BLOG 12 - The Duke's contradictory character in Twelfth Night

In William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, the Duke presents men as fickle and contradictory.  For example, in the beginning of the play, the Duke says,

            If music be the food of love, play on,

            Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting.

            The appetite may sicken and so die.

            That strain again, it had a dying fall;

            O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound

            That breathes upon a bank of violets,

            Stealing and giving odor.  Enough, no more;

            ‘Tis not so sweet now as it was before. (I.i.1-8)

At first the Duke invites the musicians to play.  He asks for more and more: “Give me excess of it.”  Then, a couple lines later, he is begging them to stop playing.  He says, “Enough, no more”.  Within the first eight lines of the play, the Duke cannot make up his mind.  He reveals his character as indecisive and inconsistent.

            Then, in Act two, scene four, the Duke explains how a woman’s love is superficial, but a man’s love is very deep:

            There is no woman’s sides

            Can bide the beating of so strong a passion

            As love doth give my heart; no woman’s heart

            So big to hold so much; they lack retention.

            Alas, their love may be called appetite,

            No motion of the liver but the palate,

            That suffers surfeit, cloyment, and revolt;

            But mine is all as hungry as the sea

            And can digest as much.  Make no compare

            Between that love a woman can bear me

            And I that I owe Olivia.  (II.iv.93-103)

With that said, the audience can see how arrogant the Duke’s claim is – that a man’s love is far more profound than that of a woman.  With Viola’s character, Shakespeare proves the Duke to be a contradictory man.  While the Duke thinks Viola is a man, Viola is completely in love with him.  From the beginning of the play, to the end of the play, her love is unwavering.  The Duke on the other hand goes from loving Olivia to, at the drop of a hat, loving Viola.

BLOG 11 - Ophelia's ambiguous character in Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the seemingly innocuous character Ophelia draws my attention.  What is her purpose? Why has Shakespeare created such an ambiguous character.  In the beginning of the play, Ophelia behaves so obediently to her father and brother.  Each time they command her to do something, she complies.  Yet, in Act two, scene two, Hamlet says to Ophelia’s father, “For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, / being a good kissing carrion – Have you a daughter?” (II.ii.181-182).  When Polonius’ response is yes, Hamlet continues: “Let her not walk i’ th’ sun.  Conception is a / blessing, but as your daughter may conceive, friend, / look to’t” (II.ii.184-186).  Throughout the play, Ophelia presents herself to the audience as naïve, innocent, and obedient.  And up until Hamlet says this about Ophelia, there is no reason to think that Ophelia is anything but pure.  Obviously, in this citation, Hamlet is hinting to the fact that Ophelia is a floosy.  Here Hamlet’s basically telling her father, “Don’t let that one out of the house.  She’ll go around breeding with everyone in town.” 

            This remark seems completely out of character for Ophelia until the end of the play.  In Act four, scene five, Ophelia is singing:

            Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day.

                        All in the morning betime,

            And I a maid at your window,

                        To be your Valentine.

            Then up he rose and donned his clo’es

                        And dupped the chamber door,

            Let in the maid, that out a maid

                        Never departed more. (IV.v.48-55)

In this song, first Ophelia sings in first person when she sings “I a maid at your window.”  Then by the end of the stanza “Let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more” suggests that Ophelia has lost her virginity.  Without this song by Ophelia, there would be no other reason to suspect her of adultery. 

BLOG 10 - treatment of women

Throughout the eight plays we have read in this class (Othello, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Shakespeare uses many different scenarios to display the treatment of women during the Elizabethan era.  While each play offers a realistic portrayal of how women were considered inferior to men, one questions till remains: what was Shakespeare’s personal opinion about the treatment of women?

            This question interests me because Shakespeare often uses a comedic approach to portraying the norms of society on stage.  In each case, Shakespeare never fails to poke fun at the society in which he lives.  For example, in The Taming of the Shrew, Kate and her sister Bianca are obviously just two pieces of property.  Neither of them have any say over their futures.  Their father basically negotiates their marriages like a business contract.  Then, when they are sold off to their new husbands, they (especially Kate) are forced to conform to the will and lifestyle of their husbands.  In example, Petruchio uses starvation and sleep deprivation among other tactics to “tame” Kate.  In this case, the treatment of women is clearly displayed as animal-like and inhumane. 

            In the play Othello, the treatment of women is similar.  First, Iago and Emilia demonstrate that women are to be used by men, as if women were some sort of convenience for men.  On the other hand, the relationship between Desdemona and Othello reveals that women, although they may be faithful and obedient, are at the mercy of their husbands who can decide to dispose of them as they please like some filthy piece of trash.  Since the play ends tragically, it shows how screwed up this type of treatment is.

            In my opinion, Shakespeare used his plays to shed some light on the evils of society.