Hamlet offering the belief in a life lived in heaven's eternity? Romeo and Juliet recognizing God's creation of man and the forgiveness of sin?
Seems unusual to find biblical references within the pages of poet William Shakespeare's famous tragedies, but that is exactly what author Jock Chandler found when he viewed the plays through the lens of a Christian mindset. His findings, and new appreciation for the scriptural aspects of Shakespeare, are shown through his new book, A Christian's Companion to Shakespeare's Tragedies.
The mission to connect Shakespeare with Christianity began at the funeral of Jock's grandmother, when the pastor concluded the service quoting the poet for the closing prayer. Shocked to hear this spoken at a funeral, Jock decided to see if religious influence could be found among the most recognized characters of Shakespeare's tragedies.
Jock carried with him the knowledge that God can use anything to speak to believers, from songs to scriptures, but different connections are established between people and book characters. Human emotions, thoughts and choices can mirror that of what regular readers might do, which Jock sees comes forth through Shakespeare's beloved characters.
Take, for instance, in MacBeth, the character of Banquo states, in Act 2 Scene 3, of being in "the great hand of God", which Jock goes on to interpret that Banquo understood he couldn't do anything if he wasn't in the hands of God.
Famous Shakespearean tragedies like King Lear, Julius Caesar and Othello are also studied to see the emergence of Jesus, the awareness of hypocrisy in the Church and Shakespeare's own insights on the Catholic Church in the 1500s.
What was once seen as only reflections of life's tragedies, displayed through Shakespeare's flawed characters, became representations of God's Word poetically conveyed through storylines and characters readers find relatable.
