Shakespearean Histories

Shakespeare wrote many histories. He wrote these with a specific intent on how to portray the characters to appeal to his audience. Through his writing he develops Richard as a menace while he develops Henry as a hero. This was to appeal to the crowd at the time, as well as to make an entertaining play.

Passage Comparasion:
Shakespeare's main use of character development is through dialogue. The lengthy passage in the beginning of Richard III lets the audience know right away that he is a villain before they even see him in action.

In this passage he starts by mentioning happy things going on in England, and how the country is in peace after a war. He then mentions how bitter he is about how he cannot enjoy the festivities and the attention of a woman because of his physical deformity. This could quickly lead to the audience sympathizing with Richard rather than despising him, but Shakespeare quickly changes their emotions by the language he uses. "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain, And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid..." The character of Richard comes out, showing the audience that if he cannot have fun, then he will take the rest of the people down with his own suffering. This selfishness clearly portrays a villain, rather than a sympathetic hero. Richard is willing to ruin the peace and happiness of England for his own entertainment and glory.

The physical deformity of Richard also shows the audience that this is an evil character. Shakespearean heroes always tend to be remarkably handsome, and the unattractiveness of Richard is a physical manifestation of what is going on inside him. Even in the same first speech Richard ends it by telling the audience about the rumor he has spread which ultimately ends up in the death of his one brother. Richard does not mention one good thing about his character, and proves to the audience that he is a villain. He sacrifices his own family for his selfish needs.

On the contrary, the inspiring language Henry uses helps portray the essence of a true hero. In his famous speech in Act IV scene iii, he raises the morale of his troops by telling them basically that they are going to die, but that they should be so proud to do it for the glory and honor of their country. Henry's motivational force through out the whole play is honor and glory. This says much more about his character than Richards, whose motivational force was power and wealth."We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother..." Henry invites is soldiers in a part of comradery and brotherhood, where he would be honored to fight and die with these men. Richard on the other hand kills off both of his blood-brothers. King Henry is willing to fight along side these men and not leave them until the end. This is a great contrast to Richard who hires assassins to kill people who get in his way.


Genre Commentary:

Ultimately, the histories were written to appeal to the monarch at that time. The factual events were very stretched, as well as the character development. Richard III is more entertaining as this self-absorbed villain, whether that was the truth or not. And even though Henry started a war over a small insult from France, Shakespeare needed to make him an honored hero for England. The common theme through out the histories is taking factual events and dramatizing them for entertaining purposes. After all, Shakespeare was trying to make a living off of entertainment, not history books.

And because most of the histories are written about rulers and kings, there is usually a war in them. The audiences emotions are tied up in the battles fought. They want Richard to fail so badly, especially when all the ghosts come out and they can see how many people he betrayed. And as for Henry, they are right there cheering him on. The battles are used so the audience can see the villain or hero in action, and so there emotional needs are satisfied, whether it is being relieved that Richard never succeeded, or shouting for joy as Henry wins his battle.

Personal Reflection:

I really enjoyed the histories. Reading Richard III was very entertaining, and I am glad we read it in class first. That helped me understand what I should be looking for in Henry V. But while reading these, I understand that I do not know much about England's history, and I know I have not learned much about it from reading these. These were meant to be entertaining, and that is exactly what they were. But now I really want to read up on the factual events behind these exciting and glorified tales.

Shakespearean Comdedies

While reading an assortment of Shakespearean Comedies, one can see that many contain very similar aspects. Shakespeare understood what was needed to build plot, keep his audiences entertained, and ultimately in a comedy, to make them laugh.

Passage Comparasion.

A technique that was used in Shakespeare's writing was putting two extreme emotions side-by-side in the same scene to make the dialogue more comedic. This technique can be seen in A Midsummer-Night's Dream in Act III Scene ii. While Lysander is complimenting Helena with phrases such as "Gentle Helena...my love, my life, my soul, fair Helena!" and "Helen, I love thee; by my life I do," he then expresses his extreme disgust for Hermia in phrases such as "Out, loathed medicine! hated potion, hence!" and "Get gone, you dwarf; you minimus, of hindering knot-grass made; you bead, you acorn."

The two opposite extremes of language that Lysander uses proves to be humorous to the audience because they know that Lysander truly loves Hermia and does not like Helena. Lysander declares his love so confidently, even though the audience knows that it is just because of the fairy potion that Lysander is acting this way. It is important for Lysander to express a more extreme dislike towards Hermia because the insults he throws at her are not only entertaining, but are important for comedic effect because the audience knows that Lysander and Hermia were once lovers. Although the insults are offensive, it still has a light-hearted effect because without the aide of fairy magic, Lysander really does not mean those things. Having Lysander express his annoyance and dislike for Hermia makes the scene much more entertaining than having him just ignore her and focus his attention on Helena. The scene would lose it's humor if only love for Helena was expressed; it is insulting people that never fails to make the audience laugh.

The extreme opposite exchanging of words shows up again in another one of Shakepeare's comedies, The Taming of the Shrew. Act II Scene i is where Kate and Petruchio meet for the first time. Kate is spitting out insults to Petruchio, calling him names such as "swain," and "crab." But every insult that Kate gives him, Petruchio throws it right back as a compliment. He even states at one point "I find you very passing gentle. 'Twas told me you were rough and coy and sullen, and now I find report a very liar; for thou art pleasant. gamesome, passing courteous, but slow in speech, yet sweet as spring time flowers." The contrast of the ways that they talk to each other proves to be quite humorous. The strong language through out the passage makes it much more interesting. The passage would have been much more passive and boring if Shakespeare did not have a contrast of two extreme opposite feelings. Again, the play on words is funny, as is the insults that Kate provides.

Shakespeare knew the comedic elements that made the audiences entertained and laugh. The contrast of two extreme opposite emotions never failed to do both. This is why he included them in many of his comedies.

Comedy Commentary

There are many similar plot elements that occur in comedies. In regards to the plays A Midsummer-Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest, love is very prominent. In every play there are characters that fall in love with each other.
All the plays end with weddings and celebration. A wedding is a happy time where people are brought together and express their love; there is not a happier note to end a comedy on. By ending the plays happily, the audience can leave the theater with a smile on their face, which is the ultimate goal of a comedy.

The structure of the plots also have similarities. There are usually always a "blocking figure," or a character who gets in the way of the main character obtaining or accomplishing their main goals. This was seen in A Midsummer-Night's Dream with Egeus. Egeus was blocking Hermia and Lysander from being together. Because of Egeus, the two lover's found themselves in the forest where magic and faeries become the main substance of the plot. In The Taming of the Shrew Kate is the blocking figure between Bianca and Lucentio. Bianca and Lucentio cannot be together until Kate is married first, thus driving the plot forward. In the The Tempest, Prospero sets up certain obstacles before he will allow Ferdinand and his daughter Miranda to marry. Each example of blocking characters is blocking two lovers from being together, again emphasizing the importance of love and romance in Shakespearean comedies.

The comedies have five acts in each of them as well. Although the importance of having five acts is not apparent, it is still a part of what makes a Shakespearean comedy a comedy.


Personal Reflection:

I very much enjoyed reading the Shakespearean comedies. The plots were always light-hearted and the evident word play made me laugh. I really enjoyed the stories and they were a fun read. Shakespeare knows how to make a successful play and how to keep his audiences entertained, even years after they were written. Shakespeare knows the true nature of human enjoyment.