Fifty Shades of Sin: How a Mormon Lens Adds Complexity to the Works of Shakespeare

Shakespeare Annotated Bibliography

Working Paper Title: Fifty Shades of Sin: How a Mormon Lens Adds Complexity to the Works of Shakespeare

Working Thesis Statement: Some scholars may believe that analyzing the concept of sin in works of Shakespeare through a Christian lens leads to an antiquated and oversimplified analysis, however using the specific Christian doctrine of Mormonism as a lens allows for a deeper and more complex analysis as well as helps the reader understand much of the deeper meaning that a strictly secular reading of these texts would not allow.

Baines, Barbara J. "Assaying the Power of Chastity in Measure for Measure." Studies in

English Literature 30.2 (1990): 283-301. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/450518.pdf>.

Barbara Baines does an excellent job at establishing much of the critical commentary on this subject up to this point as well as much of the historical background around this point, and she adds her own ideas about the importance of chastity in analysing this play. I will use this as a way to prove my point in analysing breaking the law of chastity as a sin, and as a way to analyze sin in general.

Barnet, Sylvan. "Some Limitations of a Christian Approach to Shakespeare." ELH 22.2

(1955): 81-92. Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2871833.pdf>.

Barnet seems to oversimplify the reasoning behind why Christian approaches may not lead to the best or most complex way of viewing a text. I will use this article as a way to argue with some of the criticism that has taken place, and to further my ideas about how Christianity can actually add a lot of complexity that a secular take could not.

Loewenstein, David, and Witmore, Michael, eds. Shakespeare and Early Modern Religion. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2015. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 30 November 2015. <http://site.ebrary.com/lib/byuprovo/detail.action?docID=11003419>.

This book gives a simple but informative background on Christianity in Shakespeare’s day as well as the different religious beliefs surrounding the time. This will be helpful in my paper in establishing a background for the discussion on sin in Shakespeare's time, as well as help augment my argument about the importance of using Christianity to read these texts.

Battenhouse, Roy W. “Measure for Measure and Christian Doctrine of the Atonement.” PMLA 61.4 (1946): 1029-059. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/459104.pdf?acceptTC=true>.

This is another essay that will really compliment my ideas about the complexity of Christianity, as the author talks about the atonement and how the death is simultaneously full of both darkness and light. I will use this as a way to discuss the idea that Mormon doctrine about the atonement and about sin is an incredibly deep and palpable thing, especially in the context of Measure for Measure.

Givens, Terry L., and Philip L. Barlow, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism. New York: Oxford UP, 2015. 260-68. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7c0fCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA260&dq=original+sin+mormonism&ots=OVTK5PjN9-&sig=lERUVB20RXckR-bnydZYAV2TH7I#v=onepage&q=original%20sin%20mormonism&f=false>.

I will use this book as a way to discuss the Mormon doctrine of sin within my paper while citing a reputable source. I also plan on using certain scriptures, but this book will be most important in helping me have additional evidence in my analysis of sin.