THEMES IN THE PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE

THEMES IN THE PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE

Themes

          Themes are the ideas/concepts that William Shakespeare explores through the dramatic experience of his characters. Themes define the plays. There are some common themes reiterated through many plays. For example, the difference between appearance and reality is a theme which appears again and again in Shakespeare. We can see this theme highlighted in tragedies like Othello and King Lear. ‘I am not what I am’, says Iago. This statement can be considered a maxim as it highlights the fissures between appearance and reality. This theme is repeated in the comedies also, however in a light-hearted manner. Twelfth Night offers us the best example for this. In fact, the whole play revolves round the divergence between perception and actuality. What the characters perceive to be true is diametrically opposite to the reality of the situation.

Other prominent themes that find their place in Shakespeare’s oeuvre are: change; order and disorder; and conflict. These were matters that deeply perturbed Shakespeare as he observed the world around him. His tragedies offer us profound statements on the above themes. Tragic consequences that follow when the established order is disrupted is the theme of Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear. Restoration of order brings back normalcy to the world of these dramas. 

We see a notable change in the attitude of Shakespeare in the sunset years of his dramatic career. In the last plays—The Tempest, Cymbeline, and The Winter’s Tale—Shakespeare attains a stoic stateliness in his attitude towards the frailties of humanity, something akin to the poise and equanimity of Milton’s Samson—‘Calm of mind, all passion spent’.

Interestingly, the setting of all the last plays is the countryside. The rural backdrop is an antidote to the evils and corruption of city life. As the poet states in As You Like It—

Here shall he see

No enemy

But winter and rough weather

We must bear in mind that by this time, Shakespeare had become the grandfather of a little girl. He also became interested in the redeeming effect the young generation has on the old. We see this as a theme in The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale and Pericles. In these dramas, young girls bring about the redemption of the corruption brought about by the old, worn-out generation, incorrigible in the greedy pursuit of their ambitions.

Social conformity is another common theme in Shakespeare. This theme is seen in Taming of the Shrew, Coriolanus,  King Lear  and to some degree even in Othello. In Taming of the Shrew, Katherine is avoided by potential suitors as she does not behave in the manner in which society expects her to behave. The taming of Petruchio goes on until Katherine becomes a compliant and obedient bride. The ‘social conformity’ projected by Shakespeare in the play has become a controversial subject as modern scholars brand it ‘misogyny’. In           Coriolanus also, the protagonist fails to achieve his political ambitions because he will not conform. In King Lear, Lear chooses the wrong daughters because the right one would not confirm to the behavior expected of her. Lear also banishes his most faithful subject because he gives him honest advice, instead of the advice Lear wants to hear. In Othello,  Iago ignites the jealousy of Othello by constantly alluding to the confirmed fickleness of Venetian women. Shakespeare points out the unreliability of the characters who can utter the right words at the right time. Iago, Regan, and Goneril come under this category.

          Sexual identity is yet another common theme. This is not surprising when so many plays involve women who impersonate as men. Shakespeare often attacks the smooth generalizations about men and women that people loved to make then and love to make even now. Orsino, in Twelfth Night, makes a number of sweeping statements about how men love more than women do, and Viola, in her guise as Ceasario, poignantly explodes them. In Shakespeare's day, the received knowledge was that women were sexually charged creations who could not resist cheating on their husbands; men therefore had to be constantly vigilant. Whenever this stereotype rears its ugly head, Shakespeare beats it down. Imogen, Desdemona, and Hero are all falsely suspected of adultery, and they are all innocent.

          Shakespeare's history plays deal with the theme of political transition, of the handing of power from one person to another. This is the underlying theme behind the eight sequential history plays, especially in Richard II, the three Henry VI plays and Richard III.  This theme is referred to in Henry IV and Henry V as well. The commission of murder to attain the throne appears not only in Richard III but in Hamlet and Macbeth as well. King Lear deals with voluntary abdication. Julius Caesar also deals with violent political transitions.

          However, it is not easy to make definite statements about the themes of Shakespeare. Each generation reads Shakespeare in accordance with the milieu they live in and finds different (sometimes contradictory) interpretations in Shakespeare. Already we have mentioned the difference of opinion about Katherine’s behaviour in The Taming of the Shrew. What Elizabethans saw as nonconformity is seen no more in the same light in an era of aggressive feministic ideology. Similarly, the anti Semitism in The Merchant of Venice, the racial overtones in Othello  and the colonialism of The Tempest  are distasteful to many modern critics.

          Postcolonial ideology has drastically altered our perception of The Tempest. In previous centuries when European countries invaded and ruthlessly killed or exploited the inhabitants of the places they colonised that was universally regarded as acceptable. We do not accept that anymore and politicians now apologise for it. Scholars of the present generation now look at The Tempest with new eyes. Instead of Caliban being only a horrible and detestable monster, we see him also as the dispossessed and enslaved inhabitant of the island that belongs to him. We now take the question ‘who does this island belong to?’ seriously, which previous generations did not. Thus the generations that follow us may find things in Shakespeare’s plays that concern them deeply but of which we are not aware.

          Interestingly, The Tempest is also used by advocates who argue against the imposition of English in the educational curriculum of the schools and colleges of the Third World countries. They quote Caliban approvingly:

          You taught me language, and my profit on‘t

          Is I know how to curse...

This is to point out that perception of the themes of Shakespeare would change according to the social, political and economic situations of    the future generations.