WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
ATHEIST OR
BELIEVER IN GOD?
The American philosopher, George
Santayana, concluded that Shakespeare was an atheist by simply analyzing
Macbeth's statements in Act 5, Scene 5. According to
Santayana, Macbeth's words were reflective of Shakespeare's hopelessness and
lack of belief in God. Rather than wasting his time extracting non-existent
meaning from a depressed, "fictional,"
evil character, Santayana could have
uncovered Shakespeare's views on God by simply reading his
Last Will
and Testament.
"In the
name of God, I William Shakespeare...God be praised, do make and ordain
this, my last will and testament in manner and form following. That is to
say, first I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping and
assuredly believing, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my saviour, to be
made partaker of eternal life, and my body to the earth whereof it is made."
_____________________________________________
Rowe, A. L.,
Shakespeare’s
Self Portrait.
University Press of America, 1985, 182.
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