Naseeb Azeez Shaheen ( June 21, 1931 - September 26, 2009) was an American scholar who specialized in Biblical allusions in the work of Shakespeare.
Born in Chicago, he graduated in 1962 from the
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
in Lebanon with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1965, he received a Master of Arts and, in 1969, a Ph.D. in
English Literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
from the
University of California at Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
. Shaheen was a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of English Literature at the
University of Memphis
}
The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...
. His course work included
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, English
Renaissance Literature
Renaissance literature refers to European literature which was influenced by the intellectual and cultural tendencies associated with the Renaissance. The literature of the Renaissance was written within the general movement of the Renaissance, ...
, and
The Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
as Literature.
Shaheen authored four books on the
biblical allusions in Shakespeare's plays: tragedies (1987); histories (1989); comedies (1993); a selection of plays (''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays'', 1999).
Selected works
* "Of Oreb, or Of Sinai" ''English Language Notes'' (Sep 1971) 9 (1): 25-28.
* "Spenser and the New Testament" ''American Notes & Queries'' (Sep 1971) 10 (1): 4.
* "Milton's Muse and the De Doctrina" ''Milton Quarterly'' (Oct 1974) 8 (3): 72-76.
* ''Biblical References in The Faerie Queene'', Memphis State University Press (1976).
* "Binder Unbound, Or, How Not to Convert the Jews" ''Studies in Short Fiction'' (Summer 1976) 13 (3): 376.
* "Butler's Use of Scripture in the Way of All Flesh" ''Essays in Literature'' (Spring 1978) 5 (1): 39-51.
“Like the Base Judean” ''Shakespeare Quarterly'' Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring, 1980), pp. 93-95.* "‘Trifles Light as Air': A Note on Othello, III. iii. 313" ''Notes and Queries'' (1980) 27 (2): 169-170.
* "A Warning for Fair Women and the Ur-Hamlet" ''Notes and Queries'' (1983) 30 (2): 126-127.
* "Misconceptions about the Geneva Bible" ''Studies in Bibliography'' Vol. 37, (1984), pp. 156–158.
* "Shakespeare and the Rheims New Testament" ''American Notes & Queries'' (Jan/Feb 1984) 22 (5/6): 70.
* "The Incest Theme in Hamlet" ''Notes and Queries'' (1985) 32 (1): 51-a-51.
* "Shakespeare and the True Tragedy of Richard the Third" ''Notes and Queries'' (1985) 32 (1): 32-33.
* "Shakespeare and the Geneva Bible: "Hamlet", I.iii.54" ''Studies in Bibliography'' Vol. 38, (1985), pp. 201–203.
* ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Tragedies'', Newark: University of Delaware Press, (1987) .
* "Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible - How Acquired" ''Shakespeare Studies'' Vol. 20, (1988), p. 201.
* ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's History Plays'', Newark: University of Delaware Press, (1989), .
* "Biblical References in Love's Labour's Lost" ''Notes and Queries'' (1991) 38 (1): 55-56.
* "Shylock's ‘Abram’ in The Merchant of Venice" ''Notes and Queries'' (1991) 38 (1): 56-57.
* "Shakespeare, the Psalter, and the Vulgate in "Henry V" ''Shakespeare Quarterly'' Vol. 43, No. 1 (Spring, 1992), pp. 71–72.
* "A Young Scholar from Rheims" ''English Language Notes'' (Mar 1993) 30 (3): 7.
* "Shakespeare's Knowledge of Italian" ''Shakespeare Survey'' (1994) 47: 161. "Studies the Italian narrative sources of William Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare's acquaintance with John Florio's language manuals; Adherence of Shakespeare's plays to his Italian sources; Evidence in `The Merchant of Venice.'"
* "Shakespeare and the Tomson New Testament" ''Notes and Queries'' (1995) 42 (3): 290-291.
* "Biblical Echoes in Troilus and Cressida" ''Notes and Queries'' (1996) 43 (2): 160-162.
* "A Note on Troilus and Cressida, II.iii.1–37" ''Notes and Queries'' (1997) 44 (4): 503-505.
* "Shakespeare and the Authorized Version" ''Notes and Queries'' (1998) 45 (3): 343-345.
* ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays'', Newark: University of Delaware Press, (1999), . "This volume provides a survey of the English Bibles of Shakespeare's day, notes their similarities and differences, and indicates which version the playwright knew best. The biblical references in each of Shakespeare's plays are then analyzed, as are his references to the Prayer Book and the homilies. The question of what constitutes a valid biblical reference is also discussed."
* "Shakespeare and the Bishops' Bible" ''Notes and Queries'' (2000) 47 (1): 94-97.
* "The Taverner Bible, Jugge's Edition of Tyndale, and Shakespeare" ''English Language Notes'' (Dec 2000) 38 (2): 24.
* "Biblical References in Julius Caesar" ''Notes and Queries'' (2002) 49 (2): 226-227.
* "Collecting Pre-King James English Bibles" ''Private Library'' (Summer 2003) 6 (2): 52-61.
* "Shakespeare's Sonnet 146" ''English Language Notes'' (Jun 2004) 41 (4): 15-19.
* "Henry V and Its Quartos" ''Shakespeare Newsletter'' (Fall 2007) 57 (2): 43-48.
* "Ruth 3:15—The ‘He’ and ‘She’ Bibles" 'Notes and Queries' (2009) 56 (4): 621-624.
* ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays'' University of Delaware Press, (2011), .
References
Book Reviews by Shaheen
* "Book Review of ''Shakespeare's Religious Background'' by Peter Milward (1973)" ''Shakespeare Studies'' (1977) 10: 368.
*"Book Review of ''Christian Ritual and the World of Shakespeare's Tragedies'' by Herbert R. Coursen, Jr. (1976)" ''Shakespeare Studies'' (1979) 12: 300.
*"Book Review of ''Shakespeare and the Bible'' by Steven Marx (2000)" ''Notes & Queries'' (Mar 2001) 48 (1): 58.
Reviews of Shaheen's Books
* Keenan, Hugh T. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in 'The Faerie Queene" ''Library Journal'' (4/1/1977) 102 (7): 812.
* Schell, Richard. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in 'The Faerie Queene" ''Spenser Newsletter'' (1977) 8 (1): 11-12.
* Lewis, Cynthia. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Tragedies''" ''Shakespeare Quarterly'' (Spring 1989) 40 (1): 108-111.
* Dollard, Peter. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Comedies''" ''Library Journal'' (6/15/1993) 118 (11): 70.
* Evans, Robert C. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Comedies''" ''Sixteenth Century Journal'' (1994) 25 (3): 707.
* Stritmatter, Roger. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare’s Comedies''" ''Elizabethan Review'' (Autumn 1995) 3 (2).
* Nichols, Heidi L. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays''" ''Sixteenth Century Journal'' (Spring 2000) 31 (1): 290-292.
* "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays''" ''Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies'' (Winter 2001) 19 (2): 203.
* Curren-Aquino, Deborah T. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays''" ''Shakespeare Quarterly'' Spring 2001, Vol. 52 (1): 148.
* Beauregard, David. "Book Review of ''Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays''" ''Religion & the Arts'' Sep 2001, Vol. 5 (3): 317-330.
Further reading
* McRary, Amy. "UT Special Collections acquires rare Bibles from Memphis estate", ''The Knoxville (TN) News-Sentinel'', Feb 18, 2012.
External links
Finding Aid for the Shaheen Shakespeare Research Collection, 1940-2006, at The University of Tennessee Libraries, Special Collections, Knoxville
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaheen, Naseeb
Shakespearean scholars
American biblical scholars
1931 births
2009 deaths
American academics of English literature