Download Shakespeare`s chronicle/history plays

LBB AN129 G2 History of English Literature I.
Seminars
Block 4
Shakespeare’s chronicle plays
Richard III
History play: emerged in the earlier 16th century from the morality form; the nation as the
figure at the centre of the moral struggle
History: an exploration of human political behaviour. → themes: the relation between man
and power (the desire for power, man’s response to gaining it and then to being deprived of
it), the figure of the king (the relationship between the theoretical amplitude of the office and
the human limitation of the man who holds it), legitimacy, the relation between the morals of
the king and the well-being of his subjects.
Shakespeare’s use of history: selecting, shaping, amplifying, and frequently adding to
chronicle material in order to intensify concentration on political issues and on their human
consequences
Richard III: Genre – tragedy as well as history play (tragedy according to the medieval idea –
recording the rise and fall of princes). Using sources, adding a dramatic shape – somewhat
arbitrary use of historical facts. 1483-85: events crammed together
The starting point: medieval world, Christianity. The war (Wars of the Roses) – attacking this
order; Richard – open attack. Richard the ‘almighty’. Turning point: the murder of the princes
– Richard’s control of events deserts him. Complete change – the great wheel of Fortune. His
faith deserting him. Negative relationship towards peace. The eve of the battle of Bosworth:
the visit of the Ghosts. The end: the fall of Richard, the rise of the Tudor family, peace for
England
Strong dependence on the central character. The myth of a fiend-like king. Physical deformity
– usually exaggerated. Opening monologue: ‘programme’, explanation, inviting the
reader/audience to witness his actions. Totally aware of his capabilities, good knowledge of
his world and people. Using vanity and thirst for power – advancing towards his aim: the
throne of England. Masterfully manipulating people. Interests moving the world – the
strongest one is decisive
The deformed character – special feature; distinctive, serving as excuse; almost a means of
pre-determination. Charisma, self-control, wit. Intellectual leadership: the only intelligent
person in the drama – evil but intelligent. Others: rather empty, led by mere thirst for power.
His fall: necessary – cf. the Wheel of Fortune.
The medieval world vs. the Renaissance world – Richard: Renaissance, under the influence of
Macchiavelli – unlike the historical Richard III, the truly medieval king
Very little humour; violence off-stage. Plot: talk rather than action
The Shakespearean Tragedy
Othello
More intimate scale – no supernatural elements, the political consequences of the action are
not emphasised – personal rather than public life. Domestic scale
Jealousy, envy and misplaced trust – interrelated motives.
Central dynamic: the hero’s change in attitude towards Desdemona. Othello’s weakness
destroys his happiness as his trust turns into jealousy and then murderous hatred under the
influence of Iago. Contrast: his trust in Iago is firm – until the end. In the end, the forces of
trust and love regain their strength – but the power of evil has been demonstrated by then
Othello: placed between Iago and Desdemona; resembling the morality tradition – Iago is
associated with the devil several times, Desdemona may be seen as representing Christian
love and resignation to the will of God in her martyrlike acceptance of her undeserved end
LBB AN129 G2 History of English Literature I.
Seminars
Block 4
Manipulating the settings – both place and time. Place: Act I – Venice. A closed society,
racial distrust, strong commercial values – yet this society is capable of trust and co-operation
too. Cyprus – isolated. Time: ‘Double time’: no opportunity for Desdemona’s infidelity /very
short time-span if seen as real time/. Act I: real time, necessary for the introduction. Sh
chooses an unrealistic time span rather than a weeks-long scenario in which an adulterous
affair could evolve realistically. The device of the ‘double time’ – strategic references
suggestive of a different time frame
Othello is not a hero through triumph, but because he is an incarnation of basic human
energies, both good and bad. She sacrifices herself to her love and he himself to his grief that
he was inadequate to it. With Othello’s recognition of his error, order is implicitly restored
The Shakespearean Romance
The Tempest
Romance. A recently developed genre; elements of tragedy and comedy within a framework
of magic and exoticism taken from literary romances. Also: a moral allegory of great beauty
and emotional power
Very little actual plot. Bizarre characters, extravagant effects, magic. Conspiracies – they all
lead to the reconciliation at the end of the play
Complexity – based on contrasts: art and nature, imagination and reality, discipline and laxity,
civilisation and savagery – a powerful image of the moral nature of mankind
Main contrast: between art (human ingenuity) and nature. Prospero (control of the island,
creation of order after the chaos and barbarity of Caliban’s reign) vs. Caliban (“natural man”
– son of a witch and the devil, unteachable monster). This contrast extends to the supernatural
beings too – Ariel is a spiritual being (the potential spirituality of the human being), whereas
Caliban is utterly material (the human propensity to waste that spirituality in materialism and
sensual pleasure)
Caliban: the ‘natural man’; repeatedly associated with the New World; hinting at the relative
merits of nature and civilisation (disagreeing with the idea that natural man was a healthy
counter to the ills of civilisation)
Prospero’s magic – the boundaries of reality (uncertainty about the difference between reality
and illusion). Several miniature plays (banquet, masque, tableau) – shifting realities, a number
of levels of realities
Transformations: even Prospero, the agent of transformations, is not immune to change –
although his occurs largely before the play. Antonio: the only character not changing –
significant motif in the effect of the play. Not a clear and unambiguous conclusion: Prospero
does not entirely succeed in effecting his reconciliation, for Antonio remains silent. The
defeat of evil is not complete – acknowledging that an evil once committed can never be
entirely compensated for (cf. the tragedies of Shakespeare)
Nevertheless, traditional happy ending of comedy. Marriage, inheriting the crown of Naples –
focus on the future, suggesting the rebirth of the world
Importance of the patient acceptance of whatever life brings – the pattern of loss and recovery
is only realised through this strength; the importance of forgiveness
Ben Jonson: Volpone, or the Fox /1605/
Volpone, or the Fox: satiric comedy (exposing, ridiculing and correcting a vice); mixture of
savagery and humour, a rather different approach to the human being than in Shakespeare’s
LBB AN129 G2 History of English Literature I.
Seminars
Block 4
comedies. Ironic basic situation: a cunning rich man pretends a mortal illness so that his
wealthy neighbours would court his favour in the hope of being named his heir. Jonson does
not stop here: disinheriting the son, offering the protected wife as a prostitute – the seemingly
endless depths of human degradation for the sake of wealth. In the end the villainies are
exposed and punished
Scene: Renaissance Italy – accepted by the English imagination of this time as the proper
home of vice, but the satire is general and deeply misanthropic – the English characters of the
play (travellers falling victim to the manipulations of Volpone and Mosca)
Extremely intricate and ingenious plot – mounting pace of action, progressive exposure of
avarice; tragic moment is also involved (Celia is nearly raped by Volpone)
The tone is set in the opening lines – Volpone greeting his treasures, showing a perverted
system of values (treasury as shrine, his possessions as saint). Blank verse; extravagance of
imagery in Volpone’s and Mosca’s speech (indicative of their obsession with wealth)
Morality tradition is still visible in the structure of the play and in the names.
Dehumanisation: names of birds of prey, animals of the lower order – characters animated by
the basest instincts. (Voltore: vulture, Corbaccio: raven, Corvino: crow falling victim to
Volpone: fox and his parasite, Mosca: fly)