The Shakespeare Book

200 TWELFTH NIGHT

DRAMATIS Orsino laments that Viola as Cesario is sent In revenge against the
PERSONAE Olivia spurns his love by Orsino to Olivia to killjoy steward, Maria
because she is mourning and her friends fool
Orsino Duke of Illyria, plead his love, but
in love with Olivia. her brother. Olivia falls for Malvolio into
thinking Olivia
Viola A young lady Cesario.
shipwrecked in Illyria, loves him.
disguised as Cesario, a
male page, in order to win 1.1 1.5 2.2
favor with Orsino. Act 1 Act 2
1.2 2.1
Sebastian Twin brother
of Viola, whom she believes Washed up in Illyria by a Viola’s twin brother
to have drowned at sea. tempest, Viola dresses Sebastian, thought
as a man to enter the
Antonio Sea captain and to be drowned,
companion of Sebastian. service of Orsino. reaches Illyria.
He is arrested, but
eventually forgiven. S purned by the beautiful Feste the clown tries to cajole
Olivia, Orsino of Illyria begs Olivia out of her mourning, but is
Captain The captain of for sad music to reflect his rebuked by her puritanical steward
Viola’s wrecked ship. lovelorn state. Viola is shipwrecked Malvolio. They are interrupted by
on the shores of Illyria. Convinced the arrival of Cesario. But Cesario’s
Olivia A beautiful countess, her twin brother Sebastian has ingenious pleading of Orsino’s
in mourning for her father and drowned and that she is alone, case falls on deaf ears as Olivia is
brother, she woos Cesario and she decides to dress as a boy and smitten by Cesario. When Cesario
later marries Sebastian. join Orsino’s service. Meanwhile, goes, Olivia sends Malvolio after to
Olivia’s reprobate cousin Sir tell him he has left a ring behind.
Maria Olivia’s feisty maid, Toby and her maidservant Maria
who is the author of the plot persuade rich but dim Sir Andrew Viola’s twin Sebastian arrives
to humiliate Malvolio. to pay court to Olivia. Orsino sends in Illyria, saved by his companion
Viola (as Cesario) to Olivia as a Antonio. Thinking Viola dead,
Sir Toby Belch Olivia’s messenger of his love. But Viola is Sebastian resolves to try Orsino’s
reprobate kinsman, who already in love with Orsino herself. court. When Malvolio gives Viola
plays pranks on the dimwitted Olivia’s ring, she realizes Olivia has
Sir Andrew.

Sir Andrew Aguecheek
A rich but ineffectual young
man, would-be suitor to Olivia.

Malvolio Olivia’s puritanical
and pedantic steward.

Feste Olivia’s jester, a wit
and gifted impersonator, who
verbally spars with the people
of his household. He acts as a
commentator on events.

Valentine and Curio
Gentlemen attending
to Orsino.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 201

Antonio gives Sir Andrew and Viola Sebastian (as Cesario) Sebastian arrives, Viola
Sebastian his purse are about to duel and Olivia marry. reveals her disguise, and
and they part company. when Antonio
all ends happily,
intervenes to save except for Malvolio.
his friend “Sebastian.”

3.3 3.4 4.3 5.1
Act 3 Act 4 Act 5
3.2 3.4 4.2 5.1

Convinced Cesario is his Duped by Maria, Sebastian falls for Olivia is devastated
rival for Olivia’s love, Sir the somber Olivia when she when her new husband
Andrew Aguecheek writes rescues him,
to challenge him to a duel. Malvolio shocks mistaking him for Cesario goes off
Olivia with his Cesario, while the with Orsino.
garish clothes.
hapless Malvolio begins
to write a love letter
to Olivia.

fallen for Cesario. Sir Toby and colorfully, Malvolio changes his is deeply hurt that Cesario, who
his friends are partying when the normally drab clothes for yellow he thinks is Sebastian, denies
killjoy Malvolio complains about the stockings. Sir Andrew delivers a their friendship. Olivia arrives and
noise. As he leaves, they plot their challenge to Cesario. Just as claims Cesario as hers. To Olivia’s
revenge on him, forging love letters the two draw swords, Antonio shock, Cesario aligns herself with
from Olivia to Malvolio, which he intervenes to rescue Cesario, Orsino, so Olivia summons the
discovers and believes are genuine. thinking him to be Sebastian, priest to verify they are married.
but Cesario denies knowing him. Suddenly, Sebastian arrives and
At Orsino’s request, Viola greets Antonio with passionate
dressed as Cesario returns to Thinking him to be Cesario, relief, as everyone else stands
Olivia, who tells Cesario she loves Sir Toby attacks Sebastian, but he amazed by his likeness to Cesario.
him. Sir Toby works on Sir Andrew is rescued by Olivia, who also thinks
to challenge Cesario to a duel. him to be Cesario. Olivia proposes All is revealed. Orsino
Antonio tells Sebastian he has marriage to Sebastian, thinking him acknowledges his love for Cesario
enemies at Orsino’s court, so they Cesario, and Sebastian, already in and proposes marriage. The trick
decide to part. Convinced by Maria love with Olivia, accepts. Hauled on Malvolio is revealed, and
that Olivia wants him to dress before Orsino as a pirate, Antonio Malvolio pledges his revenge. ❯❯

202 TWELFTH NIGHT T welfth Night, or What returning to work. It was a time of
You Will is a comedy “misrule” when normal rules were
IN CONTEXT in which genders are briefly subverted: masters became
swapped and identities mistaken. servants and servants became
THEMES It has an appealing heroine, Viola, masters; and, in the tradition of the
Mistaken identity, gender the shipwrecked girl who finds true Roman winter feast of Saturnalia,
swapping, love love dressed as a boy, but there is men dressed as girls and vice
also a dark side in the tormenting versa. Often, a large cake was
SETTING of the puritanical steward Malvolio. made. Whoever got the slice with
Illyria, the name for a a bean or coin in it became the
province on the Adriatic An unruly night Lord of Misrule for the night.
(present-day Croatia and The first half of the play’s full title
Slovenia) in Roman times refers to the eve of the 12th Day It is thought that Shakespeare’s
of Christmas, 5 January. This is play was written to be performed
SOURCES the Feast of the Epiphany, when, as Twelfth Night entertainment.
1531 A risqué Italian play according to tradition, the Magi, The first recorded performance took
called Gl’ingannati (The the three wise men, arrived with place in private at Middle Temple
Deceived Ones). their gifts for the infant Christ. In Hall, one of the law school Inns of
Elizabethan England, Twelfth Night Court, on February 2, 1602. But the
1581 English author Barnabe was the last day of the Christmas play is full of allusions to Twelfth
Rich’s Farewell to the holidays, and its associations were Night. In this topsy-turvy world,
Military Profession. as much pagan as Christian. It was servants get above themselves, girls
one last riot of feasting, drinking, dress as boys, and identities are
LEGACY games, and theater masques, before mixed up. Viola, presumably in a
1602 The play is performed nod to the Roman Saturnalia, calls
on February 2 at the Middle Pre-Raphaelite artist Walter Howell herself Cesario when she dresses
Temple in London. Deverell painted Act 2, Scene 4, in as a boy. And throughout the play,
which Feste sings a song that ponders Feste the clown, whose very name
1741 A Drury Lane production the cruelty of love. The song begins suggests a feast, refers often to wise
revives the full play with “Come away, come away death.” men and fools. Indeed, he is in some
Hannah Pritchard as Viola. ways the only sane one in the play.

1897 William Poel puts on the
play at the Middle Temple in
an Elizabethan style.

1912 Harley Granville-Barker’s
modern production in black
and silver has a vivid portrayal
of Viola by Lillah McCarthy.

1955 John Gielgud’s
production at Stratford-upon-
Avon stars Laurence Olivier
and Vivien Leigh.

1968 The rock-musical Your
Own Thing opens in New York.
It sets the action of Twelfth
Night in the modern day.

1996 Director Trevor Nunn
sets the action in the 19th
century for his film adaptation,
with Imogen Stubbs as Viola.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 203

Lovers and suitors

Feste Fabian Viola (Cesario) Twins Sebastian
The Fool

Servants to Loves Loves Marries
Suitors of
Malvolio Countess Loves Duke Orsino
Uncle to Olivia
Sir Andrew Maid to Servants to
Aguecheek
Maria
Friends

Valentine Curio

Sir Tony Belch

Male Female Female dressed as male

A sad place Many a good hanging “Feste: Good madonna, why
There is something of the fairy prevents a bad marriage mournest thou?
tale in Twelfth Night. The play Olivia: Good fool, for my
begins with a girl shipwrecked and Feste brother’s death.
alone in a strange country, Illyria, Feste: I think his soul is in hell,
after a terrible storm. (We only find Act 1, Scene 5 madonna.
much later that her name is Viola.) Olivia: I know his soul is in
It is a country sunk, absurdly, in his task to ensure that nobody heaven, fool.
gloom. The Duke of Illyria wallows has any fun. Both Orsino and Feste: The more fool, madonna, to
in the melancholy of his love for Olivia have locked themselves mourn for your brother’s soul being
the beautiful Olivia, a fashionable away in their dark places of in heaven” (1.5.62–67).
affliction in Elizabethan England. melancholy—just as, ironically,
He morbidly pleads for such an Malvolio will be locked in a dark The bringer of joy
excess of music that it will spoil cell when the prank played on Viola’s role is to break this spell of
his taste for it: “If music be the him goes all too well. melancholy and bring joy and true
food of love, play on, / Give me love back into this world, just like
excess of it that, surfeiting, / This melancholy is in some the revel spirit of Twelfth Night.
The appetite may sicken and so ways a madness that has engulfed At the time, many puritans frowned
die. / That strain again! it had a Illyria. Olivia and Orsino are both upon the festivities of Christmas
dying fall” (1.1.1–4). foolish in the theatrical excess of (they succeeded in banning it in
their sadness, as Feste shows: 1647) and railed against the riotous
Meanwhile, the Countess Olivia, excess of the theater, so there may
the object of his affections, is have been a political message here.
even more gloomy. She is deep in
mourning for her brother, and has Viola, of course, has her own
pledged to remain veiled for seven bereavement to contend with.
years. She has given her household When she comes ashore in Illyria,
to the charge of her cheerless she is convinced that her brother
steward Malvolio, who sees it as has drowned and that she is ❯❯

204 TWELFTH NIGHT

Comic actor Stephen Fry (left) took
on the role of Malvolio in the Globe’s
2012 production in London. Mark
Rylance played Olivia in the play,
which had an all-male cast.

entirely alone in the world. Her In a comic subplot, which ultimately more tricky when she visits Olivia
reaction is not to go into mourning turns a little dark, Shakespeare as Cesario. Olivia soon lowers her
like Olivia, but to take action. adds two foolish suitors: the roguish veil for the young “boy.” After just
Sir Toby Belch and the rather one meeting, she is so eager for
Viola’s choice to dress up to look silly Sir Andrew Aguecheek, him to return that she sends
like her brother is a strange one, who, along with the feisty Maria, Malvolio after him with a ring that
but it leads to comic and romantic plot to humiliate Malvolio. she pretends Cesario has dropped.
possibilities. It allows Viola close On the face of it, she thinks
to her beloved Orsino, yet prevents A woman’s part Cesario’s effeminate looks must
her from revealing her love. It also From the start, Orsino is strangely be because he is a gentleman. But
opens the way for the chaos caused drawn to his young serving boy. like Orsino, she lingers just a little
by mistaken identities as her He puts it down to Cesario’s youth: too long on Cesario’s attractions:
brother Sebastian turns up. “they shall yet belie thy happy “Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs,
years / That say thou art a man. actions, and spirit / Do give thee
She sat like patience Diana’s lip / Is not more smooth and five-fold blazon” (1.5.282–284). Her
on a monument, rubious; thy small pipe / Is as the desperation comes across as comic
Smiling at grief. maiden’s organ, shrill and sound, / after her mourning reticence, but
Viola And all is semblative a woman’s it seems more like lust than love.
part” (1.4.30–34). To Orsino, locked
Act 2, Scene 1 in his self-love, Cesario simply looks Untying the knot
and sounds like a woman—but the Meanwhile, Viola has fallen in love
lingering over physical details and with Orsino, and the situation has
the innuendo suggest there is a become impossible. She describes
more ambiguous attraction. And of herself as a “monster,” neither man
course the gender boundaries are nor woman: “As I am man, / My
blurred even more as Viola was state is desperate for my master’s
originally played by a boy actor. love. / As I am woman, now, alas
Viola’s situation becomes even the day, / What thriftless sighs shall
poor Olivia breathe” (2.2.36–39).

Then come kiss me,
sweet and twenty.
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.

Feste

Act 2, Scene 3

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 205

One face, one voice, haven’t quite vanished. As Malvolio
one habit, and two persons, Sebastian says to Olivia, “You are
betrothed to a maid and a man” Malvolio is a dark shadow
A natural perspective, (5.1.261), while as Orsino and Viola version of the story of Twelfth
that is and is not. leave the stage together at the end Night, his name a twisted part
Orsino of the play to be married, Viola is anagram of both Olivia and
still dressed as a boy, described by Viola’s names, meaning in
Act 5, Scene 1 Orsino as his “master’s mistress.” Italian “evil” (mal) and “I
desire” (volio). Malvolio’s inner
Viola laments that it has become Gender bending world turns ever bleaker as
“too hard a knot for me t’untie” It is perhaps not surprising that the outer world wakes up to
(2.2.41). But we have just seen many critics have explored Twelfth pleasure, and this puritan who
exactly how the knot will be Night for homoeroticism. Indeed, believes everyone else is foolish
loosened, for Viola’s twin Sebastian because Sebastian and Antonio is shown to be the real fool.
has turned up, not drowned after express their love for each other
all. While Viola’s genuine distress so ardently, many modern theater Sir Toby, Maria, and their
becomes ever more poignant, the productions have played theirs as friends conspire to trick
play becomes a comedy for us, a homosexual relationship, and Malvolio into believing that
because we know how it will all looked for similar undertones in Olivia is in love with him—
work out. We laugh as Sebastian is Olivia’s relationship with Cesario. and he, pompous and self-
mistaken for Cesario and Cesario for deluding, all too easily falls
Sebastian, causing comic confusion. Yet notions of sexuality were prey to their games. They fool
different in Shakespeare’s time. this somber puritan into
All seems about to turn dark, Close relationships between two dressing up in garish jesterlike
however, when Olivia, soon after men could be considered the ideal clothes (including yellow cross
marrying Sebastian believing him of friendship. Shakespeare may be garters) and smiling inanely
to be Cesario, comes to Orsino— exploring our double nature: the at Olivia, who employed him
only to find that Cesario, in what elements of “man” and “woman” in because of his seriousness.
seems a terrible betrayal, denies all of us. As Orsino says: “Cesario, He foolishly thinks the letter’s
all knowledge of the wedding come—/ For so you shall be while you words, “Some are born great,
and pledges allegiance to the are a man; / But when in other habits some achieve greatness, and
baffled Orsino. Within moments, you are seen, / Orsino’s mistress, and some have greatness thrust
all is revealed as Sebastian his fancy’s queen” (5.1.381–384). The upon ’em” (2.5.140–141) must
and Cesario appear together, and play’s subtitle, “What You Will,” may be for him. Yet the joke can
everyone stands in wonder as their be a message for us all to embrace begin to seem cruel—and in
remarkable likeness appears: “One love wherever we may find it. ■ his final humiliation, when the
face, one voice, one habit, and two trick is exposed, we almost
persons, / A natural perspective, The 2006 film She’s the Man moved sympathize with his parting
that is and is not” (5.1.213–214). the action to an American school called words, “I’ll be revenged on the
Illyria. Viola enters her brother’s school whole pack of you” (5.1.374).
The solution is simple. Olivia pretending to be male in order to play
stays married to Sebastian, and with the boys’ soccer team.
Viola can reveal herself as a woman
and marry her love Orsino. It is
neat, but the ambiguities of gender

WAR AND

LECHERY

CONFOUND ALL

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (1602)



208 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

DRAMATIS Seven years after the Trojan Hector sends a Troilus and Cressida
PERSONAE War began, Pandarus makes challenge to the are brought together
attempts to woo Cressida Greeks. Ulysses and by Pandarus, who
THE TROJANS the generals plot to encourages them to
Priam King of Troy. on behalf of Troilus. humiliate Achilles by
choosing Ajax to fight consummate their love.
Hector Eldest son of Priam
and leader of the Trojan army. with Hector.

Paris Brother to Hector and 1.1 1.3 3.2
Troilus, Paris has taken Helen Act 1 Act 2
as a lover, precipitating war. 1.2 2.2

Troilus A Trojan warrior, and Cressida feigns indifference The Trojans decide
youngest brother to Hector to Troilus, calling him a against returning
and Paris. He falls in love Helen to the Greeks.
with Cressida. “sneaking fellow.” However,
she secretly admits to
Pandarus Courtier and uncle loving him.
to Cressida.
A prologue announces that the purpose and expense of the
Andromache Wife of Hector. the story begins seven long war with the Greek army.
years into the Trojan War. Hector concedes that Helen,
Cassandra Sister to Hector, Troilus, son of King Priam of Troy, whose abduction started the war,
Paris, and Troilus. Cassandra the younger brother of Hector and must not be returned to the Greeks.
has the gift of foresight and Paris, is in love with Cressida, the
predicts the fall of Troy. daughter of a traitor. He employs Hector sends a message to
her uncle, Pandarus, to woo her for the Greek army challenging any
THE GREEKS him. Cressida appears dismissive warrior to a duel. Ulysses uses the
Helen Wife of Menelaus of of Troilus, but secretly admits to challenge to humiliate Achilles by
Greece, and lover of Paris. being attracted to him. announcing that the dull-witted
Ajax should fight Hector. Ajax is
Agamemnon Respected Outside the Trojan walls, the related to the Trojan princes by his
general in the Greek army. Greek camp is disorderly. Achilles mother, who is the sister of Priam.
refuses to fight, and Menelaus, their
Ulysses A philosopher. leader, lacks credibility as a warrior. Back in Troy, Troilus
Meanwhile, in Troy, courtiers debate successfully woos Cressida in
Nestor A wise old man. Pandarus’s home, where they

Achilles A legendary warrior
and pride of the Greek army.

Ajax and Diomedes Greek
warriors.

Cressida Pledges love for
Troilus but later proves
faithless.

Calchas Father of Cressida.
He has joined the Greeks.

Patroclus Achilles’ companion.

Thersites Commentator on
the war.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 209

Troilus gives Cressida Diomedes and Troilus fights with Ajax Troilus announces
his sleeve as a token of Cressida meet and and Diomedes. Hector and Hector’s death and
faithfulness. In return claims that revenge
are overheard by Achilles fight. against the Greeks
she gives him her Troilus, Ulysses, and will compensate for
glove. Diomedes Thersites. Cressida
takes Cressida away their loss.
from Troy, promising gives Diomedes
Troilus to treat her as Troilus’s sleeve and

she deserves. promises to meet
him the next night.

4.5 5.2 5.6 5.10

Act 3 Act 4 Act 5

3.3 4.7 5.3 5.9

Calchas begs Agamemnon Hector and Ajax Troilus refuses to hear Hector is attacked and
to exchange Antenor for fight in a duel of Pandarus and tears up killed by Achilles and
Cressida. Diomedes is sent honor, in which they
draw. Achilles is a letter he brings the Myrmidons.
to Troy to negotiate. angered. Troilus asks from Cressida.
Ulysses to take him to
Cressida’s tent.

spend an evening together. On the day of the duel, Ajax and The next morning, in spite of the
During the night, Calchas makes Hector fight, reaching an amicable warnings of his wife and sister,
a deal with the Greek leader draw. Achilles takes a dislike to Hector fights Achilles. He wins
Agamemnon to exchange a Trojan Hector and swears to kill him. At the battle, and the defeat wounds
prisoner of war, Antenor, for his night, after the fight, Troilus follows Achilles’s pride, prompting him
daughter, allowing Cressida to join Ulysses to Cressida’s tent, where to murder Hector with the
her father at the Greek camp. A she is also overheard by Thersites. Myrmidons, his gang of Greek
messenger, Diomedes, brings news Before Troilus can reveal himself, soldiers. Troy is forced to watch
of the exchange to Troilus who is he spots Cressida and Diomedes as Achilles drags Hector’s body
forced to hand over Cressida. becoming intimate. Cressida offers around the battlefield, and Troilus
Diomedes a sleeve, which was a resigns himself to seek revenge for
When she is returned, token of love given to her by Troilus. his brother’s murder. The play ends
Cressida is greeted, not Heartbroken and disillusioned, as Pandarus is rejected by Troilus,
unwillingly, with kisses by Troilus swears vengeance on and is left a cynical old man who
the Greek army. This prompts Diomedes and denounces Cressida promises to bequeath nothing but
Ulysses to conclude that she is a as false and unfaithful. diseases to future generations. ❯❯
flirtatious, dangerous woman.

210 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

IN CONTEXT T roilus and Cressida is a play In a 2009 production at the Globe,
about war and lust. Thought London, Laura Pyper played Cressida as
THEMES of as a problem play with a teenager in the process of discovering
Lust, war, betrayal, an intellectual tone, it is challenging herself and working out how to survive
honor, heroism to read and to perform. In the 17th in a world of men and war.
century, English poet John Dryden
SETTING claimed that the play was a “heap To add to this dearth of honor,
Troy, 12th century BCE of rubbish,” while modern responses the original cause of the crisis is a
tend to focus on the bitterness of woman who barely seems worth
SOURCES the characters. Critic A. D. Nuttall the effort. The characters spend
1598 The Iliad, Homer’s epic called it a “sick, clever play.” three acts debating Helen’s virtue
poem of the Trojan Wars, and the purpose of keeping her in
translated into English by The play is based on an epic Troy at the expense of soldiers’
George Chapman. tale of legendary men including lives. When Helen appears finally
Achilles, Hector, Ajax, Ulysses, in Act 3, she speaks little and
1385–86 Troilus and Criseyde Paris, and Menelaus. Shakespeare, makes exclamations about love-
by English poet Geoffrey however, challenges the reputations sickness: “Let thy song be love.
Chaucer. of these figures by deconstructing ‘This love will undo us all.’ / O
the idea of a “hero.” Paris is a vain Cupid, Cupid, Cupid!” (3.1.106–107).
1460–1500 The Testament of and selfish youth, Achilles a love-
Cresseid by Scottish poet sick rebel, Ajax a witless brute, and These are not the words of a
Robert Henryson, an imagined Menelaus a cuckold and a laughing woman for whom thousands of
sequel to Chaucer’s tale. stock. Troilus, a great warrior, is a Trojans and Greeks have sacrificed
melancholy lover, motivated entirely their lives. Helen and Paris
LEGACY by his infatuation with Cressida. represent the lecherous, selfish
1609 The play is described The only symbol of heroism is nature of love in this corrupt Troy.
in the Quarto as a comedy. Hector, who longs to face a worthy Helen’s infidelity to her husband
hero. However, Hector is murdered and decadent behavior with Paris
1679 English poet John by Achilles’s men while unarmed. also mirror Cressida’s disloyalty to
Dryden revises the play so With these amorous, apathetic, and Troilus. As Thersites reminds the
that the lovers die along with dishonorable soldiers, Shakespeare audience, the world is filled with
Diomedes, and Cressida is satirizes heroism in war. nothing but “Lechery, lechery, still /
faithful to Troilus. wars and lechery!” (5.2.196–197).
Women are angels, wooing;
1898 Shakespeare’s version Things won are done. Joy’s
is staged in Munich, the first
known performance anywhere soul lies in the doing.
since Shakespeare’s time. That she beloved knows
naught that knows not this:
1938 The play is staged in Men price the thing ungained
London by Michael Macowan
as a work of anti-war more than it is.
propaganda, with Thersites Cressida
as a cynical war reporter.
Act 1, Scene 2
2012 Two acting companies
perform the play at Stratford.
The RSC play the Greeks and
a New York-based company
play the Trojans. The contrast
in styles highlights cultural
differences between the sides.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 211

Our firebrand brother, worth in herself. This sobering fact and deformed commentator,
Paris, burns us all. makes the trauma of warfare in this Thersites, who understands the
play seem entirely pointless. This real value and cost of war. He cuts
Cry, Trojans, cry! Ah Helen, is doubly true for the Greek army, through the high rhetoric of honor,
and ah woe! which has no respect for its leader, and degree used by the Greek
Menelaus, and his motivation for generals with one fundamental
Cry, cry ‘Troy burns!’— seeking vengeance on Troy. truth: “All the argument is a whore
or else let Helen go. and a cuckold. / A good quarrel to
Cassandra Despite Hector’s belief that draw emulous factions and bleed
Helen is a disproportionately to death upon” (2.3.71–73). Again,
Act 2, Scene 2 expensive commodity, it is in “value” and “worth” are skewed
the interest of Troy to protect her and corrupted by lust and
The nature of value honor, and that of the men whose a hunger for war and glory.
During a debate about Helen, the lives were lost in her name. The
Trojans—Paris, Hector, and Troilus— economics may be askew in this The lovers and their go-between,
discuss her in terms of worth: city, but in Hector’s ideal world, Pandarus, predict their own
“Hector: Brother, she is not worth value and worth must be earned. reputations in posterity, in the ❯❯
what she doth cost / The holding. It is this that makes his death at
Troilus: What’s aught but as the hands of Achilles, whose Words, words, mere words, no
’tis valued? heroic worth is entirely unmerited, matter from the heart.
Hector: But value dwells not especially tragic. Both Troilus and Troilus
in particular will. / It holds his Hector, who hold idealistic views
estimate and dignity / As well about love and war, respectively, Act 5, Scene 3
wherein ’tis precious of itself / are disillusioned by the play’s end.
As in the prizer” (2.2.50–55). Neither Helen nor Cressida turns
out to be “worth” anything beyond
Troilus argues that something the tears and pain they cause to
becomes valuable when its cost others, and Hector’s own value is
is high. Cressida understands that desecrated by Achilles.
Troilus thinks this way, so she
refuses his advances in order to In the politically and morally
seem more valuable in his eyes. ugly world that Shakespeare shows,
However, Hector claims that the realist is the vulgar, illegitimate,
something has to have an intrinsic
value in order to be prized. It is
only Paris’s obsession with Helen
that makes her worthy of Troy’s
allegiance, rather than any inherent

In a 2006 production by German
director Peter Stein, the battle scenes
were staged on a steeply raked stage
that allowed the audience to follow
several fights simultaneously.

212 TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

same way that the war itself has as Cressid.” Pandarus seals the vow involves himself in the affairs of his
become a legendary quarrel about by exclaiming: “[...] let all pitiful / niece and Troilus, even when they
Helen of Troy. Familiarity with the goers-between be called to the wish him gone. At no point is he
story makes the scene in which the world’s end after my / name: call forced or cajoled into becoming
lovers pledge eternal faithfulness a them all panders. Let all constant their go-between. Troilus chooses
moment of ironic foresight. Troilus men be / Troiluses, all false women to hand over Cressida to Diomedes:
swears to be so constant to his Cressids, and all brokers- / between something he does not have to do.
love that the analogy “as True as panders. Say ‘Amen’” (3.2.196–200). As a warrior and prince, he ought
Troilus” shall be coined. In turn, to be more concerned about his
Cressida vows that, should she Although these outcomes are kingdom than his lover, like Hector
break her promise, she will inspire inevitable, Shakespeare offers the who actively chooses battle over
future generations to cry “as false characters the chance to change the pleas of his wife, Andromache.
their fates. Pandarus deliberately

Trojans v Greeks

Priam Menelaus
King King

Aeneas Father to Agamemnon
His commander His commander
Helenus
Antenor Son, a priest Patroclus Friends Achilles
His commander Companion to Warrior
Deiphobus
Son Achilles Ulysses
Warrior
Pandarus Go between Troilus
A lord Son Ajax
Warrior
Cressida Paris
His niece Son Nester
A sage
Cassandra Thersites
Daughter, a A commentator Diomedes
prophetess Leader

Andromache Married to Hector
Wife Son

Helen Trojan Calchas
Menelaus’s wife, kidnapped Greek Cressida’s father who
by the Trojans, living with Paris joined the Greeks, leaving his

daughter in Troy

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 213

Cressida seemingly embraces her Which genre? For their 2012 production, the
move to the Greek camp, allowing When it first appeared in print Ngakao Toa theater company moved
the generals and soldiers to kiss in 1609, the play was announced the action to the tribal Maori wars of
her in a way that prompts Ulysses as The Historie of Troylus and pre-European New Zealand. The play
to doubt her virtue. Although Cresseida. An introduction by the starts with a haka, or war dance.
Cressida struggles with guilt about publisher claimed that the play was
betraying Troilus, she fails to reject a comedy. To further complicate lover the very token that he gave to
Diomedes; she encourages him. matters, the First Folio lists the play her in exchange for her fidelity. At
These decisions are made freely, under the tragedies. However, the that moment Troilus loses faith in
and imply that the characters, only character to die during the love and loyalty. There is nothing
rather than fate or destiny, are play’s action is the heroic Hector. comical about this sentiment.
responsible for their own tragedies. The play is cynical in tone but,
with its subversive depiction of In the late 19th century, the
I am a bastard, too. I love legendary warriors and of the British scholar Frederick Boas
bastards. I am bastard begot, character of Helen, it seems to have recategorized the text as a
bastard instructed, bastard in a mischievous, darkly comic heart. “problem play,” meaning that it
is comic in structure but tragic
mind, bastard in valour, in While there is humor in the in tone and subject matter. Irish
everything illegitimate. situations these characters find playwright George Bernard Shaw
Thersites themselves in, the play is riddled sparked scholarly interest in the
with despair and disappointment. play in 1884 when he argued that
Act 5, Scene 8 Ulysses discusses the importance the subject matter “starts at the
of order in the army and attempts twentieth century.” In other words,
to teach Achilles about honor and it is a modern play expressing the
reputation, but all in vain. Achilles concerns of a new age. It is self-
would prefer to cheat his way to consciously cynical, and it refuses
glory by murdering Hector like a to provide the audience with
coward, rather than fight battles. characters and events that satisfy
Shakespeare forces the audience our sense of justice. As such, it is
to experience Troilus’s pain as he seen as one of Shakespeare’s most
witnesses Cressida offer her new bitter and disillusioned plays. ■

I SCORN TO CHANGE

MY STATE WITH

KINGS’

SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS (1593–1603)



216 SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

IN CONTEXT T he word sonnet comes ’Gainst death and
from the Italian sonnetto, all oblivious enmity
THEMES meaning a little sound. Shall you pace forth; your
Romantic love, platonic In Shakespeare’s time, it could praise shall still find room
love, jealousy, religion, sex be used to refer to any short Even in the eyes of all posterity
poem, but now it is limited That wear this world out to
SOURCES to poems of 14 lines with a the ending doom.
14th century Italian poet particular rhyme scheme.
Francesco Petrarch writes Sonnet 55
some of the first sonnets, Structure of a sonnet
expressing unrequited A typical Shakespearean sonnet rhythm and to draw a reader’s
love for an unavailable muse. has 14 lines, and each line attention to especially significant
is an iambic pentameter—that is, words or phrases.
LEGACY it has 10 syllables made up of five
18th century After more units (known as feet) in each of This sonnet has a clear structure,
than a century of neglect, which an unstressed syllable is which is created partly by its rhyme
Shakespeare’s sonnets followed by a stressed one, as in scheme. The first four lines (known
are championed by the “And look upon myself and curse as a quatrain) establish a situation:
Romantic poets John Keats my fate” (Sonnet 29). The lines the poet is unhappy. The next four
and William Wordsworth. have the following rhyming pattern: lines elaborate on this by giving
a b a b a b c d c d e f e f g g. reasons for his unhappiness. It is
1889 The Portrait of Mr. W. H., common for sonnets to change
a story by Oscar Wilde, is Using Sonnet 29 (see box direction in the ninth line; this
published. It suggests that below) as a typical example, close is known as the volta (Italian for
the sonnets are addressed examination shows that the poem “turn”). Here, the poet thinks of
to a boy player called Willie does not follow the pattern exactly.
Hughes. A longer version For instance, it would be natural
appears in 1921, 21 years to stress the first, not the second
after Wilde’s death. syllable of the first line, and in the
third line it is natural to stress
1958 British composer both “deaf” and the first syllable
Benjamin Britten’s Nocturne of “heaven.” The second and
for tenor and orchestra ends fourth lines fit the regular pattern.
with a setting of Sonnet 43. Variations like these enable the
poet to avoid a simple jog-trot
1960s–1980s The words
“art made tongue-tied by Sonnet 29
authority” in No. 66 become
a slogan for resistance to When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
censorship in communist I all alone beweep my outcast state, 
eastern Europe. And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate, 
1961 British singer Cleo Laine Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, 
records jazz settings of sonnets Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
composed by her husband, Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope, 
Johnny Dankworth. With what I most enjoy contented least: 
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
2012 Canadian musician Haply I think on thee, and then my state, 
Rufus Wainwright records Like to the lark at break of day arising 
his own settings of some of From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
the sonnets, including No. 29.
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings’.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 217

his friend, or lover (“thee”), which The Italian poet Francesco Petrarca In later Elizabethan times, the
cheers him up, and his happiness is (commonly known in English as sonnet form came frequently to
conveyed partly by the image of the Petrarch) wrote a series of sonnets be used for religious verse—love
lark rising from earth to heaven and addressed to a woman named Laura, poems addressed to God, as it were.
singing as it goes; line 11 has an whom Petrarch admired from afar. Shakespeare’s contemporary, poet
extra syllable in “arising,” which and cleric John Donne (1572–1631)
leads with no pause to the next line Juliet when Mercutio, thinking wrote a number of Holy Sonnets,
(an effect known as enjambment, that Romeo is still in love with and one of Shakespeare’s sonnets,
a continuation of a sentence from Rosaline, says “Now is he for the No. 146, is a religious poem. ❯❯
one line to the next). The poet’s numbers [verse rhythms] that
new happiness is conveyed partly Petrarch flowed in” (2.3.36–37). Happy air, remain here
by the emphatic rhythm of “sings with your living rays:
hymns at heaven’s gate,” where it The first English sonnets were and you, clear running stream,
is natural to stress both “sings” and written by Sir Thomas Wyatt and why can’t I exchange
“hymns.” Then the new situation the Earl of Surrey in the middle
is summed up in the final couplet, of the 16th century. Their poems my path for yours?
with stresses on both syllables in were included in a popular book Petrarch
“sweet love” and “such wealth,” and known as Tottel’s Miscellany, also
the poem comes to a triumphant called Songs and Sonnets, first Sonnet 227
conclusion with the emphatic published in 1557. Shakespeare
rhythms of its last line and the refers to this in The Merry Wives
contrast between the poet’s new of Windsor, in which a bashful
state of happiness in love with young man, Abraham Slender,
that even of kings. wishes he had a copy of it to
hand to help him in his wooing
Not all the sonnets have as of Mistress Anne Page. He says
clear a structure as this one. “I had rather than forty shillings I
had my book of songs and sonnets
Italian sonnets here” (1.1.181–182).
The first sonnets came from
medieval Italy, most famously What are sonnets about?
written by Francesco Petrarch Typically, sonnets are poems of
(1304–74). Typically they express romantic love, often directly
hopeless love for an inaccessible addressed to an object of love,
and idealized beloved. Shakespeare but over the centuries poets
refers to Petrarch in Romeo and have used the sonnet form for
many different purposes. It
So long as men can breathe has also been common to write
or eyes can see, a collection or sequence of
interconnected sonnets all
So long lives this, and this addressed to the same real or
gives life to thee. imagined person. For example,
Sonnet 18 English poet and soldier Sir Philip
Sidney wrote poems addressed
to his beloved calling himself
“Astrophil” and her “Stella.”
Sidney’s collection was published
as Astrophil and Stella in 1591,
five years after his death, and
many other poets imitated it
in a spate of sonnets from
1591 to 1597.

218 SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

Sonnet form in the plays So shalt thou feed on death, It is not clear whether Shakespeare
Few of Shakespeare’s sonnets that feeds on men, himself intended the collection
appeared in print until 1609, but to be published, and there are a
he had often used the sonnet form And death once dead, number of strange features about it.
before this date. Parts of his plays, there’s no more dying then. The title page reads not, as might
especially but not only in the early have been expected, “Sonnets,
part of his career, are written in Sonnet 146 by William Shakespeare,” but
the form of a sonnet. An obvious “Shakespeare’s Sonnets, never
example is the Prologue to Romeo his permission in a book called before imprinted,” which seems to
and Juliet. Shakespeare also uses The Passionate Pilgrim, which imply both that someone else was
sonnet form within the dialogue also includes three extracts from publishing them on his behalf and
of that play, most conspicuously in Love’s Labour’s Lost and other short that people had known of their
the first lines that Romeo and Juliet poems that may or may not be existence, and looked forward to
speak to each other (see box, below). by Shakespeare. their publication, for some time.

The first reference to the sonnets In 1609, a collection of 154 “Mr. W. H.”
comes in 1598, when Francis sonnets called Shakespeare’s Even stranger is the fact that the
Meres, in a book on contemporary Sonnets appeared in print. The book’s dedication does not appear
and other writers called Palladis 154 sonnets are followed by a longer over the author’s name, as is the
Tamia, or Wit’s Treasury, cryptically poem, “A Lover’s Complaint” (p.224). case with the poems Venus and
mentions “Shakespeare’s sonnets Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece,
among his private friends,” implying but over the initials “T. T.” of its
that he had written poems of love or publisher, Thomas Thorpe. The
friendship that came to be known dedication, laid out in the manner
about at least within a circle of of a tombstone, is puzzling in other
intimates. The following year, ways, notably in that the dedicatee
versions of two sonnets—Nos. 138 is also identified only by his initials.
and 144—made it into print without It reads: “To the onlie begetter of
these insuing sonnets Mr. W. H.
Romeo and Juliet’s first words all happinesse and that eternity
promised by our ever-living poet
Romeo wisheth the well-wishing
If I profane with my unworthiest hand adventurer in setting forth.”
This holy shrine, the gentler sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand That thou are blamed shall
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. not be thy defect,
Juliet
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, For slander’s mark was
Which mannerly devotion shows in this. ever yet the fair.
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss. The ornament of beauty
Romeo is suspect
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers, too? Sonnet 70
Juliet
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
Romeo
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do:
They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
Juliet
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.
Romeo
Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take. [He kisses her.]

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 219

The question of who is meant There is good reason to believe Sonnet 145 may have been written by
by “Mr. W. H.” is a long-standing that Shakespeare wrote his a young Shakespeare as he courted his
mystery in literary history. Some of sonnets, sometimes singly, future wife, Anne Hathaway. She came
the sonnets are clearly addressed sometimes in interrelated batches, from a prosperous family and lived in
to a man, or boy (“sweet boy,” over a long period of time. Probably this home outside Stratford-upon-Avon.
No. 108, “my lovely boy,” No. 126), the first sonnet he wrote—maybe
and it has often been supposed even his first attempt at verse—
that Thorpe is thinking of this Let not my love be called idolatry, is No. 145 (see p.220 for the full
person as the “begetter” of the Nor my belovèd as an idol show, poem), irregular in that it is written
sonnets. Two candidates are Henry in octosyllabics, that is, eight-
Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, Since all alike my songs syllabled lines instead of the usual
dedicatee of the narrative poems, and praises be ten. The reason it is believed to
and William Herbert, Earl of have been written so early is partly
Pembroke, dedicatee of the To one, of one, still such, that it is light in tone and not very
First Folio of 1623. But neither and ever so. sophisticated in technique, but
man was properly addressed as Sonnet 105 mainly that in the last two lines
“Mr.” and Southampton’s initials the words “hate” and “away” pun
are “H. W.,” not “W. H.” Also, on the name of the woman he
“begetter” might simply mean married when he was 18, Anne
the person who supplied the Hathaway. It is a wooing poem.
manuscript. Nobody really knows
what Thorpe meant—and trying It looks as if Shakespeare himself
to work it out now is, according to put the poems into the order in
poet W. H. Auden, “an idiot’s job.” which they are printed. Some stand
alone as independent poems, but ❯❯

220 SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of
Southampton, painted here in his
teens around 1590, has been proposed
as the unnamed young man to whom
Sonnets 1–126 are addressed.

Many other poems in this group When my love swears that
could equally well relate to a man she is made of truth
or a woman.
I do believe her though
others are related to one another The Dark Lady I know she lies,
in subject matter and fall naturally The last 26 poems include all
into groups of varying length. those that are clearly addressed That she might think me
to a woman, with whom the poet some untutored youth
The first 17 appear to be clearly has a difficult sexual Unlearnéd in the world’s
addressed to a young man who relationship. Some of these false subtleties.
is very dear to the writer but whom sonnets indicate that she is dark Sonnet 138
he is encouraging to marry and to in coloring, and even in character,
have children. Other poems up that she is a rival of the poet in run the whole gamut of love,
to No. 126 also relate to one or more his love for his friend, and that the from romantic idealism to brutal
young men with whom the poet poet loves her against his better sexual realism. For this reason, it is
has a close and loving, although not judgment. For this reason, they difficult to read them in one sitting.
necessarily sexual, relationship. have come to be known as the
Dark Lady sonnets, and many They include some of the most
fruitless attempts have been made beautiful and popular love poems
to identify a woman of the period in English, some of which might
who might fit the bill. equally be addressed to a male or
a female, young or not so young.
All aspects of love They tell of the power of love and of
Although all the sonnets are friendship to convey happiness, to
written in the same form, with transcend time, to confer a kind of
only minor variations, they are immortality on the loved one. “Shall
extremely varied in style and ease I compare thee to a summer’s day? /
of understanding. The poems also Thou art more lovely and more
temperate,” says the poet in No. 18,
Sonnet 145 while No. 116 is a great hymn to
love (see p.221, opposite).
Those lips that love’s own hand did make
Breathed forth the sound that said “I hate” Other poems are very different in
To me that languished for her sake; tone and the emotion they inspire
But when she saw my woeful state, in the reader. Some speak of rivalry:
Straight in her heart did mercy come, “Two loves I have, of comfort and
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet despair, / Which like two spirits do
Was used in giving gentle doom, suggest me still. / The better angel
And taught it thus anew to greet: is a man right fair, / The worser spirit
“I hate” she altered with an end a woman coloured ill” (No. 144).
That followed it as gentle day Some poems tell of disillusionment
Doth follow night, who like a fiend, and self-deception in love: “When
From heaven to hell is flown away. my love swears that she is made
of truth / I do believe her though
“I hate” from hate away she threw, I know she lies” (No. 138).
And saved my life, saying “not you.”

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 221

Sonnet 116 No. 129 expresses shame at
having yielded to lustful desire:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds “Th’expense of spirit in a waste
Admit impediments. Love is not love of shame / Is lust in action.”
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove. However, there is also celebration
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark of bodily desires. In No. 146, the
That looks on tempests and is never shaken; poet writes that the soul can be
It is the star to every wand’ring barque, enriched by bodily decay: “Then,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken. soul, live thou upon thy servant’s
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks loss, / Buy terms divine in selling
Within his bending sickle’s compass come; hours of dross.” In No. 151, he says
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, with exultant obscenity that: “thou
But bears it out even to the edge of doom. betraying me, I do betray / My
nobler part to my gross body’s
If this be error and upon me proved, treason. / My soul doth tell my body
I never writ, nor no man ever loved. that he may / Triumph in love; flesh
stays no farther reason, / But rising
No. 147 makes the point bluntly: “Canst thou, O cruel, say I love at thy name doth point out thee /
“For I have sworn thee fair, and thee not / When I against myself As his triumphant prize.” ❯❯
thought thee bright, / Who art as with thee partake?” In No. 147, he
black as hell, as dark as night.” writes with self-disgust of his In 2009, American director Robert
enthrallment to someone he feels is Wilson and Canadian songwriter Rufus
The poet’s complicated unworthy of him: “My love is as a Wainwright produced a pop-opera,
relationship with love is explored fever, longing still / For that which setting 25 of Shakespeare’s sonnets (in
in the sonnets. In No. 149, the poet longer nurseth the disease.” German) to a variety of musical styles.
abases himself before the beloved:

222 SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

In the closing lines of No. 151, the Reputation print again until 1640, in a book
poet leaves no doubt about what Unlike the narrative poems Venus published by John Benson that
part of the body he means by and Adonis and The Rape of omits eight of them, changes their
“flesh”: “Proud of this prize, / He is Lucrece, the sonnets were not a order, alters pronouns in three of
contented thy poor drudge to be, / publishing success, and the 1609 them so that they appear to refer to
To stand in thy affairs, fall by thy edition was not reprinted. The a woman rather than to a boy or a
side. / No want of conscience hold it sonnets (like the other poems) man, mangles others, gives some
that I call / Her ‘love’ for whose dear were not included in the First Folio of them titles such as “An Invitation
love I rise and fall.” of 1623. They did not appear in to Marriage” and “The Picture of
True Love,” and adds poems by
other writers. After this, the sonnets
were largely ignored for close to
150 years, with the result that critics
such as John Dryden, Alexander
Pope, and Samuel Johnson have
nothing to say about them.

Only in the late 18th century
did the sonnets come back
into circulation. The English
Romantic poet-critics John Keats
and William Wordsworth both took
the sonnets seriously and were
influenced by them in their own
work. Keats is said to have kept a
bust of Shakespeare next to his
desk for inspiration. In a letter to the
painter Benjamin Robert Haydon,
dated May 10, 1817, Keats wrote:

He was naturally learned;
he needed not the spectacles

of books to read nature.
He looked inwards, and

found her there.
John Dryden

(1631–1700)

Painted between 1595 and 1610,
the Cobbe Portrait is believed to be the
only image of Shakespeare drawn from
life. It was probably commissioned by
his patron and muse Henry Wriothesley.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 223

Love is not love /
Which alters when it
alteration finds (116)

But my five wits Religion and merit
nor my five senses can /
Dissuade one foolish heart The religious references in
from serving thee (141) Shakespeare’s sonnets reflect
both sides of a central doctrinal
Shakespeare’s love poems still strike a chord dispute of his time. The
with lovers across the world. Sonnets 116 and 141, reformist Martin Luther
in particular, are often read at marriages and civil (above) held that the key to
partnership ceremonies. salvation lay in faith alone.
This contrasted with Catholic
“I remember your saying that you poems from one male person doctrine, which held that good
had notions of a good Genius to another. This has also made works, prayers, pilgrimages, or
presiding over you. I have of late some readers prefer to think that the purchase of indulgences
had the same thought—for things in them Shakespeare is writing could increase an individual’s
which I do half at Random are of imagined situations rather chances of salvation. The poet
afterwards confirmed by my than from personal experience. takes from both traditions
judgment in a dozen features of Nevertheless, the most obviously when dealing with the value
Propriety. Is it too daring to fancy romantic of them have exerted of individual merit.
Shakespeare this Presider?” strong appeal. They have frequently
appeared in poetic anthologies. Sonnet 88 opens with the
Wordsworth, who was critical lines “When thou shalt be
of certain aspects of the poetry in Adapting the sonnets disposed to set me light / And
Shakespeare’s plays, famously wrote Many attempts, all unsuccessful, place my merit in the eye of
of the sonnet form that “with this have been made to rearrange the scorn.” Here, he appears to
key / Shakespeare unlocked his poems into an order that appears take the reformist line, holding
heart.” If so, responded fellow to be more meaningful than the that his merit is worthless.
poet Robert Browning “the less original. The density of style
Shakespeare he.” Commenting of many of the poems makes However, in No. 108, merit
on this exchange, Auden held that them difficult to set to music, is raised in a different way:
the artist is always both unlocking but there have been successful “What’s new to speak, what
his heart and dramatic. settings of a few of them in a now to register, / That may
variety of musical styles by express my love or thy dear
Victorian disapproval musicians as diverse as the merit?” Here, the poet seems to
Especially but not only in the classical composer Benjamin think merit far from worthless.
Victorian period, the poems’ Britten, the jazz arranger Johnny Moreover, he follows with
reputation has suffered from Dankworth, and the singer- “Nothing, sweet boy; but yet
homophobic distaste for the songwriter Rufus Wainwright. ■ like prayers divine / I must
fact that some of them are love each day say o’er the very
same,” alluding to the Catholic
practice of repeating the same
prayers daily.

224

THAT FALSE FIRE
WHICH IN HIS CHEEK
SO GLOWED

A LOVER’S COMPLAINT (1609)

IN CONTEXT I n the 1609 volume What a hell of witchcraft lies
Shakespeare’s Sonnets, the In the small orb of
THEMES final item was printed with a one particular tear!
Love, betrayal separate heading saying that it too
is by Shakespeare. It is a 329-line A Lover’s Complaint
LEGACY poem called “A Lover’s Complaint,”
1790 Irish Shakespearean written, like The Rape of Lucrece, long complaint, her lover’s
scholar Edmond Malone in the seven-line stanza form ultimately successful speech
suggests that the language known as rhyme royal. It was of seduction ending with the
of the poem indicates that not uncommon for collections tears of desire that brought
Shakespeare may have been of sonnets to conclude with about her downfall: “O father, what
attempting to emulate a complaint, or lament, of a a hell of witchcraft lies / In the
Edmund Spenser, author woman forsaken by her lover. small orb of one particular tear!”
of The Faerie Queen. Here, a nameless young woman,
abandoned by her irresistibly She fell, she says, and she
1991 In his book Motives of attractive but faithless young man, would fall again in the face of
Woe, John Kerrigan notes that also unnamed, bemoans her plight. such eloquent persuasion: “O that
the poem’s narrative triangle infected moisture of his eye, / O
of a young woman, older man, The poem is very different from that false fire which in his cheek so
and seductive suitor mirrors a the sonnets. It is written in a self- glowed, / O that forced thunder from
similar triangle in the sonnets. consciously old-fashioned and his heart did fly, / O that sad breath
artificial style and employs a series his spongy lungs bestowed, / O
2007 Brian Vickers argues that of distancing perspectives. A all that borrowed motion seeming
“A Lover’s Complaint” was not narrator merely sets the scene. owed / Would yet again betray the
written by Shakespeare, but After saying that he has seen a fore-betrayed, / And new pervert a
by John Davies of Hereford. love-lorn lass “Tearing of papers, reconcilèd maid.” ■
His conclusion is based breaking rings a-twain, / Storming
on computer analysis of the her world with sorrow’s winds and
poem’s vocabulary. As a result, rain,” he departs to let her tell her
it is omitted from the RSC’s story to “A reverend man that
Complete Works. However, grazed his cattle nigh.” But this
Vickers’ methods have since man also fades out of sight as the
been questioned. girl tells a story of seduction and
abandonment. Her complaint
contains within itself another

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 225

TRUTH AND
BEAUTY
BURIED BE

THE PHOENIX AND TURTLE (1601)

IN CONTEXT I n 1601, in a book by Robert Number there in love was slain.”
Chester called Love’s Martyr: Their mutual love was such that
THEME or Rosalind’s Complaint, “either was the other’s mine.” In the
The death of ideal love appeared a poem by Shakespeare third section, Love makes a funeral
called “The Phoenix and Turtle.” song: “To the phoenix and the
LEGACY dove, / Co-supremes and stars of
Many critics consider The poem falls into three love, / As chorus to their tragic scene.”
the poem’s ambiguities parts of mounting intensity. First,
unresolvable, but various it summons a convocation of The funeral song, known as a
attempts have been made to benevolent birds, with a swan as threnos, or threnody, is written in
decode its allegorical nature. priest, to celebrate the funeral rites an even more incantatory style
of a phoenix and a dove who have than what has gone before. Its five
1878 A. B. Grosart suggests fled “In a mutual flame from hence.” stanzas have three rhyming lines,
that the poem refers to a (“Turtle” here means a turtledove.) whose tone is grave simplicity:
relationship between Queen The birds sing an anthem in which “Beauty, truth, and rarity, / Grace
Elizabeth I and the Earl of the death of the lovers is seen as in all simplicity, / Here enclosed
Essex, who rebelled against marking the death of “love and in cinders lie. / Death is now the
the Crown and was executed constancy”: “So they loved as love phoenix’ nest, / And the turtle’s
in 1601. The phoenix was in twain / Had the essence but in loyal breast / To eternity doth rest. /
the queen’s personal badge. one, / Two distincts, division none. / Leaving no posterity / ’Twas not
their infirmity, / It was married
1930s American scholar Clara Truth may seem chastity. / Truth may seem but
Longworth proposes that it but cannot be, cannot be, / Beauty brag, but ’tis
reveals Catholic sympathies. Beauty brag, but ’tis not she. not she. / Truth and beauty buried
Others have suggested that The Phoenix and Turtle be. / To this urn let these repair /
the birds are Catholic martyrs. That are either true or fair. / For
these dead birds sigh a prayer.”
2006 Peter Ackroyd suggests
that the poem may have been This strange, mystically
written for the wedding in beautiful poem probably
1586 of the sister of Lord had meanings for its original
Strange, for whose company readers that are lost to us. Many
Shakespeare was working. unsuccessful attempts have been
made to interpret it as a religious
allegory or a celebration of the love
of a real married couple. ■

226

WITH SELFSAME HAND
SELF REASONS
AND SELF RIGHT
WOULD SHARK ON YOU

SIR THOMAS MORE (1603–1604)

IN CONTEXT I n 1753, the British Museum least four writers, including Chettle,
acquired a remarkable bequest Thomas Heywood, Thomas Dekker,
THEMES from the bookseller John and Shakespeare, not to mention an
Justice, religion, moral Murray. It was a manuscript called editor, known simply as Hand C.
fortitude “The Booke of Sir Thomas Moore”
and is a working draft of the play The power of the censor
SETTING Sir Thomas More dating from The subject of the play was a
London around 1600. The manuscript sensitive one: the Catholic martyr
contains the only known examples Sir Thomas More (1478–1535).
SOURCES of writing in Shakespeare’s hand, More rose from comparatively
c.1575 Nicholas Harpsfield’s aside from a handful of signatures. humble beginnings to become
biography of More, The life and King Henry VIII’s chancellor. He
death of Sir Thomas Moore. The manuscript is believed to was an opponent of the Protestant
show revisions to the text for a play Reformation and strongly against
1587 Holinshed’s Chronicles of originally written by Anthony Henry’s split from the Catholic
England, Scotland, and Ireland. Munday and, maybe, Henry Chettle, church. In 1535, he was executed
after it had been submitted to the for treason for his quiet refusal to
LEGACY official censor Edmund Tilney. The go along with the annulment of
1590s There is no record manuscript shows both Tilney’s Henry’s marriage to Catherine
of any staging of the play in interventions and the hands of at of Aragon and his subsequent
the 16th or 17th centuries. marriage to Anne Boleyn.
The fool of flesh must with
1922 The first known her frail flesh die Anne Boleyn was the mother of
performance of the play More the reigning queen, Elizabeth I, so
is a University of London a play that was favorable to More
student production. Scene 17 would be seen as undermining
Elizabeth’s legitimacy. This made
1960 An adaptation appears More a bold choice of subject matter,
on Austrian public radio. and it is not surprising that the play
was probably never performed in
1983 The BBC produces a the queen’s lifetime. The writers
radio version of the play, with are careful to steer around the issue
Ian McKellen in the title role. of Anne’s marriage, and Henry VIII
is never mentioned by name. The
2005 Nigel Cooke stars in an brunt of Tilney’s demands for cuts
RSC production of the play.

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 227

The German artist Hans Holbein
captured More’s intelligence and
dignity in this extraordinarily vivid
portrait of 1527, painted when More
was a rising star at Henry’s court.

came in the first third of the play
where Londoners riot against
foreigners. He appears to have been
most concerned over public order.

An unwieldy play bullied out by the rioters, More Moreover, More goes on, if the
The play’s failure to reach the stage tells them that this brings only king is driven to banish the rioters
may have been due to practical as the idea that bullying prevails: themselves, surely they would
well as political reasons. It has “Imagine that you see the wretched expect to be treated decently
59 speaking parts, which would strangers, / Their babies at their abroad: “Would you be pleased /
have severely taxed any theater backs, with their poor luggage, / To find a nation of such barbarous
company, with many actors playing Plodding to th’ ports and coasts for temper” (6.145–146).
three or more roles. Probably only transportation, / And that you sit as
the roles of Sir Thomas More and kings in your desires…What had More carries his constancy
perhaps the Earls of Shrewsbury you got? I’ll tell you: you had taught / through to his own death. He
and Surrey, could have been played How insolence and strong hand cannot change his mind and sign
by actors with no other parts. should prevail” (6.84–87, 90–91). the articles that recognize Anne
Boleyn and her heirs as legitimate.
More’s life is split into three More asks what will stop bullies Yet he calmly accepts his fate.
parts—his rise, his chancellorship, preying on them. “With selfsame “No eye salute my trunk with a sad
and his fall. The early part of the hand, self reasons, and self right, / tear,” More says to end the play
play shows More as Sheriff of Would shark on you, and men like as the axeman prepares to behead
London, and stresses his wisdom ravenous fishes / Would feed on him, “Our birth to heaven should
and moderation. When a group of one another” (6.95–97).  be thus: void of fear.” ■
Londoners rise in rebellion against
foreigners in their midst, More ends
the riot with quiet persuasion.

It is thought that the key scene
in this part of the play was written
by Shakespeare. It seems likely
that Shakespeare had not seen the
rest of the play and was simply
given a brief by the editor, since
there are characters he just names
as “other” or even “o,” and the entry
of More seems confusing. But what
he writes stands out in a generally
mediocre play.

Tolerance for foreigners
In Shakespeare’s script, More
calmly stands before the rioters
in St. Martin’s Gate. He makes
a passionate plea for the tolerance
of refugees. Painting a poignant
picture of the foreigners (strangers)

THE KI

MAN

1603–1613

NG S

230 INTRODUCTION

Shakespeare writes The Treaty of London The Gunpowder Plot Pericles, Prince of
Measure for Measure ends England’s war with to blow up Parliament is Tyre is written, and is
performed at the Globe
and Othello. Spain. Shakespeare is foiled. Ben Jonson’s
living in lodgings near Volpone is first Theatre.

St. Paul’s Cathedral. performed at The Globe.

1603 1604 1605 1607
1603 1605 1606 1607

Queen Elizabeth I dies King Lear and Timon Macbeth, Antony and Monteverdi’s
and is succeeded by her of Athens are written. Cleopatra, and All’s opera L’Orfeo
cousin James VI of Scotland Well That Ends Well is performed in
as James I of England. The lead in Lear is Mantua, Lombardy
created for the King’s are written. (in present-day Italy).
Men’s lead tragic actor,

Richard Burbage.

O n March 24, 1603, Queen Around this time, Shakespeare’s few things we do know is that,
Elizabeth I died after style changed. He moved away by 1604, he was renting a room
45 years on the throne. from the crowd-pleasing comedies, in the house of a Huguenot named
She was succeeded by her cousin romances, and histories of the later Christopher Mountjoy. We know
James VI of Scotland, son of Mary years of Elizabeth’s reign. Now he this because Mountjoy got into a
Queen of Scots, whom Elizabeth wrote fewer plays, but they were bitter lawsuit with his son-in-law
had beheaded 16 years earlier. One grander and darker. In the first and Shakespeare is mentioned
of James’s first acts on becoming three years of James’s reign, he in the legal documents.
king was to give Shakespeare’s wrote just six plays, five of which
company a royal patent to make were ambitious tragedies—Othello, Living perpetually in rented
them the King’s Men. King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and accommodation clearly brought
Cleopatra, and the uncompleted its stresses. So it may be that
By royal command Timon of Athens. Even Measure for Shakespeare, not under as much
This was a financial boost for the Measure was intense and morally pressure as in his younger days,
troupe, but it also added pressure. challenging. While Shakespeare took every chance to go home to
Now they not only had to please the was writing these great works, the Stratford and write in a calmer
general public; they had to please company had his impressive back- environment. He may also
the king and his courtiers, too. catalog to keep the theaters full. have had to leave London
In the 13 years between James when the plague returned.
becoming king and Shakespeare’s Escape to Stratford?
death, the King’s Men performed Nobody knows quite how On November 5, 1605, a very
for the court 187 times—more Shakespeare spent his time distant relative of Shakespeare,
than once a month. during these years. One of the Robert Catesby, was involved in
the most infamous Catholic attempt
to bring down England’s Protestant

THE KING’S MAN 231

Coriolanus is Thomas Thorpe The King James Henry VIII, or All is
written. The new publishes a collection Version, a new English True and The Two
Blackfriars Theatre translation of the Bible,
of 154 sonnets by is published in London. Noble Kinsmen
opens, but an Shakespeare. are written.
outbreak of plague
closes the theaters

soon after.

1608 1609 1611 1613
1609 1610 1612 1613

The Winter’s Tale Cymbeline and The Thomas Shelton James I’s daughter
is written. Shakespeare’s Tempest are written. translates into English Elizabeth marries
younger contemporary, some of Cervantes’ Don
Ben Jonson, is critical The latter is the Quixote, which may have Frederick V of
probably the last play inspired Shakespeare’s Bohemia.
of the play. Shakespeare writes
entirely by himself. “lost” play, Cardenio.

government, the Gunpowder Plot. the Blackfriars. This new theater lost play Cardenio, All Is True
The plot was foiled when a Catholic was very different from the Globe— (Henry VIII), and The Two Noble
lord was given a secret warning indoors and much smaller, so Kinsmen in 1613.
and tipped off the authorities. performances were almost entirely
They were told to search under by candlelight. The company The collaborations with
the Houses of Parliament, and there continued to perform at the Fletcher were Shakespeare’s
they found Guido (Guy) Fawkes Globe in summer, then they last plays. On June 29, 1613, the
sitting on 36 barrels of gunpowder. could play right through winter Globe Theatre caught fire during
Had Fawkes set them off, it in the Blackfriars. a performance of Henry VIII when a
would not only have blown up the theatrical cannon misfired and set
Parliament buildings but the nearby Shakespeare began to write the roof thatch alight. Everybody
Whitehall Palace and the royal plays suited to the more intimate escaped unhurt, but the theater
family too. Practicing Catholics space of the Blackfriars and its burned down. The Globe was
were already in a minority by facility for spectacular theatrical rebuilt ready for the following
this time, and the clampdown on effects, such as the storm and summer, but it appears that it
Catholics that followed effectively the flying spirits in The Tempest reopened without Shakespeare.
ended the Catholic challenge to and the statue coming to life in All we know about his life from
government in England. The Winter’s Tale. He was also that point on is that he wrote
collaborating with other writers nothing more and died just three
The last plays again—Thomas Middleton years later at home in Stratford
The King’s Men continued to (1580–1627) on Timon of Athens in on April 23, 1616, within a month
prosper, and in 1608 were able 1606, George Wilkins (1576–1618) of signing a document saying
to acquire a second theater, on Pericles in 1607, and John he was in “perfect health.” He
Fletcher (1579–1625) on the was 52 years old. ■

MAN PROUD MAN

DRESSED

IN A LITTLE BRIEF

AUTHORITY

MEASURE FOR MEASURE (1603–1604)



234 MEASURE FOR MEASURE

DRAMATIS Angelo accepts Claudio faces Angelo in return
PERSONAE responsibility for the execution for getting asks Isabella to
government of Vienna his betrothed, Juliet, sleep with him.
Duke Vincentio Governor while the Duke travels
of Vienna who disguises pregnant.
himself as a friar to observe to Poland.
how Angelo governs in his
absence. He later proposes 1.1 1.4 2.4
marriage to Isabella. Act 1 Act 2
1.3 2.2
Angelo Duke Vincentio’s
deputy, who is given the The Duke asks Friar Isabella asks Angelo
opportunity to govern Vienna. Peter to lend him a to spare her brother
He suggests that Claudio’s
death sentence could be friar’s habit so that he Claudio’s life.
overturned should his sister can disguise himself.
Isabella give up her chastity.
D uke Vincentio hands pregnant, and the pimps and
Escalus The Duke’s aide, power to his deputy bawds fear that they too will soon
who oversees and criticizes Angelo and announces suffer. On hearing of Claudio’s
Angelo’s puritanical approach that he is leaving the country on death sentence, his sister Isabella
to government. business. During the 14 years the leaves the nunnery she was about
Duke has been in government, to join to plead with Angelo to
Claudio Isabella’s brother, Vienna has become a lawless city, spare her brother’s life.
who is arrested and given a where pimps and prostitutes thrive.
death sentence for getting his The Duke secretly plans to observe Isabella is escorted by Lucio
betrothed, Juliet, pregnant. how the puritanical Angelo governs who encourages her to argue her
in his absence. He assumes the brother’s case. Angelo remains
Isabella A novice nun who is disguise of a friar in order to move unmoved by Isabella’s argument,
called to plead for her brother’s around the city unrecognized. but he asks her to return the next
life. She is determined to save day. She comes unaccompanied
Claudio, as well as preserve Once in power, Angelo enforces and Angelo presents her with a
her chastity. forgotten laws. Claudio is arrested chilling ultimatum: he will spare
for getting his wife-to-be Juliet her brother’s life on the condition
Lucio A brash busy-body
who delights in the scandals
plaguing Vienna. He provokes
the Duke’s displeasure with
his defamatory gossip, and is
forced to marry a prostitute.

Mistress Overdone The
keeper of the brothel who
discovers that Angelo intends
to close down her business.

Mariana Once betrothed to
Angelo, but he refused to
marry her. She takes Isabella’s
place in Angelo’s bed, and so
tricks him into marriage.

THE KING’S MAN 235

The disguised Duke The disguised Duke Isabella accuses Isabella is
arranges for Mariana tells Isabella that Angelo of reunited with Claudio
to sleep with Angelo in Claudio is dead. and receives a marriage
corruption before proposal from the Duke.
place of Isabella. the Duke.

Act 3 4.1 4.3 5.1 5.1
3.1 Act 4 4.4 Act 5
5.1
4.3

The disguised Duke A pirate’s head is News of the Duke’s Reprieving his initial death
overhears Isabella’s sent to Angelo in
place of Claudio’s. return reaches Vienna. sentence, the Duke marries
accusations
against Angelo. Angelo to Mariana.

that she sleeps with him. Isabella the cover of darkness, so that idea that the Duke has observed
is distraught, but Angelo reminds Angelo will believe he has slept everything while in disguise.
her that no one would believe her with Isabella and spare Claudio. When Mariana confirms that it
were she to report his proposal. was she who slept with Angelo, the
The Duke’s plan is successful Duke, who has returned disguised
Isabella visits her brother in but Angelo is still resolved to as a friar once more, supports her
prison and tells him of Angelo’s execute Claudio. The disguised story. The Duke is unmasked
behavior. Though Claudio is Duke intervenes by having the by Lucio and Angelo begs for
appalled, he questions her head of a condemned prisoner sent execution; he is surprised when
commitment to her chastity when to Angelo in place of Claudio’s. The Mariana pleads to spare his life,
his life is at stake. The disguised Duke does not share his plan with and Isabella joins Mariana in her
Duke overhears their conversation Isabella, leading her to believe that plea. The Duke grants their wish
and ministers to each of them. He her brother has been beheaded. on the condition that Angelo marry
tells Isabella that all is not lost, and Mariana. Having reunited Isabella
suggests a cunning solution. He Vincentio stages his return to with her brother, the Duke asks for
will arrange for Mariana, Angelo’s Vienna, and praises Angelo for his her hand in marriage—twice! ❯❯
ex-fiancée, to sleep with him under good government. Isabella accuses
Angelo of corruption; she has no

236 MEASURE FOR MEASURE

IN CONTEXT I n the opening scene, Duke The virtuous character of Isabella
Vincentio reveals to Escalus is played here by Flora Robson in a
THEMES his plan to leave Vienna, production in 1933. In Whetstone’s tale,
Justice, morality, lending Angelo “all the organs / she is a chaste maid; in Shakespeare’s
power, sex Of our power” (1.1.20–21) to rule in play, she is about to enter a nunnery.
his absence. He is keen to hear
SETTING Escalus’s opinion of his plan: “What Testing times
Vienna think you of it?” (1.1.21). He is also Angelo’s job will not be easy,
eager to know his companion’s for law and order have all but
SOURCES estimation of Angelo himself: disappeared in Vienna. Having
1565 Shakespeare may have “What figure of us think you he passed responsibility to Angelo,
been familiar with Giraldi will bear?” (1.1.15–16). In asking so the Duke confides in a friar that:
Cinthio’s Italian novella many questions, the dramatist is “We have strict statutes and most
Hecatommithi. However, he readying his audience to observe, biting laws, / The needful bits and
introduced Mariana and the evaluate, and pass judgement curbs to headstrong weeds, / Which
“bedtrick.” In the source upon Angelo’s behavior. Angelo’s for this fourteen years we have let
material, the Isabella figure reaction to being “Dressed in a slip… / And Liberty plucks Justice
sleeps with the Angelo little brief authority” (2.2.121) will by the nose, / The baby beats the
character, and marries him. be a concern throughout the drama. nurse, and quite athwart / Goes
all decorum” (1.3.19–31).
1578 Shakespeare made Shakespeare builds a sense
use of George Whetstone’s of anticipation around Angelo’s During the Duke’s time,
English tragicomedy Promos arrival. By the time Vincentio Vienna has become a city where
and Cassandra. announces “Look where he comes” criminality and prostitution are
(1.1.24), the audience is sure to be rife; and slanderous allegations are
LEGACY curious about this mysterious even made about the Duke’s own
1818 The poet Samuel Taylor figure with whom the Duke seems behavior: “Ere he would have
Coleridge writes of the play somewhat obsessed. Angelo shows hanged a man for the getting a
that it is “the most painful” respectful reticence at first to hundred bastards, he would have
of Shakespeare’s works. taking control of “Morality and paid for the nursing a thousand”
mercy in Vienna” (1.1.44); he asks
1836 Richard Wagner that “there be some more test made
composes a two-act opera, of [his] metal” (1.1.48) before he
Das Liebesverbot (The Ban of assumes this powerful role. Little
Love), which follows the story does he realize that the Duke will
of Measure for Measure. be testing him throughout the rest
of the drama.
1950 In a thought-provoking
twist, the director Peter Brook Some rise by sin, and some
instructs the actress playing by virtue fall.
Isabella to pause for as long as Escalus
possible before joining Mariana
to plead for Angelo’s life. Act 2, Scene 1

1970 In another approach
to this problem play, Estelle
Kohler’s Isabella turns to the
audience in despair following
the Duke’s proposals in John
Barton’s production staged at
Stratford-upon-Avon.

THE KING’S MAN 237

(3.1.380–383). The puritanical The law hath not been dead, in the way of compassion when
Angelo would seem a prime though it hath slept. he sentences Claudio to death for
candidate for restoring moral order Angelo having had sex with his wife-to-be
in a city that has become diseased. outside of wedlock: “’Tis one thing
The Duke recognizes that having, Act 2, Scene 2 to be tempted… / Another thing to
neglected his authority for so long, fall” (2.1.17–18). His conviction
he would prove a tyrant were he to drop of blood and compassion: would remain steadfast were it
try to enforce order anew; far better, Lucio professes that “Some report not for the sudden entrance of the
he thinks, to have Angelo “in a sea-maid spawned him, some virtuous Isabella into his life. Like
th’ambush of [his] name strike home” that he was begot between two Angelo, Isabella has a reputation
(1.3.41). While Angelo will in time stockfishes. But it is certain that for “stricture and firm abstinence”
prove to be a hypocrite, the Duke when he makes water his urine is (1.3.12). Her first exchange with
will prove a Machiavellian operator. congealed ice; that I know to be a nun expresses both her moral
true” (3.1.372–375). fortitude and her readiness to
Abuse of power live by a strict set of rules; she is
Various characters pass comment While Angelo may not be surprised to hear, for example, that
on Angelo’s character during the the monstrous figure of Lucio’s the votarists of Saint Clare do not
course of the play. The Duke notes imagination, he proves to have little live by “a more strict restraint”
that Angelo is “precise” (1.3.50), (1.4.4). In different circumstances,
and that he “Stands at a guard with Angelo and Isabella might find ❯❯
envy, scarce confesses / That his
blood flows, or that his appetite / Early 17th-century Vienna, shown
Is more to bread than stone” in this engraving, is described as a
(1.3.51–53). The gossipy and lawless and immoderate city in need
salacious Lucio presents an image of a firm hand. The neglectful Duke
of Angelo that drains him of every chooses exacting Angelo for the task.

238 MEASURE FOR MEASURE

This early 19th-century engraving
depicts the moment in Act 5, Scene 1
when Mariana takes off her veil: “My
husband bids me; now I will unmask.”
Unveiled, she denounces “cruel Angelo.”

Sweet sister, let me live. anxiety. “If he had been as you and the tested gold, / Or stones, whose
Claudio you as he, / You would have slipped rate are either rich or poor / As
like him, but he, like you, / Would fancy values them; but with true
Act 3, Scene 1 not have been so stern” (2.2.66–68). prayers, / That shall be up at
At other times her speeches remind heaven and enter there / Ere
that they have much in common, but Angelo of his shared humanity: “Go sunrise” (2.2.153–157). Is Isabella’s
the context in which they first meet to your bosom; / Knock there, and “bribe” completely innocent, or
is crucial in defining the dynamic ask your heart what it doth know / is there a sense in which she
of their relationship. Isabella finds That’s like my brother’s fault?” manipulates her womanliness as
herself before a figure of immense (2.2.140–142). Ultimately, her words Lucio has instructed her to? Her
authority, and faces the challenge have the desired effect—to shame brother had confidence in her
of persuading him to overturn the Angelo into reconsideration: “O, it chances of getting his death
death sentence he has placed on is excellent / To have a giant’s sentence overturned because he
her brother. Two strictly principled strength, but it is tyrannous / To believed that “in her youth / There
individuals must find it within use it like a giant” (2.2.109–111). is a prone and speechless dialect /
themselves to forgive a sinful act. Such as move men” (1.2.170–172).
Shakespeare lends Isabella a Persuasive power
powerfully persuasive voice. Her The question for readers and Whether Isabella “moves”
speeches suggest a keen intellect audiences is whether it is Isabella’s Angelo, or whether he discovers
and a compassionate heart. She words alone, or also her physical unknown passions within is a
finds ways to prick Angelo’s appearance that affect Angelo. matter of debate. Either way,
conscience, to unearth doubts and With Lucio and the Provost present, Angelo moves from being a law
Angelo maintains his image of enforcer to a corrupt abuser of
the stern authoritarian, but his power: “I have begun, / And now I
behavior alters dramatically when give my sensual race the rein. / Fit
Isabella returns as instructed for thy consent to my sharp appetite. /
their second meeting, in private. …Redeem thy brother / By yielding
When she returns, Isabella up thy body to my will, / Or else he
promises to “bribe” (2.2.149) must not only die the death, / But
Angelo, but as she goes on to thy unkindness shall his death
explain “Not with fond shekels of draw out / To ling’ring sufferance”

You bid me seek redemption
of the devil.
Isabella

Act 5, Scene 1

(2.4.159–167). Having been Isabella powerless. She knows THE KING’S MAN 239
indecently propositioned by Angelo, that she is in the right, but to
Isabella retorts: “I will proclaim whom should she complain? Problem play
thee, Angelo; look for’t. / Sign me a Isabella is trapped. In the story
present pardon for my brother, / Or from which Shakespeare borrowed Shakespeare does not have
with an outstretched throat I’ll tell for his play, the Isabella character Isabella respond to the Duke.
the world aloud / What man thou does, in fact, sleep with the deputy, Is it to be assumed that
art” (2.4.151–154). However, she is but Shakespeare’s incarnation says Isabella is speechless and
in a vulnerable position—Angelo “Then Isabel live chaste, and overcome with joy at the
is a powerful man and she has no brother die” (2.4.184). Shakespeare prospect of marrying this
witnesses on whom to draw. provides her a way out of this high ranking official, who
situation through the comic device has returned to Vienna and
Power corrupts of the “bedtrick,” by which Angelo exercised his authority by
Angelo’s response is chilling. sleeps with his ex-fiancée, helping to reveal Angelo’s
He replies: “Who will believe believing it to be Isabella. abuse of power? Or does
thee, Isabel? / My unsoiled name, Isabella’s silence convey her
th’austereness of my life, / My Having escaped Angelo’s distrust of men? Her brother
vouch against you, and my place bed, Isabella now finds herself hoped that she would lose
i’th’state, / Will so your accusation the subject of the Duke’s desires her virginity to save his life;
overweigh” (2.4.154–157). Angelo when he recovers power. The Angelo made her the focus of
calculates that his power makes Duke offers her his hand in his lust; and the Duke allowed
marriage on two separate her to grieve over her brother’s
After reuniting Isabella occasions at the close of the play: death when he knew him still
(Naomi Frederick) with her “Dear Isabel, / I have a motion much to be alive. Opinion remains
brother, Vincentio (Simon imports your good, / Whereto, if divided over whether Isabella
McBurney, who also directed this you’ll a willing ear incline, / What’s should or should not take the
2005 production) asks for her hand: mine is yours, and what is yours is Duke’s hand at the close; her
“Say you will be mine” (5.1.491). mine” (5.1.533–536). There is no silence will always invite
response from Isabella. ■ various interpretations.

Measure for Measure is
often referred to today as
being one of Shakespeare’s
“problem plays.” Although
the play ends with the
prospect of three marriages,
the atmosphere of the final
scene, and the play in general,
is far from buoyant and
uplifting. This a dark comedy,
shaped by Shakespeare to
shock rather than enchant.

BEWARE

MY LORD OF JEALOUSY

IT IS THE GREEN-EY’D

MONSTER

OTHELLO (1603–1604)



242 OTHELLO

DRAMATIS Iago reveals to Brabanzio Othello is chosen to Cassio gets drunk
PERSONAE that Othello has eloped lead the Venetian and brawls with

Othello General in the with Desdemona. army to defend Roderigo, for which
Venetian army, also known Cyprus against a he is dismissed from
as the Moor. the army by Othello.
Turkish fleet.
Iago Othello’s “ancient,” or
standard-bearer, who is 1.1 1.3 2.3
envious of Othello’s position. Act 1 Act 2
1.3 2.1
Desdemona Othello’s bride,
who is disowned by Brabanzio Othello is put on Othello defeats the
after her wedding. Her name trial by Brabanzio Turkish enemies and
means “ill-fated.” and the Venetian is greeted by his new
court. Desdemona
Cassio A lieutenant in and Othello profess wife in Cyprus.
the army, who is wrongly their love for one
accused by Iago and Othello
of committing adultery another and are
with Desdemona. forgiven by all
except Brabanzio.
Emilia The sole companion
of Desdemona and much W ith the help of the Iago plagues Othello with
neglected wife of Iago. love-sick gentleman suspicions about Desdemona’s
Roderigo, the soldier relationship with Cassio. In the
Roderigo A suitor to Iago plots to thwart the Moorish meantime, Iago persuades
Desdemona, spurred on by general of the Venetian army, Roderigo, who is in love with
Iago to seek vengeance Othello. Iago tells Brabanzio that Desdemona, to challenge Cassio
against Othello. his daughter, Desdemona, has to a fight. Their brawl wakes
eloped with Othello. Brabanzio Othello, who dismisses Cassio
Brabanzio The father of demands justice from the Venetian from the army. Cassio pleads with
Desdemona and former court. After hearing Desdemona’s Desdemona to persuade Othello to
companion of Othello. defense, the law favors Othello, who forgive him, causing the Moor to
must now speed to Cyprus suspect his wife of infidelity.
Montano The governor to prevent a Turkish invasion.
of Cyprus, who is to decide Desdemona insists upon meeting Iago has his wife Emilia steal
Iago’s fate at the end of Othello in Cyprus once he has a handkerchief that was given to
the play. defeated the Turks. Desdemona by Othello. He plants
it in Cassio’s bedchamber and
Bianca A courtesan who
adores Cassio. He does not
reciprocate the affection.

Lodovico Venetian
ambassador to Cyprus,
cousin of Desdemona.

Graziano A noble Venetian
who arrives in Cyprus
with Lodovico.

A clown He argues in the
street with Cassio.

THE KING’S MAN 243

Iago plagues Othello with Othello loses his Othello believes that Heartbroken and guilty,
Desdemona’s apparent temper and strikes Cassio has been Othello apologizes to
Desdemona without murdered on his Cassio, who is still alive,
infidelity. Othello’s grief command. and kills himself. He dies
causes him to have an explanation. next to Desdemona.
epileptic fit.

4.1 4.1 5.1 5.2

Act 3 Act 4 Act 5

3.3 4.1 4.2 5.2

Cassio pleads with Iago plants Othello threatens Othello chooses to
Desdemona to help Desdemona’s Emilia in an attempt to kill Desdemona
him get his job back handkerchief in himself, suffocating
but Iago convinces Cassio’s chamber. He learn about Cassio’s her with a pillow.
Othello to interpret stages a conversation visits to Desdemona. She Emilia denounces
with Cassio about a Iago and is killed by
their meeting as woman named Bianca denies all accusations. her husband, who is
adultery. Othello in such a way that immediately arrested.
swears to punish Othello believes them
Desdemona and to be talking crudely
Cassio with death. about Desdemona.

weaves a plot to make Othello grows restless at his lack of telling Emilia that she has killed
believe that Desdemona gave it progress in wooing Desdemona. herself. When the others enter
to Cassio as a token of love. Iago persuades him to kill Cassio. the chamber to inform Othello of
During their struggle, Cassio fatally Roderigo’s death, they discover
Iago continues to weave his wounds Roderigo, who confesses Desdemona’s body and demand an
web of deceit around Othello, his part in Iago’s plot. explanation. Emilia admits taking
telling him that Cassio has the handkerchief. Iago stabs Emilia
admitted committing adultery with At the same time, Othello to stop her betraying him further,
Desdemona. Othello is consumed wakes Desdemona from her sleep. whereupon Othello immediately
by jealousy, refusing to speak with He asks her to pray for forgiveness repents of his actions. He asks
Desdemona. Othello suffers an for what she has done. He can then forgiveness of all present, and out of
epileptic fit, after which he resolves murder her with a clear conscience. rage drives his dagger into Iago who,
to kill Cassio and Desdemona. Desdemona swears her innocence, although wounded, is not killed.
but he smothers her with a pillow, Othello stabs himself and dies by
When Desdemona’s cousin, whereupon Emilia enters and Desdemona’s side, leaving Cassio
Lodovico, arrives as an ambassador accuses Othello of murder. in control of the Venetian army. ❯❯
from Venice, he sees Othello strike Desdemona revives briefly, falsely
Desdemona in public. Roderigo

244 OTHELLO U nlike the original story himself refers frequently to his
of “A Moorish Captain,” black heritage, which he blames for
IN CONTEXT which rarely mentions making him quick to anger and to
it, Shakespeare makes Othello experience jealousy. Othello belies
THEMES extremely conscious of his race. the stereotype in all his conduct
Jealousy, loyalty, Black characters in Elizabethan except for his rage and suspicious
betrayal, love drama are often devilish, cruel nature, which prompt Emilia to
individuals, like Aaron in Titus accuse him of being “the blacker
SETTING Andronicus. Othello is the first devil” (5.2.140).
16th-century Venice sympathetic black character on the
and Cyprus Elizabethan stage. The audience Othello the military hero
sympathizes with his plight, and Not everyone characterizes
SOURCES Desdemona clings desperately to Othello in racial terms. He is
1565 Un Capitano Moro (A her love for “the Moor.” often judged by his military
Moorish Captain), a tale by the prowess. Before he is called
Italian author Giraldi Cinthio, Othello the Moor before it by Brabanzio’s complaint,
which Shakespeare may have Iago and Roderigo are openly the court is in discussion about
read in Italian, or in a French vicious in their racial attacks on choosing Othello to lead the attack
translation from 1583. Othello. Othello is introduced to the on the Turks off the coast of
audience through the eyes of Iago Cyprus. Shakespeare makes it
c.1600 Arrival of a Moorish in crude racial and sexual terms. clear that Othello’s merit speaks for
delegation at the Elizabethan He is described as a “black ram” itself within the Venetian hierarchy.
court to promote an Anglo- mounting Brabanzio’s “white ewe” His calm level-headedness is
Moroccan alliance. (1.1.88–89). When Shakespeare
wrote the play, darkness of skin, Nineteenth-century Irish painter
1603 The 1570 Turkish attack along with physical deformity Daniel Maclise captures a troubled
on Cyprus, documented in The and non-Christian heritage, marriage. Othello broods while
History of the Turks by English were popularly associated with Desdemona looks up at him pleadingly,
historian Richard Knolles. immorality and savagery. Othello clutching the cursed handkerchief.

LEGACY
1604 The earliest recorded
performance of Othello is held
at Whitehall Palace.

1660 Margaret Hughes plays
Desdemona, becoming the
first woman to perform legally
on the English stage.

1816 Gioachino Rossini’s
opera Otello, loosely based on
Shakespeare, opens in Naples.

1825 Ira Aldridge is the first
black actor to play Othello on
the London stage.

1887 The opera Otello by
Giuseppe Verdi is first
performed in Milan.

1930 The black actor and
singer Paul Robeson plays
Othello at the Savoy in London.

The Moor is of a free and Desdemona as a way of extorting THE KING’S MAN 245
open nature, money and extra hands to support
his scheme to undermine Othello. Ira Aldridge
That thinks men honest that Roderigo compulsively follows
but seem to be so, Iago’s instructions in the hope In 1825, American actor Ira
that it will bring him closer to Aldridge became the first
And will as tenderly be Desdemona. Iago also manipulates black person to play Othello on
led by th’ nose the audience by divulging his a London stage. Born in New
As asses are. scheme in soliloquies. He justifies York in 1807, Aldridge moved
Iago his contempt for Othello with two to Europe when he found
uncorroborated arguments: that acting opportunities hard to
Act 1, Scene 3 Othello has slept with his wife, come by in his native country.
Emilia, and that Cassio has stolen He was just 18 years old when
evident when he defends himself his promotion to captain. Curiously, he first took the role of the
against Brabanzio’s accusations Iago’s warning to Othello about the Moor. Aldridge received
that he kidnapped Desdemona. “green-eyed monster” is one that he favorable reviews for his
cannot heed himself. It is a cruel performance, although the
Othello’s tone and experience, irony that both Othello and Cassio praise was tinged with racist
compared with Desdemona’s hold Iago in the highest of esteem, assumptions. One critic wrote
rebelliousness and the fact that bestowing on him the title “honest.” that he “delivers the most
she still resides with her father, difficult passages with a
suggest a significant age gap It is Iago who convinces Othello degree of correctness that
between the couple. Nevertheless, that Desdemona is false and Iago surprises the beholder,”
Othello’s love for Desdemona is who suggests that Othello “strangle suggesting that the critic
sincere, and it is this sincerity that her in bed, even the bed she hath had been skeptical of a
makes him vulnerable to Iago’s contaminated” (4.1.202–203). black actor’s ability to
machinations. Othello is brought perform such a feat.
down from a justified position of Jealous Iago
strength and respect to a savage, When Othello swears to take Aldridge went on to play
unjustified, and bitter end all vengeance on Cassio, he makes a the title roles of King Lear
because he could not control vow that has a ritualistic flavor and Richard III in a long career
his jealousy. The respect and to it. He speaks in terms of oceans on the European stage. In an
love with which the Venetians and the heavens, while Iago inversion of the usual practice
regard Othello is made clear by calls on the stars to witness his with Othello, Aldridge would
their shock when he is discovered commitment to serving his master. ❯❯ sometimes take on roles as
with Desdemona’s body at the end. white men, using make-up to
This was not a man they imagined O, I ha’ lost my reputation, “white up.” Although he never
succumbing to anxiety, paranoia, I ha’ lost the immortal part returned to the US, Aldridge
and murder. of myself, and what remains was seen as an inspirational
figure among black American
is bestial! actors. He died in 1867 while
Cassio on tour in Poland.

Act 2, Scene 3

“Honest” Iago
Manipulative, cruel, and motivated
by hatred and jealousy, Iago uses
Roderigo’s unrequited love for

246 OTHELLO

Set in a modern army, the
award-winning 2013 National Theatre
production in London imagined Iago
(Rory Kinnear) and Othello (Adrian
Lester) as long-time comrades.

The nature of this exchange, and roles. Othello’s dependence on A husband’s jealousy
the fact that Othello calls it a and vulnerability to Iago’s deceit, Strip away the Venetian court,
“sacred vow” (3.3.463), has led critics coupled with Iago’s ambiguous the social hierarchy, and the
to characterize it as a sinister echo motivation and manipulative skill, military setting, and at the heart of
of the wedding ceremony between make them a dynamic and even this play is a story about a husband
Othello and Desdemona, which the disturbing couple, who drag one and wife separated by a malicious
audience is not invited to see. As another down into a pit of conman. With its grand opening
well as making Iago his accomplice psychological horror because scenes in the political world of law
in Cassio’s murder, Othello promotes neither one can control his jealousy. and warfare, the play’s domestic
him to the position of lieutenant. From the 18th century on, leading focus may seem strikingly
Now Iago has replaced Desdemona, actors performing the play began incongruous. Shakespeare narrows
figuratively, and Cassio, literally, in to double up and alternate the roles his focus gradually through the
Othello’s life. of Othello and Iago. In a famous action so that the final scene takes
example from the Victorian era, place in a bedchamber. That the
In spite of Iago’s villainy, the English actor Henry Irving and Venetian army, politicians, and
character receives as much American actor Edwin Booth lords spill into this same room
attention as Othello. Historically, alternated roles in a production reminds the audience how
actors have competed for audience at the Lyceum Theatre in London. vulnerable the private life of a
acclaim when performing these public figure like Othello truly is.
To acknowledge that this tragedy
is triggered by jealousy is to admit
something fundamentally insecure
about human trust and, most
disturbingly, about love.

Where does this jealousy come
from? After hearing her defense,
Brabanzio disowns Desdemona and
warns Othello that, having deceived
her own father, she is likely also to
be false to her husband. The seeds
of suspicion are sown in Othello’s
imagination from the first act of the
play. However, it is really Iago who
baits and encourages Othello’s
mistrust of Desdemona. Iago’s four
most powerful words are “look to
your wife” (3.3.201).

Jealousy and envy eat away at
the core of this play. Brabanzio,
Cassio, and Roderigo all experience
some kind of envy that reflects and
orbits the central jealousy between
Iago and Othello. The image of a
bright-eyed monster feeding and
slowly growing fat is sickly and

THE KING’S MAN 247

This fellow’s of perishing, of other men “tast[ing] The American actor and singer Paul
exceeding honesty, her sweet body” (3.3.351), and of Robeson played Othello on the London
And knows all qualities Cassio stealing her lips so that stage in 1930, opposite Peggy Ashcroft
with a learned spirit... she is “stolen.” Othello accuses as Desdemona. At the time, it was still
Desdemona of being a strumpet rare for black actors to play the role.
Othello and whore. This preoccupation
with carnal imagery culminates overshadowed by its subject
Act 3, Scene 3 in an analogy in which he matter: a man who is sexually
compares his wife’s genitals jealous of his wife. This, in
disturbing. The monster is a to the gates of hell. Bradley’s view, was something
demonic entity that possesses profoundly objectionable and
its host and takes over its life. Many Shakespearean tragedies morally repulsive. ❯❯
Iago plants a small suspicion in revolve around a character’s central
his general’s mind, feeding it and unfixable flaw. In this case,
slowly until Othello is physically the tragedy comes from green-eyed
incapacitated by an obsession jealousy that was born, nursed,
with his wife’s infidelity. Throughout and nurtured in Othello’s own
the play, jealousy is described imagination. The jealous “nature”
as wicked, a plague, and as that he argues was inherited from
something damned. his Moorish ancestors becomes,
by this logic, Othello’s tragic flaw.
Othello’s fervid imagination The evil seeds that Iago sows
is tainted by carnal images, which thrive so virulently in Othello’s
manifest themselves in his use mind and body that in the end
of bodily rhetoric. He speaks of there is nowhere else for them
Desdemona’s flesh rotting and to grow but to reach out and
destroy Desdemona.

This very specific tragic flaw
has not always been considered
a satisfying topic for a great
tragedy. In the early 20th century,
the British Shakespeare scholar
A. C. Bradley complained that the
tragic aspects of the play were

Portraying Othello Critics have famously disagreed slitting his throat and dying
in their responses to the character with fierce bodily convulsions.
of Othello. In 1937, the critic Salvini performed the part in
F. R. Leavis argued that the Italian, even on occasions when
character is inherently savage, the rest of the cast spoke
and only barely manages to cover English, which led to him being
his uncivilized nature until he known as the Italian Moor.
gives in to instinct. On the other
hand, romanticized readings of Prior to the late 20th century,
Othello characterize him as an Othello was played by white
honorable man rather than an actors such as Orson Welles
unprincipled savage. In the (pictured) wearing dark
1870s and 80s, the Italian actor make-up, a practice now
Tommaso Salvini interpreted obsolete. An exception was in
the Moor as a hot-blooded and a racially inverted production in
passionate but noble hero. He 1997 in Washington DC, when
performed Othello’s suicide by Patrick Stewart played a white
Othello in a black nation.

248 OTHELLO

Faithful wives Yet she must die, else she’ll reputations. Iago’s accusations
Both Emilia and Desdemona are betray more men. against Desdemona are sufficient
depicted as women who loyally Othello to cast her entire character into
follow and obey their husbands. doubt. This is echoed in Cassio’s
Desdemona’s loyalty to Othello is Act 5, Scene 2 comments to Bianca. He calls her
clear in her submissiveness to his a “bauble,” implying that her moral
will. She follows him to Cyprus, While the women display loyalty laxity makes her unworthy to be
tends to him when he appears to be to their men, the men themselves his bride.
ill, apologizes for being the object of are far more concerned with
his scorn even after he strikes her appearances, which are a major Damnation
in public, and finally dies when he driver in their actions. Cassio and What does it mean to be damned?
wishes her to. In a similar fashion, Othello are both preoccupied with And what constitutes a damnable
Emilia obeys Iago’s will when she their reputations. Cassio’s name sin? These are questions that
steals Desdemona’s handkerchief is tainted by his late-night brawl Shakespeare has his characters
at his bidding. with Roderigo, for which he is struggle with throughout the
dismissed from his service under action of the play.
The difference between the Othello. Cassio’s lament for his
women becomes apparent at the reputation early in the play’s action Othello frequently uses the
play’s close when Desdemona foreshadows Othello’s far more word “damn” in reference to
refuses to name her murderer, and sinister concern over his honor. Desdemona, and even tells her
Emilia denounces Iago. But the that she is “double-damned”
result is the same—they are both While the military men grow (4.2.38) by her deceit. Damnation
murdered by their husbands and fearful over their honor, the women is associated with hellfire and
their faithfulness goes unrewarded. suffer attacks on their sexual eternal punishment, which is
Desdemona’s helplessness in the suited to the Catholic characters
face of Othello’s accusations and of the play. Because of the dishonor
Iago’s manipulation is counteracted and sinfulness of Desdemona’s
by Emilia, whose love for her alleged infidelity, Othello considers
companion emboldens her to speak it his duty to murder her “else she’ll
out against Othello and to accuse betray more men” (5.2.6). Her
her husband of villainy even when infidelity is what he calls “the
Iago holds a dagger to her throat. cause” that spurs him on to
It is Emilia who travels with seek her death.
Desdemona, comforts and supports
her when she is abandoned by
her father and, later, her husband.
Emilia also encourages Desdemona
to consider herself an equal to
Othello. She asks “have not we
affections, / Desires for sport, and
frailty, as men have?” (4.3.99–100).
In contrast to her husband’s
relationship with Othello, Emilia
is fiercely loyal to Desdemona,
and her dying words are spent
in defense of her companion.

French tenor Roberto Alagna and
Albanian soprano Inva Mula took the
roles of Otello and Desdemona in a 2008
production of Verdi’s Otello. The villain
Iago is cast in a lower, baritone voice.