Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Religion in the Age of Shakespeare. By Christopher Baker. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007. 1 vol. 244 p. $75.00. ISBN 10: 0-313-33636-9; 13: 978-0-313-33636-2.

The preface to this book states that "In Shakespeare's era, much more than in twenty-first century Europe or North America, religious belief had broad, social, political, and personal implications." What these themes were and how they came to life in Shakespeare's works are presented in five chapters: "Background," "Religion in Shakespeare's World," "Religion in Shakespeare's Works," "Religion in Performance" and "Scholarship and Criticism." Extensive bibliographies are found at the end of each chapter. Because of the invention of printing, authors of that age were able to publish their works and 49 primary documents with religious themes, prose and poetry, are found at the end of the book. These begin with a paragraph about the author and the document(s). Appendixes include a 10-page glossary and a 12-page bibliography which includes both print and electronic resources for teacher and student. This approach to the study of Shakespeare should help your world literature teachers add a new dimension to the discussion of Shakespeare while your world history teachers will appreciate this addition to their study of the world's religions.