Understanding Character in Shakespeare
So why is it that William Shakespeare—a long dead author whose plays were written for playhouses very different from today—should be celebrated as an author of enduring significance? He was a master of prose and verse and cold also tell a gripping story. He could construct powerful passages of rhetoric, write beautiful passages of lyrical verse, speeches that are both witty and comical and yet write with powerful simplicity that pierce our hearts and resonate within our soul. In all of his accomplishments, he is most noted for his eloquence in explaining the human condition. He has this uncanny ability in the rendering of personality that make his personages seem so real.2 As a member of the audience, you will be able to find one attribute that matches to one of his brilliantly complex characters. For instance us understanding young, passionate (hormonal) love like Romeo and Juliet, have met a bully similar to Tybalt, or had a dedicated best friend like Mercutio. Though, he never passes judgment: characters that behave badly such as the murderous Macbeth can make you feel what they feel rather than see their dark side.
Defining Shakespeare’s Plays and Examining the Two Tragedies
Shakespeare’s plays were broken up into categories once the first folio was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death. These were the categories that were chosen: comedies, histories and tragedies. A ‘comedy’ involves the main character learning a lesson and falling in love. Usually the villain is caught and the hero or heroine marries. A ‘history’ play depicted a story from England’s past. These plays were highly political, as they dealt with what constitutes a good king (government). We often see that these plays dealt with instability with the crown as model in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV Part I and II.
Tragedies are the two plays my students will be reading with Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. A ‘tragedy’ is a type of play involves the main character learning a lesson and dying. The protagonist or hero is normally someone of high rank- a queen such as Lady Macbeth or a prominent citizen’s son such as Romeo. A flaw in the protagonist sets the events in motion and causes his or her downfall. For example, Macbeth’s downfall is ambition and his wish for power that causes him to go on this murder rampage to secure the throne of Scotland. In a tragedy, the recurring outcome is that the protagonist dies and his or her family lies in ruin.
Romeo and Juliet- A Star Cross’d Tragedy
Romeo and Juliet was the first exposure I had to the writings of William Shakespeare. In some cases Romeo and Juliet as the “world’s most famous couple”. The play is set in the Italian town of Verona. Today, that very city calls itself the “City of Love” since it takes pride in being the setting of the one of the greatest love stories of all time. This remarkable play, with its spellbinding, beautiful poetry and a profound love the leaves the audience hopeful and longing, ultimately ends being a pointless tragedy. This leaves me wondering: Was it true love? Was it fated for the two young lovers to die in the end or did their actions throughout the narrative play a significant role? This is what I want my students to determine: “Even though the prologue tells us everything to expect and we have no doubt about the outcome, there is a sense of cosmic possibility at the beginning of the play that leaves you optimistic for them.”
Gail Kern Paster states this when she was interviewed for the documentary filmed by PBS called Shakespeare Uncovered: Romeo and Juliet. Paster perfectly captures what the audience is thinking about these two lovers: you want them to find their happily ever after. In the first acts of the play, Romeo and Juliet is often seen as a romantic comedy rather than a tragedy. Even though Romeo is seventeen and Juliet is thirteen years of age, you cannot deny they have been struck with ‘love at first sight’. But is it right to say that? Was this in fact true love? This is where we will begin our analysis.
Romeo and Juliet begins by giving the audience the impression that the play is a comedy:
Many things contribute to this impression. An amusing street fight and masked ball in the first act, a lovers’ meeting in the orchard in the second, a doting young man carrying courtly conventions to laughable excess, parents who would be custom-bound to interfere if they only knew of the affair going on under their noses, an affected troublemaker bent on vindicating his family’s honor, a bawdy nurse and an even bawdier friend ordinarily lead to the triumph of young love, a marriage or two, forgiveness and feasting all around. 3
However, we see the shift to the tragic starting in Act III when Mercutio is killed and chaos ensues because the action of Tybalt provokes Romeo into action and thus thrusts the play into a downward spiral. Tragedy spreads throughout the different characters: Romeo becomes a murderer and is banished, Juliet cuts herself away from her family and nurse; even the background scenery takes a shift to rain and cloudy overcast to highlight the shift.
Macbeth- The Darkest Corners of the Human Psyche
Actor Ethan Hawke once described Shakespeare’s play Macbeth as this: “Macbeth is a play that you’re not even supposed to say the name of it because even the name of it is supposed to conjure witches and the dreads of the universe.”4 Macbeth is the tale of a serial murder that has gone down in history to be one of the darkest and strangest of all of Shakespeare’s plays. Some even say that Shakespeare took a risk in writing this tale considering who is audience was; he wrote about the darker side of the human psyche that in some cases are still is relevant in our present time.
Shakespeare had the reputation of embroidering his tales with historical facts and uses true historical accounts to create his tale. University of London Historian Justin Champion is an expert in 17th century history says that the real Macbeth lived over a thousand years ago in Scotland. The play Macbeth takes place in 17th century Scotland where our protagonist Macbeth is revered as a great warrior devoted to his king, King Duncan. In the play, Macbeth saw himself as a devoted subject to his king until he met the three weird sisters or witches. The witches predict that Macbeth will be the next king, which thus forever changes our dashing hero into a serial killer.
Macbeth resembles the true tragedy in the sense that the protagonist (Macbeth) has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall and death at the end of the play. This flaw is ambition; he shares the prophecy with his wife. However, we can also see some elements of a history play. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in honor of the coronation of King James I who was the successor of Queen Elizabeth I. The play was symbolic of the unification of England and Scotland. The ‘saintly’ King Edward from Macbeth is a mirror image of King James I and by the ‘grace of Grace’ he is there to unify the kingdoms and stabilize the crown. 5
Defining and Understanding Character
When I receive my new group of students in August/September, they have a basic understanding of the elements that make up a story. Specifically, their general understanding of what a ‘character’ is: a person or figure in a story.6 Yet their understanding only touches upon the surface of what a ‘character’ truly is. In the two seminars that I am currently enrolled in (one here at Yale with Paul Fry as well the seminar through the University of Delaware entitled “Things That Happen in Fiction” with David Teague) we have discussed E.M. Forster’s distinction between story, character, and plot. Forster argues that in a story character is established first then the plot is determined based on character motivations. Forster provides this example in his Aspects of the Novel:
“’The king died and then the queen died’ is a story. ‘The King died then the queen died of grief’ is a plot. If it is a story we say: “And then?” If it is a plot we ask: ”Why?”7
The first sentence indicates a basic event sequence since it is having the audience ask “And then?” because there is just a list of events that happen thus making a plot. However, the second sentence Forster gave provides more information about the queen: it shows why she died. It gives depth to the plot by exposing the reason or motive behind her death as indicated by her actions. Establishing the actions of the character first determines how the plot will unfold. Decisions are plot points; the characters’ desires and choices are what push the plot forward based upon the decisions they make and ones they do not. In a recent interview with Teague, he mentions this: “Particularly in drama who you are as a character is based on what you do upon the stage. It is making their internal the internal life transparent to the audience by looking at what the character does. This is what creates a plot.”8
So this concept of plot and character is what I am going to use in introducing character analysis of the Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth plays: plot is why the character did what he or she did. This notion allows for my students to come to an understanding Shakespeare’s character by the actions they perform or the choices they make that ultimately shapes the plot. For example, why did Romeo decide to go after Tybalt? Why didn’t Juliet just run away with Romeo when the opportunity presented itself? Why does Lady Macbeth push her husband to commit murder? By organizing the plot in an order that follows the choices of each character, we will be able to come to some conclusions about these characters and possible question their motives.
Examining the Characters in Romeo and Juliet
In reading the graphic novel interpretation and the play of Romeo and Juliet, I want my students to focus on four particular characters: Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, and Mercutio. They are the prominent teens, young adults in the play; looking at a character that is somewhat close in age will help them find relevance in the choices that advanced the plot forward. In regards to certain characters, I pose a question that I want my students to ponder throughout the process of learning the plot and understanding the character.
Romeo and Juliet: is this true love?
Romeo and Juliet was the first exposure I had to the writings of William Shakespeare. In some cases, Romeo and Juliet are regarded as the “world’s most famous couple”. The play is set in the Italian town of Verona. Today, that very city calls itself the “City of Love” since it takes pride in being the setting of the one of the greatest love stories of all time. This remarkable play, with its spellbinding, beautiful poetry, a profound love the leaves the audience hopeful and longing, ultimately ends being a pointless tragedy. This leaves me wondering: Was it true love? Was it fated for the two young lovers to die in the end or did their actions throughout the narrative play a significant role?
This is what I want my students to determine “Even though the prologue tells us everything to expect and we have no doubt about the outcome, there is a sense of cosmic possibility at the beginning of the play that leaves you optimistic for them.” 9Gail Kern Poster states this when she was interviewed for the documentary filmed by PBS called Shakespeare Uncovered: Romeo and Juliet. Paster perfectly captures what the audience is thinking in regards to these two lovers: you want for them to find their happily ever after. In the first acts of the play, Romeo and Juliet is often seen as a romantic comedy rather than a tragedy. Even though Romeo is seventeen and Juliet is thirteen years of age, you cannot deny they have been struck with ‘love at first sight’. But is it right to say that? Was this in fact true love? This is where we will begin our analysis.
Romeo is the only son of the Montagues. It is said that he is around seventeen years old. When we meet Romeo, his heart is broken since his ‘love’ for Rosaline is not returned. In Act II, Scene II, Romeo sneaks into the ball being held by the Capulet’s to accompany his best friend Mercutio. Mercutio hopes to find a distraction for his friend by stirring up some fun with a night of dancing. It is here where our star-crossed lovers meet for the first time. Romeo catches a glimpse of the fair Juliet and thus becomes a victim of “love at first sight.” But is he really in love? Any sensible human being would think that he is not genuine in his feelings for Juliet. I’m going to have my students examine this theory.
In seminar we argued that Shakespeare wants us to see his character Romeo developing to ultimately become the man sweet, innocent Juliet deserves. We can trace through the language and by his interactions with the other characters and in the plot development that he has truly moved from lust to love. We first see a shift when Romeo first meets Juliet at the ball. Prior to this, we have two young people who presumably have had no opportunity to develop any special gift for language. The best example we see of Romeo’s dialogue s in an exchange with Benvolio. Suddenly, with Juliet in sight at the ball, his dialogue drastically changes and he begins to make something like poetry10:
Romeo: O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the check of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear—
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.
The measure is done, I’ll watch her place of stand
And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night. [I.iv.46-55]
As we said in seminar, it is here Romeo takes Juliet’s hand and begins talking sonnets to her and you get a sense that the emotions he is feeling are stronger for Juliet than for Rosaline; as J.A. Bryant states in his introduction to the play “we have sensed a rightness of this unexpected attachment and its potential for permanence”11. As the play progresses to the balcony scene, the change in his emotions becomes more prominent since they are reciprocated from Juliet rather than be denied, as Rosaline has done. Actor Orlando Bloom had to portray Romeo back in 2007 and he recalls this impression: “Romeo is in love with the idea of love but it’s not until he meets Juliet he understands what true love is.” 12 But is this true love? What about Juliet: how does Juliet feel about Romeo?
Juliet is a young maiden at the age of thirteen. She is the only daughter of old Capulet and his wife. She has a very close relationship with her nurse; essentially it is the nurse that raises Juliet and their strong bond is evident upon our first meeting with these two characters. Lord Capulet states, “My child is yet a stranger in the world”13 insinuating to Paris that she is young, maybe naïve, and innocent in regards to the outside world. However, Juliet is often argued as being the more active partner in the sudden romance. It is she on whom our main attention focuses, and it is she who has the best lines. If we examine the balcony scene, we see Juliet begin to speak in something like sonnets:
Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Refuse thy father and refuse thy name:
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is not hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name
Belonging to a man.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
Without that title. Romeo doff thy name;
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself. [II.ii.33-49]
It is here we start this idea of isolation through choices they make.
As the plot moves forward, we start to see them two of them isolate themselves more and more to the point where they are only sharing information and feels with each other. We see this especially with their morning exchange after spending their first night together; they converse as if they are the only two in the world. Another example is Juliet getting rid of her support system (father, mother, and most especially her nurse); this is obvious in her shocked reaction to the nurse suggesting that she marry Paris. Juliet betraying her willing to “kill herself” to run away with Romeo. We always see Romeo in the secrecy of solitude. He keeps things to himself and does not discuss his feelings with his cousin Benvolio and best friend Mercutio. Romeo only confides his deepest feelings to Juliet. As they create their own form of isolation, we the audience can see this as love.
Another scene that I have my students read closely of is Act 4, Scene 3 where Juliet is contemplating with another important choice: whether to drink the potion or not.
Juliet: What if this mixture do not work at all?
Shall I be a married then tomorrow morning?
No, no! This shall forbid it. Lie thou there.
[lays down dagger]
What if it be poison which the friar
Subtly hath minist’red to have me dead,
Lest in this marriage should be dishonored
Because he married me before to Romeo?
(IV.iii.21-26)
As the audience we are visualizing Juliet question the potion and whether that potion will work. She questions whether it will work and whether she will wake the next day and forced to marry another; she is critical of Friar Lawrence’s ability to mix the tonic properly in that it may be poison and kill her; she’s worried Romeo will not arrive on time to get her from the vault so that she will stuck down there with rotting dead bodies. In my opinion, these are all reasonable concerns, especially for a young teenager. However, none of these concerns demonstrated that her love for Romeo is compromised; her love for him is never questioned. “Juliet: Romeo, Romeo, Romeo, I drink to thee. (IV.iii.58)”14
She drinks the potion in faith that she will be reunited with her love Romeo. That is the one aspect that she does not question: is her love for Romeo or his love for her. So it is evident how Juliet feels on this question of true love.
Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt: Defending of a Friend or Making Poor Choices?
Mercutio is one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters. As Harold Bloom states in Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human Mercutio is the most notorious scene stealer in all of Shakespeare…Shakespeare declared he was obligated to kill of Mercutio, less Mercutio kill Shakespeare and hence the play.”15 Mercutio is commended for his wit and courage and promises a great comic role. On the flipside, he can be argumentative, crude, and heartless as we see demonstrated in his Queen Mab speech. In examining Mercutio, scholars see his role providing irony. He is seen as the debunker of love; he himself does not believe in love: “Love is an open arse and a poperin pear.”16
“Tybalt is a bully” Paul Fry puts bluntly. Tybalt is a Capulet. He is seen as being the only one trying to act like the macho guy in the play and is very much ‘by the book’ as accused by Mercutio. The first time we meet Tybalt he is looking for a fight:
Tybalt: What, art thou drawn among drawn among these heartless hinds?
Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death. (I.i.68-69)
To me, it seems as if Tybalt is the only substantial character who worries about the feud amongst the two families. When he sees Romeo at the ball, he insists on confronting him and is not worried about creating a scene; though, Lord Capulet delays him, however, and prevents him from causing an up roar at the party. This motivates Tybalt to find Romeo on his own accord and confront him for his wrongdoings:
Tybalt: Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford
No better term than this: thou art a villain.
Romeo: Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting. Villain I am none.
Therefore farewell. I see thou knowest me not.
Tybalt: Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries
That thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw (III.i.61-68)
For my students, I want to consider the climax of the play as Shakespeare has it in Act III and summarized by J.A. Bryant in the introduction to the play:
Tybalt deliberately sought to murder Romeo and Romeo so badly underestimated his challenger that he declined to defend himself; whereupon Mercutio, in defense of both Romeo’s honor and his person, picked up the challenge and would have killed Tybalt but for Romeo’s intervention. Tybalt then killed Mercutio, and Romeo killed Tybalt in revenge.17
But one should ask: what if Romeo never intervened? J.A. Bryant states that Tybalt would surely be slain at the hand of Mercutio; since he was family of the prince his punishment would be minimal. This family feud would then die with Tybalt. “Mercutio was on point of bringing to pass what neither civil authority nor well-intentioned but misplaced ingenuity had been able to accomplish, and Romeo with a single sentimental action destroyed his only hope of averting tragedy.”18 This is another question I would pose to my students in regard to choices- let’s consider what the hypothetical outcome would have been if Romeo didn’t make the choice to intervene.
Examining Character in Macbeth
In regards to the play Macbeth, this is the question that Professor Gail Kern Pastor asks: “The real question that they raise of course is to what extent they play or only see the evil in him…does the supernatural cause anything in the play or does it simply forecast what is already going to happen.” 19 So where does the darkness truly come from? Is it from the witches or is the evil already present in the man? I want to see if my students can tackle this on-going debate that Professor Stephan Greenblatt proposes: “Part of the cunning of Macbeth lies in the difficulty everyone has in determining what is that these creatures are doing and how much responsibility that they have for what you see unfolding.” 20 Shakespeare does a beautiful job of writing to his audience’s desires; it is in our human desire to interpret and find meaning within what we see happening and yet might nit fully comprehend. In this scene, Shakespeare leaves us wondering if we can easily be influences by others if it solely benefits our ambitions and question how far we are willing to go to achieve our desires (for example, willing to murder our competition just to get ahead).
The Witches: should we hold them responsible for creating a monster?
Over four hundred years ago witches were seen not as whimsy or fantasy or filly extras in the play to make the story interesting but as real figures that often served as makers of medicine or forecasters or the future. Historian Justin Champion states that in 1597 King James I wrote a book about demonology stating he was against witches since he was convinced that witches could help destroy the divine monarchy. King James believed that witches were a direct link to the devil. “Great anxiety that plagued and dominated the 16th/17th century political realm was the devil through the Pope or the Anti-Christ was going to topple the Protestant rule in England.”21Thus, Shakespeare took a huge risk in including figures of the supernatural, yet he knew that this was seen as powerful language that the audience would of connect with right away. Even today, the audience is drawn and fascinated. But what role did the supernatural play in our fated character?
The trio of witches appears at the opening of the play, and they state their purpose is “There to meet with Macbeth” which means in the coming lines they are going to have an interaction with Macbeth. Then, in Act I, Scene III the witches forecast the future:
First Witch: All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! [I.iii.47-49]
They go on to predict Banquo’s fate as well:
First Witch: Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
Second Witch: Not so happy, yet much happier.
Third Witch: Thou shalt get kings, thou shalt be none. [I.iii.65-68]
Unfortunately, Banquo will never be king following the prophecy of the witches. We see the first part of the prophecy come true when King Duncan honors Macbeth I giving him the new title Thane of Cawdor (just as the witches predicted). In seeing this premonition become a reality, Macbeth sets out to further his fate and murder Duncan. After Macbeth moves forward with killing Duncan, he sends out two assassins to kill Banquo and his son. The assassins succeed in killing Banquo but his son Fleance escaped. So as the play continues we are seeing how accurate these three witches were in predicting Macbeth’s fate. Here’s the question: should we hold fate responsible for Macbeth’s actions or is Macbeth truly to blame?
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth: How far will they go to get their deepest desires?
Who would you claim to be the villain in this tragedy, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Both characters play a role in several murders in order to reach a prophesied desire. Is there any point in time when either character questions or reconsiders their choices? Do they feel remorse for their bad choices? In another close read activity, I am going to have my students examine these two characters in an attempt to answer these questions.
Aristotle stated that the best tragedy concerns a man who does a deed of horror in ignorance. However, Macbeth is not confused about the criminal nature of his deed. When he kills the king who is his guest and generous lord, he knows he does a “horrid deed”.22 Even before he commits the murder, he foresees the outcome of his actions. He is plagued by feelings of immense guilt. Yet, this just makes Macbeth more determined in his destructive path:
Macbeth: From this moment
The very firstlings of my heart shall be
The firstlings of my hand. And even now,
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and
Done:
The castle of Macduff I will surprise;
Seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ the’ sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;
This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool. [IV.i.146-54]
We see his calculating villainy progress in this plot he creates against Macduff and his family to ensure his stability upon the throne. His opponents begin to see Macbeth as a butcher, a tyrant, while in contrast, Malcolm—the true heir to the throne—as trustworthy and patriotic. Malcolm and his men are viewed as God’s soldiers while Macbeth is a hellhound.
Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most shocking characters. In Act I, Scene VII Macbeth starts to question their action plan in killing King Duncan. At one point, she states she would sacrifice her own child rather than fail to pursue their murderous intentions:
Lady Macbeth: I have given suck, and know
How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me.
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this (I.vii.54-59]
This scene depicts woman in a completely different realm. Throughout Shakespeare’s plays, you see and can identify with strong female figures. However, this is the first time you glimpse a woman as being, evil and adopting the role as a villain in her conniving schemes to see Macbeth succeed in killing Duncan. Having finished reading the graphic novel interpretation of the play, students will be given the task of arguing this point: Who is to blame? Is it right to claim that there were bad influences involved or are you solely to blame for the consequences of your actions?
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