This dissertation was conducted under the direction of Arthur Deering, Ph. D., Associate Professor of English, as Major Professor, and was approved by Francis J. Hemelt, Ph. D., Associate Professor of English, and H. Edward Cain, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of English, as Readers. Shakespeare's Attitude Towards the Catholic Church In "King John" A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS BY REV. GERARD M. GREENEWALD, O. M. CAP., M. A., S. T. B. Herman, Pennsylvania THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA 1938 822.8 K20 CUM PERMISSU SUPERIORUM NIHIL OBSTAT-Michael F. Dinneen, S. S., D. D., Censor Librorum. IMPRIMATUR-Michael J. Curley, D. D., Archbishop of Baltimore. Oct. 4, 1938. COPYRIGHT, 1938 THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA INTRODUCTION Was Shakespeare a Catholic? This question has frequently been discussed in the past four centuries, and still the problem remains unsolved. Unless some decisive evidence be discovered in this regard, there is little likelihood that the problem will definitely be solved in the near future. When speaking then of Shakespeare's attitude towards the Catholic Church in King John, it is not my purpose to attempt to discover what may have been the religion of Shakespeare. This may seem rather strange, for almost every writer on the subject uses one or more arguments from King John, in order to introduce Shakespeare as a member of the congregation chosen for the occasion. Needless to say, their arguments are not very conclusive and their conclusions are often very startling. Although this investiga tion has revealed certain facts that have some positive significance in regard to the religion of Shakespeare, I hasten to say that the question of Shakespeare's religion is beyond the scope of the present study. Shakespeare may have had various reasons for writing King John. Perhaps his primary purpose was to furnish wholesome entertainment for his fellowmen, or to produce a play that complied with all the artistic standards of his day, or, perhaps as some would have it-to use the drama as a political or religious weapon in the great controversies of that period. Whatever may have been his purpose in writing King John, Shakespeare was constrained to adopt some definite attitude towards the Catholic Church. This attitude may have been dictated by his own personal sentiments, or by external circumstances, such as political or religious policy. Nevertheless, Shakespeare had to adopt vi |