Shakespeare Test II: Gods and Godlessness

In an essay of about five pages (@1250 words), Write about three Shakespeare plays in which
the Christian God, pagan gods and goddesses, or no apparent deities at all are invoked, implored,
or defied.
Does Shakespeare seem to have a view of God/gods and mankinds interaction with Him/them?
Does this vary between comedy and tragedy?
Between plays set in Christendom and plays that are not?
Between good guys and bad guys?
How do characters in all the plays deal with the apparent silence of God/gods?
Use quotations as much as you can to illustrate your thesis.
Requirements:
-

Three plays
Five pages
1250 words

Play Choices:
-

Hamlet
Richard III (Richmond vs. Richard)
King Lear

Hamlet:
Is God the Catholic or Protestant God? Leans more towards Catholic, not accessible via human
prayer, invokes the saints, yet Claudius prays directlymix of both? God is Omnipotent,
Omnipresent, and Omniscientthe ultimate surveyor.
Claudius prays to God, tries to confess, but wont. Laertes invokes vengeance on Hamlet
Does Hamlet ever invoke God? What about in relation to his dads ghost?
Good vs. Evil is less pronounced
Who is watching who?
Theme of Surveillance
How does Hamlet deal with Claudius at prayer and his own internal struggle at that moment?
Hamlet (and Claudius) takes measures into his own hands
God is too busy
Richard III

Rejects God outright

Richmond invokes Gods help in the battle at the end
Good vs. Evil is pronounced
Richard is killed in the end for his rejection of God, while Richmond is made king for asking
Gods help before battle.
Richard openly and willingly mentions going to Hell; calls himself a devil
King Lear:
No gods or Diety apparent; example of a God-less world
The gods are cruel; do not care about human life or circumstances
Emphasis on Nothing
The gods are rejected for their cruelty towards Lear

In the Tragedies, God and the gods are asked as to why He/they do not intervene (the problem of
pain?)
Comedies the gods are jesters who like to mess around with the human race
Overall Shakespeares view of God is interesting. He touches on questions that are still asked
today. Seems conflicted, which would make sense historically given Englands rough religious
history between Protestant and Catholic.
Based on the plays above, what is Shakespeares take on the interaction between God and Man?
Is this interaction the same or different with his comedies and tragedies?
Is this interaction the same or different with the plays set in Christendom or not?
What does Shakespeare think of God and Mans interaction with good men? With bad?
How do the characters in the above plays deal with Gods silence?
Hamlet:
- Hamlet
- Ophelia
- Claudius
- Laertes
- Gertrude
Richard III:
- Richard
- Richmond

Queen Margaret
Queen Anne

King Lear:
- Lear
- Cordelia
- Other sisters (Regan and Goneril)
- Edmund
- Edgar
- Fool
Quotes
Hamlet:
3.3.38-101 (Claudius at prayer scene)
4.6.146-179 (Ophelias death)
5.1.173-256 (Ophelias funeral)
Out of everyone who dies, who is going to Heaven? Is anyone going to Heaven?
Introduction pp. 1918-1922
King Lear:
Introduction pp. 2004-2007
3.2.1-72 (shouting during storm scene)
4.5.115-136 (mentions the gods in predicament)
Richard III:
5.3.238-272 (Richmonds battle speech)
5.3.309-344 (Richards battle speech)
Introduction pp.1299-1301
Introductory Leads:
- Narrative
- Quotation
- Question
- Statistical
- Mystery
- Descriptive
- Imagine
- Direct

Body:
-

Combination

Exposition
Narration
Quotation
Description

Conclusion:
- Emphasize the point of the paper
- Provide a climax
- Help readers remember your piece
(examples look to the future, end with a summary, and/or finish with a quote)