, through whom and for whom all things were made, including publishers, printers, and playwrights.