The Ways Families Are Presented in Shakespeares Plays - Essay Example

? The Ways Families Are Presented In Shakespeare's Plays Insert Insert Grade Insert 28 October The Ways Families Are Presented In Shakespeare's Plays Introduction Shakespeare’s work has continued to stand the test of time by attracting readership and commendations from all over the world. He wrote an array of books that are generally classified into: comedy, history, tragedy and poetry. His dramatic plays like Othello and the famous Romeo and Juliet have continued to dominate stage plays in top theatres of the world’s major cities. Some literary critics point out that one of the characteristics of Shakespeare in his plays is that he has managed to relay characters with distinct attributes throughout the plays. It is this characteristic of diversity that may have been brought out in the families as portrayed by the writer in his famous works. Family relations in most of his work are very dramatic in some instances and in other instances very harmonious and admirable to the reader. Critics argue that this may have been influenced by how family life was like at the times of Shakespeare and of which has changed with time. However, it is evident that a common denominator in all these plays is the lack of harmony in family relationship as brought out by characters that are in one way or another belonging to a certain family. This paper refers to Shakespeare’s two plays: King Lear and Romeo and Juliet to illustrate the issue of family in different perspectives as discussed below: Fighting brothers The tense relationship between brothers is portrayed in Shakespeare’s literary works much often. There is always a conflict or some form of infighting between brothers of the same bloodline. Some of the analysts may observe that it is the writer’s way of creating drama in his plays, but the underlying factor is that brothers are portrayed as having intense rivalry. A good example is that of Edmund in King Lear and his plot to destroy Edgar. It is very cruel the way he does it and wants to cover it up. He wants the throne even though he is not entitled to: ‘Edmund the base Shall top the legitimate. I grow. I prosper. Now gods stand up for bastards!’1 Unthankful Daughters This is one of the most controversial topics that many readers and observers have dwelt on. Some have even suggested that it is about how the writer viewed women or their place in the society. The writer seems to portray daughters in family as burdens to the parents who do demand a lot but are not ready to be grateful when any form of favor is extended towards them. For instance, in King Lear, the two lady characters, Goneril and Regan, are very ungrateful to the king. We see that even after their father trusts them, at the expense of their other sister; they leave him in the cold while they are grumbling about a man they want. Their deception can sometimes involve use of colorful language: ‘Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty, Beyond what can be valued rich or rare’2 The Disobedient Child In the cases already discussed above, there is some form of disobedience or revolt against the parent that may not be necessarily correct. The writer portrays children to be very disobedient to their parents in most cases by not heading advice or following directions. As seen in the play King Lear , it very shocking that the king’s daughter are even ready to use flattering words or expressions to trick their father into trusting or believing their innocence making their father love them more than their sister who always tells the truth. Marriage Shakespeare’s venture into the topic of marriage leaves a bad and a good taste in the mouth of the reader all in one stride. Sometimes he portrays marriage as a romantic dream of every youthful character and in other instances marriage is full of conflicts and sometimes even leads to death of one of the spouses. This is because there are a lot of infidelity and property ownership issues among the couples that creates enmity eventually. Through the plays Romeo and Juliet and King Lear; there is a certain urge to compete or find a good wife or husband. Romeo and Juliet have to go through various obstacles to get married at last. The two sisters in King Lear also seem to be in a competition to marry a man they all seem to be attracted to and this leads to disastrous grumble that they even ignore the plight of their father. The issue of the attitudes and stereotypes associated with intermarriage of couples from different races is also brought out in a negative way. The writer always points out to a certain danger that comes with marriage and husbands are always suspecting that their wives are promiscuous. Women The writer’s portrayal of women in family is clearly illustrated through his plays. Goneril is one of the women characters in King Lear who can illustrate this. Sometimes, she is not aware of the deceit that is going on between the men she lives with but always wants to help create peace and coexistence in the family. In other instances, women are very cunning and always know what they want. This is relayed in a good way by the character Juliet in the book Romeo and Juliet. She knows that it is her time to get a husband but she is restricted by her late father’s wishes on the choice of her lover and she does well to help her lover through this obstacle. We see that she further comes to the rescue of an innocent male character when she appears in court as a lawyer even though she has not studied it (Hylton 1993). Mixed Parenting The writer portrays parents as sometimes insensitive to their children’s needs although sometimes they can be caring and wish good for their children. The youth are always in conflict with their parents especially when it comes to relating with the opposite sex or finding the right spouse. Parents are sometimes over protective of their children and in most cases their daughters because they feel they might land in the wrong hands or they deserve a richer man than the one they are courting. A good example here is the way Juliet of Romeo and Juliet is handled by her parents. There is that characteristic suspicious attitude of a parent that is concerned that the youthful child might be going astray (Hylton 1993). Masculinity Men in Shakespeare’s families are seen to be trying to exercise a lot of masculinity. They seem to separate themselves from the bond of family whereas they always want to enjoy the benefits of the family as they remain outsiders. Whether in form of husbands, sons or brothers they have continued to want to dominate their female counterparts. They want to believe that women have no or little place in the society even though they depend on them for several needs and support. The man in of the family is always domineering but always ends up losing or being destroyed in most of the plays written by the author. Edmund and the king in King Lear are a clear manifestation of this. Family Bond The characters in the several plays have adopted a way of bonding with their family members. There is the use of descriptions such as flesh and blood to describe how the members feel they own themselves. A good example is how Lear describes her daughters and even talks of her son in good light to show the bond in the bloodline. Sometimes this comes out as if they are some sort of property, but it may also portray how he was ready to stand by them even when they did what was not right in the eyes of others. The greater family ownership sense is, therefore, one of the positives derived from Shakespeare’s literary works that is quite complicated. Romance Romantic relationships are a characteristic of the writer’s comedy acts. The couples who are striving to form a young family seemingly are sharing a loving relationship and are ever longing for each other. This is illustrated by the romance between couples like Romeo and Juliet among others in the play Romeo and Juliet. This is indeed the best area where the writer is bent on promoting the importance of relationships that are bound to lead to formation of families. Despite all the obstacles the couples have to face like resistance from their parents and relatives, the couples have a happy ending. This is used by the writer to illustrate that love is greater than any barrier and if you love somebody you have to stand by her or him no matter the circumstances you might find yourselves into. In addition, Shakespeare's portrayal of youths who seem to love each other at a younger age is quite fascinating although it may relay some truth in it: ‘ROMEO She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste, For beauty starved with her severity Cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, To merit bliss by making me despair: She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow Do I live dead that live to tell it now.’3 Family Blessings Shakespeare explores the issue of blessing that is associated with elder members of the family. Children are a gift to their parent but they must also be obedient so that they obtain the blessings of their parents. The issue of blessings comes into play every time when a family member is about to make a decision on a social issue. Interestingly, this is also another source of conflict between the youthful characters and their parents when it comes to marriage as discussed above. Parents are not ready to bless relationships they do not approve or that seem to conflict with their own interests. This is because the writer might also have wanted to create deadlocks to prolong the plays through resulting drama. Parents or elder family members are seen to take advantage of this by not being ready to provide the blessing when needed when the resulting relationships do not seem to favor their way of thinking or even when they do not obtain material benefits from them. This formal blessing therefore results in conflict, but is widely explored by the writer in his works. Conclusion It is, therefore, evident that Shakespeare has relayed family relationships in both good and bad light. The above discussion finds out that the author’s books are full of daughters who may be stubborn or sometimes good but misunderstood; brothers and sons who want to get everything their way without involving their family; wives who are caring and can also be scandalous and lastly; husbands who are domineering and very secretive but want to control everyone in the family with an iron fist. This is probably the reason why there are always conflicts in the family because everyone has his or her own objectives that may not go down well with another’s. To conclude, it is important to note that the writer dwells largely on the issue of family in most of his works. Most analysts attribute this back to the time the writer was involved and the events of that time. His portrayal of marriage and society is also another issue that is being drawn back to his time since most of the issues have clearly changed with time. However, a family is even today full of diversity and, therefore, can still take some of the forms portrayed by the writer in his famous plays or books. The writer may be over pessimistic in his portrayal but readers should also appreciate that sometimes it is not always true that families will have happy endings. Bibliography Hylton, J 1993, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, viewed 24 October 2012, Shakespeare, W 1860, King Lear, Torrey Brothers Publishing. New York. Read More