I'm in Las Vegas this weekend to give two lectures (firesides) "From Reformation to Restoration". In my lecture  I tell the story William Tyndale and the English Bible, talk about the influence of the Bible on William Shakespeare, and tell little-known stories from the life of Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

Here's a brief snippet on Shakespeare and the Bible: 

 

Shakespeare refers to 36 different books of the Bible over 1,000 times in his plays. For example, he refers to Paul's epistle to the Corinthians in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" "The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen...". In the "Merchant of Venice" when Portia praises the quality of mercy, she declares that mercy, "droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/Upon the place beneath"--referring to Matthew 5:45 where God "sendeth rain to the just and on the unjust". In making these allusions, Shakespeare knows that his audience will be able to interpret them, and by so doing, will add deeper meaning to his plays.  Genius.

 

 

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