The Theological Idea of Evil in William Shakespeare’s Tragedies

초록

The problem of evil is one of the thorny issues throughout history in various areas, and inexhaustible attempts have been made to discover and to understand what it is. Christianity has also looked for plausible understanding and explanation of evil in each era. In particular, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) are regarded as the prominent theologians in the studies of the idea of evil. St. Augustine tries to protect the omnipotence and perfect goodness of God, and he shows that evil exists not as a being, but as a lack of a being. In the case of St. Anselm, the relationship between God and His people is compared as that of a Lord and His vassals in the context of a feudal world, and his understanding of sin is associated with the concepts of obligation and debt. Intriguingly, William Shakespeare appears to reveal the idea of evil which is similar to the thoughts of St. Augustine and St. Anselm. Accordingly, this article aims to discuss how Shakespeare displays the theological idea of evil, focusing on the key ideas, a lack of being and ingratitude with the concept of obligation and debt.

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