Friends, Readers, Countrymen! Lend me your ears. I come to share the Word of God and the words of the bard.
This month’s blog highlights Bob Hostetler’s devotional The Bard and the Bible. Like the author, I grew up learning the King James version of the Bible. All those verses I memorized as a child were straight out of the Bible Jesus used (according to my friend Buster Bush).
In the introduction to his book, Bob Hostetler states that Shakespeare quoted scripture “more than any other Elizabethan poet or playwright, [and] the Bard and the Bible bear striking similarities not only of language but also of theme and purpose. Anyone who is familiar with one will hear echoes of it in the other.”
History tells us the two were acquainted, and Shakespeare named his acting company after the King to honor him for his patronage and support.
After I retired from teaching high school English, Bob Hostetler’s book inspired me to start a Sunday school class on the subject of literature and the Bible. Originally meant to last for six weeks, the class is still thriving more than five years later. We’ve not only explored the works of Shakespeare but also delved into Dante, Bunyan, Lewis, Tolkien, and many others. Their knowledge of the Bible has certainly expanded my own, and the class has become a blessing to us all!
Thank you, God, and thank you, Bob Hostetler!
The Bard and the Bible provides 365 days of short reflections which pair comparable quotes from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets with scripture from various books of the Bible.
Having studied Shakespeare in high school, undergrad school, and grad school, I have been a fan of the bard for many years. However, this book gave me new insight into old classics as well as a fresh look at beloved passages from both the Old and New Testaments.
Appropriately, Hostetler references Puck’s famous line from A Midsummer Night’s Dream for his April 1 entry:
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”—ACT III, scene ii, line 115
Hostetler uses this passage as an analogy to Proverbs 28:26:
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
Hostetler explains, “We mortals can be such fools. We expect love without sacrifice. We pursue pleasure without thought. We exalt success without character. We practice business without responsibility, applaud science without ethics, tolerate politics without principle, and adopt technology without consideration.”
Goodness! We mortals certainly can be foolish; however, we can increase our wisdom by walking daily with God.
I once had a student who complained that I liked Shakespeare too much. I laughed and didn’t let his comment deter me. In fact, his acknowledgement of my passion for Shakespeare’s works spurred me on to teach with even more fervor.
I required my students to memorize and recite before their peers Mark Antony’s funeral oration and the sonnet “When in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes.” I tested them over key passages in Julius Caesar.
While, yes, it would be impressive to quote a little Shakespeare now and again (I would be impressed, at any rate), imagine God’s pleasure if we all took His Word and wrote it on our hearts and in our minds.
When I was a child, a wise elderly lady in our church paid willing participants in our children’s and youth groups to memorize scripture. I remember sitting at her dining room table after school and getting rewarded with a quarter for each passage I had mastered. Shakespeare might have considered this bribery, but many of us children learned God’s Word.
When I was in my early twenties, a Sunday school teacher asked how much scripture we would be able to recall if we no longer had access to a Bible (or any other resources). One person recalled, “Jesus wept.” Others recited Genesis 1:1, John 3:16, Psalm 23, and many more. After a few minutes we all realized our childhood Sunday school training had positively impacted us all.
Why memorize scripture?
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”—Psalm 119:11 (KJV)
Why memorize Shakespeare or the Gettysburg Address or the Preamble to the Constitution or any other noteworthy words?
According to studyinternational.com, “Memorization is the bedrock of critical thinking,” and “it increases our capacity for new knowledge.”
In Ken Ludwig’s book How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, he explains that “Shakespeare isn’t just one of the many great authors in the English language; Shakespeare is, indisputably, one of the two great bedrocks of Western civilization in English. The other is the King James translation of the Bible. . . . For more than five thousand years, Moses, Jesus, and the other towering figures of the Old and New Testaments were the archetypes of our consciousness. In modern society, Hamlet and Macbeth, Juliet and Ophelia, have been added to their number.”
Once again, we must “study to show ourselves approved unto God.” The mere mention of the two words “Psalm 23” should immediately evoke images of a caring Shepherd who meets all our needs. Lines like “Et tu, Brute?” and “To be, or not to be” should also hold important meaning.
Therefore, I challenge myself and you to never stop learning. Check out The Bard and the Bible to see if it offers you a fresh look at some old works.
Additionally, The Bible for Me: Bible Stories and Prayers, a new children’s book by Mike Nawrocki and Amy Parker, offers an opportunity for parents and others to instill in their children a passion for God’s Word. Nawrocki and Parker state, “The most important stories we can tell our children are the stories of the Bible. It’s not only an instruction from God Himself, but it is a foundational, transformational tool for building and growing the faith of our children—and ourselves. This is because God’s Word isn’t just a bunch of stories: it is the Word of God, alive and active. It is the proof of God’s unfailing love. And it is the history and foundation of our faith.”
In The Bard and the Bible Hostetler reminds us to be lifelong learners. He says, “Wisdom is always intertwined with humility, which promotes teachability—which in turn leads to more wisdom.”
In honor of Shakespeare’s birthday, I made quotation cupcakes for my students every year around April 23. I stuffed the cupcakes with laminated lines such as “Sweets to the sweet” and “To thine own self be true,” and we celebrated his life and his works. This year on April 17, why not make some scripture cupcakes to celebrate the risen Lord. You might wish to include some of the following verses: John 11:25, John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Luke 24:6, and Revelation 19:16. (Caution: Warn the consumer of the laminated paper inside the cupcake!)
I encourage you to take some time today to read and study God’s Word and write it in your heart. Memorize a verse that reaches out to you. Teach it to your children. Recite it together. Lend them your ears and your eyes and your time. Make a memory. Help to build and grow the faith of the future.
Check out these resources for combining a study of the Bible and literature.
Walking with Bilbo and Walking with Frodo by Sarah Arthur
John Bunyan: The People’s Pilgrim by Peter Morden
Matt Rawle’s studies on the Grinch, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Christmas Carol, and many others
“[Shakespeare] was not of an age, but for all time!”—Ben Jonson
“When the world beats you down, open up your Bible.”—Lisa TerKeurst
“Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart!”—Charles Spurgeon
Hebrews 4:12; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:105
Good reminders, Joyce.
Thank you!
Loved reading this. Thanks for sharing. Love you Joyce.
Aww, thank you, Doris!! Love you too! I hope you and your family are doing well!
Thank you, Joyce. You always offer something that is so instructive and inspiring.
Bless you, Jennifer! I really appreciate your support.