April 26, 2011

New book edited by Wayne State faculty members examines the religion of Shakespeare

Ken Jackson and Arthur F. Marotti, two faculty members from Wayne State University's English Department, have joined forces to compile Shakespeare and Religion: Early Modern and Postmodern Perspectives, an edited collection now available from the University of Notre Dame Press.

As the title suggests, the book explores two radically different - and, some would argue, diametrically opposed - approaches to literary criticism. Marotti's work is firmly rooted in the new historicist school of thought, which favors an examination into the cultural elements of Shakespeare's plays at the time they were written as a window into early modern society. Jackson contributes a postmodern perspective, exploring the plays through the lens of philosophy and theology - one that illuminates the profound philosophical and spiritual issues present in Shakespeare's work and their relevance to modern society.

"The scholarly narrative of the 20th century is that Shakespeare was a ‘secular' playwright," Jackson explained. "This narrative needs to be challenged. And it needs to be challenged by reading religion as religion - a kind of thought that needs to be understood on its own terms and not from the position of intellectual traditions downright hostile to it. Shakespeare, we try to show, is a great religious thinker - both for his own time and for our own."

Jackson and Marotti's book is an extension of a collaborative effort in 2004, when they co-authored an article for the Wayne State journal Criticism. The publication received significant attention within the academic community, which persuaded them to continue their work.

"Professor Marotti and I discovered that we had come to comparable conclusions about Shakespeare - even though we come from radically different critical perspectives and employ radically different methodologies," Jackson said.
"Literary scholars tend to lean toward one camp or the other and ignore each others' conclusions. We didn't."

Jackson is associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of English. He graduated from Michigan State University with bachelor's degrees in English and psychology. He earned his master's from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago.

Arthur F. Marotti is distinguished professor emeritus of English. He is a graduate of the John Hopkins University.

Contributors to Shakespeare and Religion include Sarah Beckwith, Lisa Mybun Freinkel, Hannibal Hamlin, Ken Jackson, James A. Knapp, Gary Kuchar, Joan Pong Linton, Julia Reinhard Lupton, Arthur F. Marotti, Richard McCoy and Robert Miola.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.