More Things in Heaven and Earth - (Richard E. Myers Lectures) by Paul S Fiddes (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A study of religion's influence on Shakespeare and Shakespeare's influence on Christian theology. Fiddes argues that Hamlet's famous phrase not only underscores the blurred boundaries between the warring Protestantism and Catholicism of Shakespeare's time; it is also an appeal for basic spirituality, free from any particular doctrinal scheme, a spirituality characterized by the belief in prioritizing loving relations over institutions and social organization: forgiveness is essential, human justice is always imperfect, communal values overcome political supremacy, and one is on a quest to find the story of one's own life. In this context Fiddes considers not only the texts behind Shakespeare's plays but also the potential impact of his plays on current theological writing. Fiddes ultimately shows how this more expansive conception of Shakespeare is grounded in the trinitarian relations of God in which all the texts of the world are held and shaped"--

Book Synopsis

Shakespeare's plays are filled with religious references and spiritual concerns. His characters--like Hamlet in this book's title--speak the language of belief. Theology can enable the modern reader to see more clearly the ways in which Shakespeare draws on the Bible, doctrine, and the religious controversies of the long English Reformation. But as Oxford don Paul Fiddes shows in his intertextual approach, the theological thought of our own time can in turn be shaped by the reading of Shakespeare's texts and the viewing of his plays.

In More Things in Heaven and Earth, Fiddes argues that Hamlet's famous phrase not only underscores the blurred boundaries between the warring Protestantism and Catholicism of Shakespeare's time; it is also an appeal for basic spirituality, free from any particular doctrinal scheme. This spirituality is characterized by the belief in prioritizing loving relations over institutions and social organization. And while it also implies a constant awareness of mortality, it seeks a transcendence in which love outlasts even death. In such a spiritual vision, forgiveness is essential, human justice is always imperfect, communal values overcome political supremacy, and one is on a quest to find the story of one's own life. It is in this context that Fiddes considers not only the texts behind Shakespeare's plays but also what can be the impact of his plays on the writing of doctrinal texts by theologians today. Fiddes ultimately shows how this more expansive conception of Shakespeare is grounded in the trinitarian relations of God in which all the texts of the world are held and shaped.

Review Quotes

A really original study of the religious hinterland of Shakespeare's drama, this book brings together a wealth of literary and theological learning with a deep attentiveness to the text of the plays and an unusual sensitivity to their resonances.

--Rowan Williams, Magdalene College, Cambridge, author of The Edge of Words: God and the Habits of Language

An eminent theologian, Paul Fiddes does not just add to our shelves another book on Shakespeare and religion, and he sensibly avoids Shakespeare's own faith. The startling question he poses is what reading Shakespeare's plays can do for contemporary theology. Rather a lot, as it turns out. But the depth of Fiddes's knowledge of literary criticism and theory is also startling. Anyone interested in Shakespeare really will want this book on their shelf.

--Hannibal Hamlin, Ohio State University

Fiddes's theological breadth and openness are a breath of the freshest of air, bracing, and giving new life. The book is very engagingly written and thoroughly absorbing throughout. It deserves to garner a wide readership among lovers and scholars of Shakespeare and theologians who wish to think with, and through, art, drama, liturgy, poetry.

--Sarah Beckwith, Duke University, author of Shakespeare and the Grammar of Forgiveness

About the Author

Paul S. Fiddes is Principal Emeritus and Senior Research Fellow, Regent's Park College, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Oxford, and author of several books, including Seeing the World and Knowing God: Hebrew Wisdom and Christian Doctrine in a Late-Modern Context.