Religious views of William Shakespeare his time in his sensitivity to the Islamic world and its inhabitants." According to the conclusion of Prof Matthew Dimmock, Shakespeare's depiction of Islam and Muslims "denied either scriptural congruence or religious coherence, embodied in the martially aggressive male." Shakespeare's works included several Muslim characters, including Aaron the Moor in "Titus Andronicus", the Prince of Morocco in "The Merchant of Venice" and Othello in the eponymous play. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England around 1600, such as that of Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud. Shakespeare also makes one explicit reference
Is Shakespeare Dead? following points: Twain draws parallels and analogies from the pretensions of modern religious figures and commentators on the nature of Satan. He compares the believers in Shakespeare to adherents of Arthur Orton and Mary Baker Eddy. The book has been described as "one of his least well received and most misunderstood works". Karen Lystra argues that the essay reveals satirical intentions that went beyond the Shakespeare—Bacon controversy of the time, although she admits that Twain appears to have been sincere in his beliefs concerning Shakespeare. Though it is commonly assumed to be nothing more than a stale and embarrassing rehash