Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Religious Toleration

“Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Religious Toleration is a fresh and creative reappraisal of Marlowe’s influence on Shakespeare through a nexus of theological and sexual concerns. McAdam argues that Shakespeare’s ideological and psychological positions are closer to Marlowe’s than have been previously recognised. The book contains new theologically -inflected readings of masculinity in plays ranging from King John and Richard II to Hamlet and The Winter’s Tale, arguing that much of the 'turn to religion' commentary has underestimated ‘the crucial energy of self-empowerment’ released by the Reformation. It is McAdam's contention that the final position Shakespeare reaches with respect to Christian theology to be ‘at least as unorthodox’ as Marlowe’s own.” -- Beatrice Groves, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Trinity College, University of Oxford “This polemical book offers a bold reassessment of the long-standing critical debate about Marlowe’s influence on Shakespeare. Its central challenge is to demonstrate how the psychological dimensions of Shakespeare’s writing are deeply underpinned by theological concerns, in ways that closely parallel Marlowe’s heretical discourses on moral agency. Compellingly candid, McAdam’s literary criticism presents a series of bold, intensely humanist – rather than post-humanist – readings of Shakespeare’s radical revisions of Marlowe. Not everyone will agree with McAdam’s analyses, but many will find them a stimulating basis for new arguments.” -- Goran Stanivukovic, Professor, Department of English, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia