Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

by Peter J. Leithart

Shakespeare was, as Caesar says of Cassius, "a great observer," able to see and depict patterns of events and character. He understood how politics is shaped by the clash of men with various colorings of self-interest and idealism, how violence breeds violence, how fragile human beings create masks and disguises for protection, how schemers do the same for advancement, how love can grow out of hate and hate out of love. Dare anyone say that these insights are irrelevant to living in the real world?
For many in an older generation, the Bible and the Collected Shakespeare were the two indispensable books, and thus their sense of life and history was shaped by the best and best-told stories. And they were the wiser for it. This book by theologian Peter Leithart is written for high school students and includes analyses of six of Shakespeare's plays (Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Much Ado About Nothing), as well as numerous review and discussion questions for anyone who wishes to incorporate them into their high school curriculum.

Genres: Shakespeare, Literature, Nonfiction, Classics, Christian, School, Education

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Peter Leithart received an A.B. in English and History from Hillsdale College in 1981, and a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1986 and 1987. In 1998 he received his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in England. He has served in two pastorates: He was pastor of Reformed Heritage Presbyterian Church (now Trinity Presbyterian Church), Birmingham, Alabama from 1989 to 1995, and was founding pastor of Trinity Reformed Church, Moscow, Idaho, and served on the pastoral staff at Trinity from 2003-2013. From 1998 to 2013 he taught theology and literature at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho, where he continues to teach as an adjunct Senior Fellow. He now serves as President of Trinity House in Alabama, where is also resident Church Teacher at the local CREC church. He and his wife, Noel, have ten children and five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Drew Norwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great resource for me as I began wading into Shakespeare. Leithart's commentaries are excellent, as are his introductions [his main introduction covers a Christian approach to literature and the works of Shakespeare as a whole, then he adds an introduction to each genre involved (history, tragedy, and comedy)]. He helps you see more than you may otherwise would and appreciate the many facets of these six Shakespeare plays. Though it is billed for high school classes, I found it to be a just what I was looking for and would recommend it to amateur adults as well.

I'm glad I read the preface before starting on the plays because Leithart offers a good plan for approaching each play in order to get the most out of it. I've modified his advice somewhat, but his recommendation is essentially to (1) become familiar with the story, either by reading the paraphrased story in Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales of Shakespeare or by watching a film adaption of the play; (2) read the play itself; (3) read the section of Brightest Heaven of Invention discussing that play. I've made this my practice: read the adapted story from Tales from Shakespeare (if it's included there, as not all of the plays are); listen to the audiobook of the play; then read the applicable section from Brightest Heaven of Invention (for the 6 plays discussed). This has proven to be a good routine for me.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

To ward off criticisms, Leithart is not saying that Shakespeare wrote Christian allegories. Nor is he speculating upon Shakespeare's own personal piety. Rather, he is highlighting themes in Shakespeare that are only really possible within the broadly Christian culture and civilization in which he worked.

His tragedies show the reality of sin's power and the roads through which his tragic heroes realize this horror (Macbeth, Hamlet). His comedies are appropriately hilarious and usually (always?) end in weddings. One cannot help but see the gospel in the comedies. Petrucchio verbally creates (John 1; Genesis 1:1) a new reality which approaches--extra nos--Kate and invites her in. Hero undergoes a death and resurrection and it is the foolish of the world (Dogberry, 1 Cor. 1:18ff) who shame the wise.

Leithart's analysis of Henry V (The Mirror of all Christian Kings) shows that Shakespeare anticipated the best of postmodernism by four hundred years.

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I've neglected really digging into Shakespeare, getting most of my knowledge of his plays secondhand, but this book inspired me to watch a film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, which I highly enjoyed, and which in turn has given me a further desire to read and watch the works of Shakespeare. Fun stuff.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leithart's book was written for high school level English Literature classes, and probably would have particular interest for home schooling families. However, as a university graduate with a degree in English Literature, I learned quite a few things from this book that had never been discussed in my Shakespeare class in college. I purchased this book after finding much of interest in Leithart's book on Dante's Divine Comedy. I was hoping to get some new insights from this book, as I had from that. I was not disappointed. This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Shakespeare's plays, and in how his faith influenced Shakespeare's writings.

[raffaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Leithart analyzes two histories (Henry V and Julius Caesar), two tragedies (Hamlet and Macbeth ), and two comedies (The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing). It reads like a high school textbook and some of the references (i.e., President Bill Clinton) are a bit dated, but this is still a very good book because Leithart assumes Shakespeare's Christian worldview in a way that many secularist critics are unable or unwilling to do. I've only read four of the six plays, but I'll definitely be picking up this book again when I get around to reading the other two - it's a good reference book to have.

[Denali Christianson ~Semi-active~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is super insightful. I definitely recommend for those who are wanting to better understand some of Shakespeare's most famous plays.

[Jeremy]

Read more of Leithart on Shakespeare here, here, here, here, and here.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[Tabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A school book I'm so happy that I'm done with

[William Schrecengost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good stuff. It’s easy to forget that Leithart was a literature teacher for a while and that he’s got these commentaries on various books, plays etc. This was a very helpful aid to understanding some of Shakespeare’s works and instilled a love and respect for the depth of his writings. Highly recommended.

[Cassiejoan]

Have not yet read, but want to remember this is the book Pamela recommended for Shakespeare study.

[Micah Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It left me with an even greater appreciation for Shakespeare than I had before. Leithart truly gets Shakespeare in a way that many people don't. I recommend this book to every Shakespeare fan or high school student wanting to dip their nose in some of his plays.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an other study guide from Peter Leithart, this one on six of Shakespeare's plays. Leithart picks "Henry V" and "Julius Caesar" for the historical plays, "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" for the tragedies, and "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Much Ado About Nothing" for the comedies.

What is most worthwhile from this book are the lists of movies / theater productions of the various plays to watch. It is best to experience a Shakespeare play not by simply reading it flat, but seeing it acted. However each actor plays characters differently, so it is worthwhile to watch Richard Burton play "Hamlet", then to watch Sir Lawrence Olivier play "Hamlet" and compare the two. Or add Mel Gibson's "Hamlet" and then compare the three. Who plays Hamlet as totally mad, who plays him as sane but faking madness, who plays him as on the edge?

Each of the plays listed gives a synopsis of the play, then elements to look for as you read and watch the play. While I do not agree with all of Leithart's assessments (I think he has Henry V wrong), this book overall is an excellent way to step into Shakespeare!

[Davis Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as helpful and insightful as one might think it would be, but they are good layman's guides for those unfamiliar with Shakespeare and looking to read the plays for their theological tapestries (although the plays he chooses are a bit strange—really, the Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado to represent the comedy genre rather than such fertile and sparkling entries as Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Winter's Tale, Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, etc.? Those are some of the plays with the clearest Christian elements to my mind)

[Kenny Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent Book, I would recommend it for Middle/High School use. It doesn't get into great detail, and is more of a walk through of the plays. If you want a Christian reading of Shakespeare, I would recommend reading Leithart's articles. He has a bunch of short articles online that give that perspective better than reading this entire book.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book changed me. I never thought of literature as using its imagery to make a point. The deep Christian themes of Shakespeare's work continue to amaze me and I owe a lot to this small little introduction.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some chapters I spent a ton of time with, some I flew through. I look forward to returning to it again and again as the need/opportunity arises. An invaluable resource for anyone studying and/or teaching Shakespeare's works.

[D. Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book. I especially appreciated Leithart's insight into Taming of the Shrew.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather decent book! My high school class covered 5 of the 6 Shakespeare plays it discussed this past school year, and it served as an adequate springboard for class discussion, particularly the included thought and review questions. I disagreed with some of the conclusions the author drew about Hamlet, having covered the play extensively as we performed it this last summer (I was the creepy character Claudius). But even when we found some of the lines drawn in the book a bit far-fetched, they still provided grounds for thought-provoking discussion. Though I might not have sought this book out, it still served its function as a Shakespeare commentary from a Christian perspective, and that is all I have to say about it.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in the midst of Shakespeare class prep and flying through as many books as possible, so I didn't read this one cover to cover--just the parts that applied to the plays I'll be teaching. Brightest Heaven of Invention is a solid guide to six of Shakespeare's plays, appropriate for teenagers or anyone getting started with the bard's works. Should I expanding my class to offer some of the other plays Leithart covers, I'll certainly refer back to this book again.

[Sarah Mills Galyean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this commentary. The christian perspective was consistently biblical, and each analysis was thorough and easy to understand. Of course there are so many different ways to interpret Shakespeare, so I would encourage anyone who reads this to read the plays first, form your own thoughts, and then read this. But it can also be helpful to read the analysis before as a sort of guide when reading
Overall, it was very helpful!

[Makenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful and Christian oriented book for something that isn’t necessarily. Covers Hamlet, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and The Taming of the Shrew. I’ve now read all of these and it was a strong book that broke down certain aspects that other Shakespeare help books wouldn’t.

[Scotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The depth of Shakespeare’s work has always been mesmerizing to me. This book addresses the layering of his work and how the allusions of Scripture appear again and again. This book is not big and can be read in a day. It is a great source for lovers of The Bard and teachers of literature, categories that suit me perfectly.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your having trouble understand Shakespeare, than you should definitely read this book while you are reading Shakespeare’s plays. It also made me appreciate and really understand how great of a writer and storyteller Shakespeare really was.

[Myersandburnsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may have let out a deep sigh of satisfaction and sadness upon finishing. I have learned to love Shakespeare. I will genuinely miss not teaching his plays in the coming years. I have much gratitude to the author for his understanding and explanations.

[Andy Dollahite · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great companion to six of Shakespeare’s plays: History (Julius Caesar & Henry V), Tragedy (Hamlet & Macbeth), and Comedy (Much Ado about Nothing & Taming of the Shrew).

[Sarah Julio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful for Christians who want to open up their view on some of Shakespeare's plays.

[Anna Kling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful. If you are teaching Shakespeare, you want this on your shelf.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful, thorough, and persuasive close-reading of six Shakespeare plays. I was delighted and impressed.

[Charis Currey · Rating 4 out of 5]

he’s a feminist 😘