Lehrman American Studies Center

Shakespeare often used trials or other scenes in which his characters are subjected to some sort of judgment-especially divine judgment-to convey the meaning of his plays. In The Trial of Man: Christianity and Judgment in the World of Shakespeare, Craig A. Bernthal, a lawyer and Shakespeare scholar, shows how paying careful attention to the Elizabethan religious and legal context in which Shakespeare lived illuminates many of his most famous works, including The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, and Henry VIII. Bernthal's study portrays a Shakespeare heavily indebted to the doctrines of Christian theology, both Catholic and Protestant, and by the legal culture and trials of his time, including the famous trial of Sir Walter Raleigh. Written for the lay reader, The Trial of Man is a captivating synthesis of literary, historical, and legal scholarship.