Baylor University Press

Seeming knowledge; Shakespeare and skeptical faith.

Several scholars have focused recently on the relationship between Shakespeare and Roman Catholicism, with many concluding that the Bard was either a sympathizer or a practicing Catholic. Cox (English, Hope College) adds another level of sophistication to the debate by explaining the remarkable level of complexity of Tudor and Elizabethan understanding of faith and skepticism. Cox applies his expansive knowledge of the role of Elizabethan theater, the expectations of patrons and the common herd in the pit, and their mutual (and exclusive) notions about narrative, faith, grace, guilt and skepticism to build convincing ideas about Shakespeare's own perceptions. The following chapters are even more dazzling, and examine Shakespeare's applications of skepticism not as much as crowdpleasers but as representations of individual and societal ethics, esthetics, epistemology and ontology. The concluding chapter on Shakespeare's relationship with the French epistemologists is particularly interesting. Distributed in the US by Hopkins Fulfillment Services. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)