Shakespeare's Progressive Development as Playwright

Shakespeare's Progressive Development as Playwright

Wordsworth once wrote "the child is father of the man." This seemingly contradictory statement is truly evidenced in the work of William Shakespeare. From the early comedies through the histories, tragedies, and eventually into the romances, Shakespeare frequently dealt with recurring subject matter using similar devices; however, his handling of this material demonstrates his progressively maturing grasp of the dramatic medium. This can be demonstrated by pursuing Shakespeare's development of the mistaken identity motif; his personification of good, evil, and other virtues borrowed from the morality plays of the Middle Ages; and his ability to take parts and reshape a new whole from them.

The ploy of mistaken identity as a plot device in writing comedies dates back at least to the times of the Greeks and Romans in the writings of Menander and Plautus. Shakespeare borrowed the device they introduced and developed it into a fine art as a means of expressing theme as well as furthering comic relief in his works. As he matured in his grasp of the dramatic medium, Shakespeare took the complexities of this device that he had developed and evolved characters in the history plays with quirks of character that sometimes puzzle and, in the tragedies, he created characters so psychologically complex that they still have appeal for modern audiences hundreds of years later.

In Shakespeare's first comedy, The Comedy of Errors, mistaken identity is the sole impetus behind the action, as it had been with his original sources. The germinal idea of asking how one really knows who one is is introduced, but the conflict that occurs between appearance and reality are not totally realized. This will be accomplished by Shakespeare's maturing dramatic style as he comes to recognize all the varying aspects presented by the ploy of mistaken identity.

In early stages of Shakespeare's development he used this device to enhance the comic confusion of the plot through the use of twins. This was the prevalent form in The Comedy of Errors. In Twelfth Night twins are mistaken for each other, but this basic concept is taken deeper, however, when it is recognized that one twin is actually a girl who would not normally be mistaken for her brother. This only happens because Viola has resorted to disguise. When her twin brother Sebastian arrives, the comic elements reign as her meek nature is mistakenly thought to be his and he is married to Olivia who thinks he is his disguised sister.

Disguise became one of Shakespeare's favorite ploys. Through it he alters the identity of an individual (frequently female characters though not always) and uses this disguise to heighten irony, develop theme, and enhance subtle comic innuendo. In Measure for Measure the Duke uses disguise and mistaken identity to reveal the truth about Angelo's character. At the same time this disguise provides comic moments as Lucio speaks of the Duke to the Duke while unaware of the Duke's identity.

In Twelfth Night Shakespeare shows the self-delusion found in adopting affectations rather than true expressions. This is shown by Malvolio, Orsino, and Olivia in very explicit ways. These characters adopt the masques of certain affectations because they believe these are the accepted and expected ways to act. Through these affected attitudes they lose sight of the truth hidden behind their masques. Taking this further we find that in The Merchant of Venice the central characters are guilty of mistaking their own identities, not just the identity of others, because they pretend to believe on way while acting another. As an example, they espouse mercy which they fail to exercise while all the time viewing themselves as merciful. Bassanio hides his true identity by pretending to have money he does not have. He desires to have others mistake him for what he is not. He tries to fool himself as well as others with the persona of the wealthy young man about town.

Shakespeare specifically explores the differences between outer appearance and inner reality in The Merchant of Venice. As indicated earlier, that is the primary thrust of a mistaken identity plot. Although the identity of the major characters is not "mistaken" to each other (with the exception of the deliberate use of disguise by Portia and her maid), the identities of Shylock and Antonio compare in such a way that there can be a response from the reader/viewer probing the appearance vs. reality idea. Portia's question (while she herself is wearing a disguise) as to which is the merchant and which is the Jew at the trial can take on deeper meaning when placed against the idea of mistaking the identities of the two merchants who are so alike and yet so different. The mistaken identities are established in beliefs not matching with actions. Through the use of the caskets the identity crises of the play are fully revealed to the reader/viewer. By use of the caskets Shakespeare shows the need in identification to focus on the conflict between outer appearance and inner reality. This thematic development of mistaken identity is also developed in Measure for Measure when the Duke seeks to find the reality of characters as opposed to outer illusion. Angelo attempts to maintain his disguise even after it has fallen off in front of Isabella until he is convinced the situation is hopeless. Only then will he drop the disguise to show his true nature to everyone.

These are only a few of the early ways Shakespeare altered mistaken identity by expanding the concept to include disguise, self-delusion, and theme. He continued this development, however, beyond the comic medium. In the history plays, Shakespeare uses the device without the comic overtones. Self-delusion and the truism from the caskets is reflected in Richard II who outwardly presents the image of an ideal king while inwardly lacking these qualities. Henry Bullingbrook deludes himself as to his own ambition as reflected in Richard II and Henry IV 1 and 2. In Prince Hall/Henry V, Shakespeare shows his maturing ability as he develops the character from a wayward youth to a model king. In Prince Hal one is always led to question what one sees and hears. He is full of contradictions; yet at the same time, Shakespeare maintains believability in both Hal's wayward and responsible personas. Shakespeare creates in Prince Hal/Henry V a truly complex character who defies categorizing. Shakespeare also shows deeper implications in the use of disguise when Henry V goes out among the soldiers cloaked beyond recognition thus allowing for revelations that could not be made otherwise by the soldiers or by himself.

Just as he showed his maturing dramatic treatment of the mistaken identity motif in the histories, Shakespeare's growth continued into the tragedies. In Othello, Shakespeare creates a character in Iago who constantly waivers between appearance and reality and self-delusion. Iago, the very personification of evil, is constantly referred to as "honest" Iago by the other leading characters in the play. Even his wife does not know the true Iago. But careful examination of Iago's soliloquies shows that perhaps even he does not truly understand himself and why he acts the way he does. As in The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet ponders who he is and seeks to find the answer to the question man has pondered through the ages. In Hamlet, the contrast between the mysterious world of the ghost and the real world of the court of Denmark is further development of the appearance vs. reality motif as seen earlier with the caskets of The Merchant of Venice. Macbeth is a character caught in the same type of mystery world waivering between appearance and reality with the witches and ghosts. We also find in him the presentation of a character who deludes others and himself. With King Lear, Shakespeare pursues self-delusion to its end result and shows the madness that can result from continuing in unreality. He also returns to the device of disguise with Kent and Edgar.

Another motif that Shakespeare took and developed throughout his career came from the medieval morality play. In the original medium specific virtues were personified and man's relationship to the various virtues examined. Malvolio in Twelfth Night is an early version of "evil." In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare draws characters in Isabella (as "good") and Angelo (as "evil"). We later see good and evil in Othello represented by Desdemona and Iago and in The Tempest represented by Miranda and Caliban. In each instance the basic generality remains standard but the specific characters drawn are Shakespeare's own. In Hamlet, Ophelia portrays the death of innocence. In King Lear, Cordelia and Kent personify truth while the fool personifies wisdom. The conversion of Edmond at the end of King Lear reflects back to Iago silenced at the end of Othello and Angelo at the end of Measure for Measure again showing the effect of the virtues upon the individual.

The Tempest is the culmination of Shakespeare's career as he takes bits and pieces from early works and reshapes an incomparable new whole from them. The shipwreck from The Comedy of Errors, the irritable and autocratic father from A Midsummer's Night Dream, and the master manipulator from Measure for Measure and As You Like It; but here they are each laden with new meanings.

Thus, by pursuing Shakespeare's use of the mistaken identity device, one finds it obviously used in the early comedies. With his maturing hand Shakespeare turned this device in later comedies to reflect more complex facets of the basic idea. As he moved into the history plays, the same concept is reflected by more carefully drawn characters where the quirks of the device attract notice, but not overtly so. In his mature works, Shakespeare took this simple device and changed the basic concept into complex characterizations that continue to appeal to modern audiences with their depth and reality. Shakespeare also personified virtues several times throughout his career with progressively maturing abilities. Finally, his ability to rework his own plays into a totally new work exhibits his complete and mature mastery of the dramatic medium. Although only reflecting a sketchy survey of his work here, it is easy to see the maturity of the hand that evolved from the youth of Shakespeare's early works.