Getting at the Truth in Three Shakespearean Plays - Essay Example

Getting At The Truth in Three Shakespearean Plays Every work of fiction worth its salt has a truth concealed in it. As the story unravels in a bookor on stage and screen, the truth is arrived at, otherwise the story turns out drab and boring, resembling one in which prince and princess meet, fall in love, marry and live happily ever after. Who can derive entertainment from such? Not even a child. The great dramatist, William Shakespeare, the master of suspense creates mysteries in all his plays – comedies and tragedies alike, hiding their solutions and bringing them to the light when the time is ripe. The genius that Shakespeare was enables him to reveal the truth in manifold ways – subtle and graceful such that when it finally dawns on the readers or the audience or even on the other characters in the play from whom the truth is hidden at the beginning, it comes naturally and understandably. They say to no one in particular, “Hmm, I thought as much…” For purposes of analysis on how the truth came out in a story, three of Shakespeare’s tragedies are chosen, namely “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, the most popular of Shakespeare’s tragedies, “Othello – The Moor of Venice”, one of the most outstanding of Shakespeare’s plays and “King Lear”, the most highly-regarded of Shakespeare’s tragedies. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, a substantial citizen of that small but busy market town in the heart of the rich agricultural country of Warwick. John Shakespeare kept a shop and dealt with wool and other products, gradually acquiring property. As a youth he acquired the trade of gloves and leather worker. John married Mary Arden, daughter of his father’s landlord. The third of their eight children was William. He was sent to free grammar school which provided basic education in Latin learning and literature and a little knowledge of Greek. There is little documentation for Shakespeare’s boyhood. The most important record is a marriage license issued November 22, 1562 to permit William Shakespeare to marry Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior. 1592, the first reference to Shakespeare as an actor and playwright was available. Documents indicate that in 1598, he was “a principal comedian” and in 1603, he was a “principal tragedian”. Shakespeare’s literary activity seems to have been almost entirely devoted to the theater. “In an anthology by Francis Meres, many playwrights are mentioned but Shakespeare is the only name whose plays are listed. From his acting and playwrighting, Shakespeare seems to have made considerable money. He put it to work, making a lot of investments on Stratford real estate. On April 25, 1616 he was buried within the chancel of the church at Stratford” (Wright & Lamar, 1967). The story of Hamlet goes thus. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is informed by the castle guards that a ghost resembling his dead father habitually appears in the battlements. Hamlet resolves to meet the spirit and learn thereby the truth surrounding his father’s death. Meeting the ghost at an ensuing nightly visitation, his worst fears are confirmed. The late king’s brother, Claudius is the perpetuator of the crime. Claudius has married the Queen, Hamlet’s mother and has ascended the throne. Claudius has poisoned the king while he slept. After the spirit disappears, Hamlet leaves but not before his followers are sworn to secrecy and revenge (Bloom, 2004) . Hamlet is seized with madness, perhaps largely feigned, whereby he may cover his plans. He writes incoherent, impassioned letters to his lady-love, Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, a court dignitary. Meanwhile a band of traveling actors arrive at the castle and a play of Hamlet’s choosing is presented before the court (Goddard & Bloom, 1986). The play has to do with the murder of a Venetian duke whose wife later married the murderer. During the play, Hamlet observes the face and actions of his uncle who blanches at the realization of his own crime. It is here where the truth first emanates from its hiding place. Hamlet no longer doubts what the spirit has told him and leaves to plan his vengeance. Meantime it is at this point where he slays Polonius who is mistaken for the king. Hamlet’s punishment is exile to England. This is entrusted to two of his former schoolmates who are also ordered to kill him but who are slain themselves. Hamlet returns to Denmark only to discover that Ophelia, his lady-love is about to be interred. Before her death, Ophelia has turned insane and the course of her senseless wanderings, falls into a stream and is drowned. Hamlet is beside himself with grief. He jumps into her grave and later fights with Laertes, the dead girl’s brother who vows to kill Hamlet. King Claudius, seeing the hatred of Laertes for Hamlet makes use of it to work Hamlet’s undoing. He invites Laertes to engage in a dueling match (supposedly friendly). Hamlet takes up the challenge. The king prepares a poisoned drink for his nephew should the latter escape the tipped foil of Laertes. The Queen unwittingly toasts her son with the poisoned drink while Hamlet, in turn, wounds Laertes with the latter’s poisoned blade. The Queen dies from the drugged wine. The young man men make peace with each other before they finally breathe their last. With his remaining strength, Hamlet manages to stab to death his evil, treacherous uncle, the King. How does Shakespeare uncover the truth in this most popular tragedy of his? At the very onset of the story, the King, father of Hamlet is dead and the people who survive him have no inkling of who is responsible. Even Hamlet himself is left with mere suspicions. Then an apparition is seen among the castle’s battlements. The ghost and Hamlet meet and the latter is apprised of the dastardly manner of his father’s death. This is not yet a truth to be readily believed. Hamlet doubts that the spirit may not be that of his father but that of the devil himself. So he adapts a wait- and- see attitude and thinks of an iron-clad way to get to the matter. His utilizing the band of strolling actors would provide conclusive evidence to nail down the culprit and it did. The play Hamlet ordered them to stage was very similar in circumstances to those surrounding the death of his father. As the play progresses, Claudius runs true to form, he blanches, thus proving to Hamlet is now fully convinced, he can now proceed to refine his plan for revenge. His plan, however is stymied by this accidental killing of Polonius and his aborted exile to England. These complicate matters and the tale takes on an unforeseen twists: Ophelia becomes insane and dies. Her brother also appears at her funeral to serve as chief mourner. Still another truth comes to the fore: Hamlet has been feigning madness all along. The play’s viewers or readers are led to rationalize that the pseudo- insane role taken by Hamlet has an ulterior motive which enabled him to work out his plan for vengeance without suspicions. Besides, how could a madman possibly conceive of a surefire plan and execute it with daring and finesse? Hamlet has been adjudged the best of men and the worst of men. Mark van Doren in his introduction to the play states that something in his personality renders him superior to decision and incapable of acting. His antic disposition has been analyzed as both a sign of abnormality as a device for seeming to be mad. One judgment is as good as another. Very little can be said that will be untrue of this brilliant and abounding young man. The next brainchild of Shakespeare to be considered is “Othello, the Moor of Venice”. Othello is one of the darkest and most passionate of the plays of the Bard of Avon. It tells about the nature of love, friendship and betrayal. Set in Venice and the exotic island of Cyprus, the play narrates the tale of Othello, the Moor and Desdemona who dares to love him, against the backdrop of war and the quest for power. Other characters, Iago and his wife Emilia enter their lives. The plot is filled with conflicting passions and cunning lies caused by jealousy and the mad powers of the imagination (Kaplan, 1958). In the opening scene, the antagonist Iago complains that his commander has bypassed him for the promotion to Lieutenant in favor of the handsome Cassio. Iago resolves to take vengeance. He asks his friend, Roderigo to tell Brobantio (Desdemona’s father) that his daughter, Desdemona has left to marry Othello of whom Barbantio disapproves. Brabantio confronts Othello and they take the matter to the Duke. The Duke has summoned Othello, assigning him to sail to Cyprus to stop a Turkish invasion there. The Duke also gives permission to Desdemona to travel with Othello. When they reach Cyprus, the threat is gone. Iago tells Roderigo to get Cassio drunk and draw him into a street fight. Iago has his revenge on Cassio when Othello strips Cassio of his rank for misbehavior. Next, Iago encourages Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead in his behalf. Iago also hints to Othello that Cassio is Desdemona’s lover. Believing Iago and overcome with jealousy, Othello promotes Iago and enlists his aid in doing away with Cassio and Desdemona. Iago plants Desdemona’s handkerchief in Cassio’s room and Cassio later gives it to Bianca, his mistress. Othello, believes that the handkerchief in Bianca’s possession is his proof of his wife’s infidelity. Iago convinces Roderigo to kill Cassio but the latter wounds Roderigo instead. When Iago stabs Cassio in the leg, Cassio cries out. Othello, hearing Cassio’s cry, thinks that Iago has killed him. He returns home to kill Desdemona. Iago, upon discovering the wounded Cassio, accuses Bianca of causing her lover of the injury while he quietly slays Roderigo. Othello reaches the sleeping Desdemona, kisses her to wakefulness and accuses her once more. She protests that she loves him and declares her innocence but he smothers her instead. Before Desdemona dies, Emilia, Iago’s wife defends her and realizes that her husband is behind it all. Othello tries to kill Iago who kills Emilia and flees. Othello then commits suicide as Iago is seized and taken away to be tortured. “Othello” is one of Shakespeares’ outstanding tragedies. It also has perhaps the simplest plot of any of his plays. There are no real sub-plots, only very brief comic interludes and what happens from Act 2 to Act 5 takes place in a period of some thirty six hours. In Othello, evens happen in a shorter space of time than is usual with Shakespeare. The classical Greek writer, Aristotle recommended that the play should have what he called “unity of time, place and action”. He argued that the action of a play should not take longer than four hours. Excluding the first act which serves as a prologue, “Othello” comes closer than most Shakespearean plays. The effect on the audience is to make the tragedy more intense. It follows, therefore, that the audience need not wait too long before the truth comes out of the dark. This brings one to an explanation of Aristotle’s term “hamartia”. “Hamartia” is the Greek word that describes what many people refeer to as the “tragic flaw” of the hero of Greek tragedy. Hamartia has a complex meaning which includes “sin, error and missing the mark”. The “mistake” of the hero plays a significant role in the plot of the tragedy. The logic of the hero’s fall into misfortune is determined by the nature of his particular kind of hamartia. In “Othello”, hamartia is evident in the unreasonable jealousy of the character Othello. Othello’s belief in Desdemona’s adultery is literally illogical and unfounded since there is no occasion when it could have transpired. Desdemona and Cassio traveled to Cyprus on different and separate ships. From that moment on there is no time when the two were together. The fact does not only make Othello’s jealous hard for the viewer to believe in, it shows it to fall short of being insane: the villain Iago makes him believe what is clearly impossible yet Othello, maddened by jealousy cannot see it. Sometimes a viewer would think Othello is stupid to be swayed by the evil of Iago, but Iago is a villain and truly acts like one. In the last three acts, the plot moves with almost no interruption towards its tragic conclusion. At the start of Act 3, Othello is happily in love with Desdemona, yet his happiness is about to be ruined. Seeing Cassio with Desdemona, Iago hints at an adulterous relationship between the two, although he has no hard evidence to prove it. When Othello demands that Iago prove Desdemona’s guilt, Iago speaks to Bianca in such a way that Othello thinks he is speaking about Desdeona. He then orders Iago to kill Cassio while he goes about killing Desdemona. Fully convinced of his wife’s unfaithfulness, Othello verbally abuses his wife in front of others who are shocked at the changes in the noble and powerful personage. At this point, it is important to describe the nature of Desdemona’s love for Othello. From beginning to end, she was faithful and true to her husband. Reviving after Othello’s attempt to finally choke her, she declares herself guiltless, but saying as she dies that Othello is innocent of her death. Desdemona’s love for her husband is a TRUTH evident from the start, with Othello alone being blind to that truth. That her relationships with Cassio and Emilia are that of pure friendship is another truth not needing to be contested is still another truth. The greatest truth of all- that Desdemona is not guilty of unfaitfulness, is accepted by Othello when it was too late to do anything. It was Emilia herself who defended Desdemona. When Othello sees the truth in Emilia’s statement, he tries to kill Iago, but Iago kills Emilia and flees. Othello condemns himself and commits suicide. After Othello kills Desdemona, Emilia, shocked by what he has done tells him he has done great wrong in suspecting his wife. Emilia and the wounded Cassio are able to persuade Othello of the truth before they die. It is only at this moment when that truth sinks in but then it was too late. Despite his flaws and faulty decisions, mostly due to the machinations of Iago, Othello is almost fanatically loyal to the state he serves. When he is sure he has been betrayed, he makes a moving speech bidding farewell to his “occupation”. In his final speech, Othello speaks of his great loyalty to the Venutian state which he has disgraced by murdering his wife and of his terrible mistake before stabbing himself as Iago is taken away to be tortured. What a waste of lives! That our hero, Othello and those of the tow virtuous women, Desdemona and Emilia. Despite his race and the color of his skin, Othello is described as a very good soldier to make it to the top as a Commander. He is possessed of nobility of character and great beauty of speed having an inspiring effect on his men. This point is made clear by Desdemona when she speaks of her husband thus: “I saw Othello’s visage in his mind”. The two could have lived happily ever after. Shakespeare’s dark tragedy, “King Lear” begins with the fictional king of England (King Lear) handing over his kingdom to daughters Regan and Goneril who he believes love him truly. He intends to divide his time equally with his daughters escorted by a hundred of his faithful knights. He is angered by his youngest daughter, Cordelia, in the belief that she does not love him as do her older sisters as well as Kent, the servant who attempts to defend her. Cordelia becomes Queen of France when the King proposes to marry her. On the other hand, Edmund the illegitimate but favorite son of the Earl of Gloucester is set to ruin his elder brother’s reputation by tricking his father into believing that Edgar wants to kill him. The ungrateful Goneril has plans of driving her guest and father away from her house. Kent has disguised his indentity in order to serve King Lear and wins the King’s respect by defending his name, Goneril offends her father and dismisses half of his knights while Lear has second thoughts about Cordelia who he deems is not that disrespectful after all. King Lear decides to leave for Reagan where he hopes he will be treated more kindly. The King next instructs Kent to deliver several letters to Gloucester. The reader learns of possible conflict between the sisters Goneril and Regan; while Edmund further manipulates his brother Edgar and the Earl of Gloucester learns from Edmund his brother’s intention to kill their father. The father is convinced that Edmund is not telling a lie. Kent and Oswald (Goneril’s steward) get into a fight. Kent is placed in the stockade. This only goes to show how low the daughters regard their father. Edgar on the other hand, alone and disguised describes his fate of living in hiding. The king complains to Regan of how Goneril has hurt him. After consulting with Goneril, Reagan allows their father to stay with her but without a single follower. It is possible for the King of France to invade England. Kent sends a messenger to Cordelia to keep her aware of her father’s plight. King Lear braves the elements against a storm (symbolic of his tortured soul). Gloucester secretly informs his traitorous son Edmund that the French Army is poised to invade England. This ensues Gloucester’s future suffering which raises potential conflicts between Regan and Goneril and their respective spouses. At this point, King Lear is brought out of the elements. Lear explains that Nature’s physical torment of him, distracted him from the pain inflicted upon him by his daughters. Edgar, Gloucester’s legitimate son, disguises himself as “Poor Tom” Cornwall, Regans’ husband. Edgar implicates his father Gloucester as a traitor against Cornwall, Edmund is rewarded for betraying his father, Gloucester. He receives his father’s title as the new Earl. Lear and his companions seek protection in a barn. Lear who has become insane holds a mock trial, addressing two stools as though they were Goneril and Regan. Kent leads him to Dover and safety. When captured, Gloucester’s beard is ripped off and his eyes blinded. A servant wounds Cornwall, unable to view and endure such cruelty. The blind Gloucester now realizes his mistakes regarding his legitimate son, Edgar. He meets this son who he fails to recognize. Edgar leads his father to the Cliffs of Dover where the old man contemplates suicide (McSpadden, 1930). The Duke of Albany, realizing his wrong, denounces his wife Goneril. Regan’s husband, the Duke of Cornwall is now dead. The sisters now vie for Edmund’s live. Kent wonders how the sisters are so evil while Cordelia is so good. She is saddened by her father’s plight and orders her men to look for him. Before the King of France leads his army against England, the Duke of Albany switches sides, supporting Goneril and Regan’s forces against the French. Edgar and his father reach the Cliffs of Dover. Edgar tricks such that the latter survives his fall. He also kills Oswald when he attempts to kill Gloucester. Oswald bears a letter of instruction from Goneril for Edmund to kill her husband so she may marry him. By this time, Cordelia is reunited with her father who regrets his unkindness to her. In the last act, the two evil sisters demand from Edmund that he once and for all choose which one he loves. The Duke of Albany refuses but decide to fight on their side. Cordelia’s forces lose, thus she and her father Lear are taken prisoner. The Duke of Albany congratulate his allies but turns on Edmund, mortally wounding him. Goneril kills herself and poisons Regan. Edgar reveals himself to Gloucester who dies from a heart attack, unable to accept both sorrow and joy. The Duke of Albany and the dying Edmund try to prevent the hanging of Lear and Cordelia but are too late for Cordelia. The search for the truth comes early in the story of King Lear, but proceeds in gradually increasing degrees until its end (Reid, 1980). At the onset, King Lear makes a terrible mistake. Disappointed in his youngest daughter, Cordelia, he punishes her by sending her into exile and dividing his kingdom between Regan and Goneril together with a hundred loyal knights. It is on this occasion when the truth dawns upon him that he is not welcome in Goneril’s place since he learns that she has conspired to have him driven out of her house. Goneril offends him by dismissing half the number of his knights (Urkowitz, 1980). In the subplot that has to do with Gloucesters, the Earl of Gloucester makes a mistake similar to that committed by Lear. He puts his favor on Edmund, his illegitimate son over the elder brother Edgar and tricks his father into believing that Edgar wanted to kill him. The initial revelation of the truth is followed when Kent, Lear’s man, gets into an alteration with Oswald, Goneril’s steward. Kent is imprisoned in the stockades, emphasizing just how low Lear has sunk in the estimation of his daughters. As Kent remains in stocks, the truth is now clear that Lear has completely lost his authority. He is allowed to stay on with Regan but without a single knight. In the case of the Gloucesters, the truth also dawns on him as to which son is not loyal to him. He is stripped of his title which is give to the illegitimate son, after Edmund has implicated the old man as a traitor against Cornwall. The presentation of the “truth” in Shakespeare’s plays needs to clarify how serious the main protagonists are in pursuing the idea of the truth in relation to the events participated in by that character (Gadamer, 1995). For example, Hamlet took a long time to dig up the truth – “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” regarding his father’s death. He was even chided by his seeming neglect of nailing down the perpetrators of the crime. However, he chose to be slow but sure and he attained success in this manner. He had to exert effort and feign madness, but this too had an ulterior motive. He could work things without people not taking him seriously. In Othello, the main character, Othello’s negativity in his lightning-like accusation of his wife’s perfidy comes as a surprise since his decision is made without careful investigation and the absence of iron-clad proof. All this despite the fact that he loved his wife dearly and knew the repercussions that would follow once he killed her. In King Lear, there are several presentations of the truth revealed in the King’s relationships with his daughters, Kent and the discourse between the rest of the characters. Perplexity and loss of orientation in the face of some ‘wondrous strange’ occurrence is an experience that recurs remarkably often in Shakespeare’s dramatic works. Shakespeare’s characters repeatedly find themselves in situations which they cannot master, situations that puzzle and bewilder them. “In these moments of undertainty, they do not know what to think and how to act, and hence become aware of the limits of their reason and understanding. In the plays, this experience is elicited most often by the confrontation with what I termed figures of uncertainty; that is, with beings who are in some way, elusive, who defy categorization. These figures which include ghosts, witches, fairies and cross dressed men and women, upset profound epistemic categories such as the imagined and the real, the living and the dead, male and female. Through their strangeness, they can evoke in the characters facing them, either amazement and wonder, terror and fear.” (Jancso, n.d.) To explore these moments of uncertainty in Shakespeare’s plays, the study draws on the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. The choice is prompted by the centrality of a comparable experience to Wittgenstein thinking: Repeatedly the philosopher describes situations in which one does not know his way about. Philosophical activity is construed as an ongoing attempt at achieving truth and clarity. References Bloom, H.,”A.D. Nuttall On Hamlets Conversations With The Dead”. Blooms Guides: Hamlet, 2004 Gadamer, H. Truth and Method. New York: Weinsheimer and Marshall, 1995 Goddard, H. & Bloom, H. “Hamlet: His Own Falstaff”, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet, 1986 http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/king_lear/essay/king_lear_essay.htm Jancso, D., Excitements of Reason: The Presentation of Thought in Shakespeare’s Plays and Wittgenstein’s Philosophy. Available from http://www.promotion-lit.lmu.de/doktoranden/summary_jancso.pdf) Kaplan, J.D., ed. The Pocket Aristotle. Simon and Schuster, 1958 Mc Spadden, J.W. William Shakespeare, Four Tragedies. 1930 Reid, S.W. “The Texts of King Lear: A Review Essay”, from The Textual History of King Lear by P.W.K. Stone, Scholar Press, 1980 Studying Othello, the Moor of Venice. Retrieved 10, November, 2008 from:http://www.eriding.net/amoore/gcse/othello1.htm Urkowitz, S. “Shakespeare’s Revision of King Lear, Princeton University Press, 1980. Wright, L.B., & Lamar, V.A. Readers’ Shakespeare. Simon & Schuster, 1967. Read More