The Steep and Thorny Way to Appreciation:
The Artistry of Shakespeare in Hamlet and Macbeth
Rob Vest
L314 Late Plays of Shakespeare
Dr Annette Wyandotte
9 August 2002
Trying to convince someone outside of academia or theater of Shakespeare's brilliance can be akin to tilting at windmills. Tell the average person that you went to a performance of Hamlet over the weekend, and the typical reaction is something along the lines of a perplexed "Really? Why?" The safest course of action is to place the blame on your curiosity or art-obsessed significant other, rather than admit the truth. Confess that you actually enjoy Shakespeare, and they'll look at you as if you've just stepped out of an intellectual closet. No more will you be invited to Joe's house for poker night. Forget about those free hockey tickets Wally used to score you. Kiss your days of shooting pool with your pals at the Mullet Bar goodbye. Ay, there's the rub: how do we convince our less-cultured friends that the Bard's appeal extends beyond the intelligentsia?
One could perhaps try to explain to the novice the sense of mastery surrounding the plots of Shakespeare's plays. Indeed, many of these plots, at their core, are no more convoluted than your average daytime soap opera. Indeed, "Seduction, treachery, and deceit never go out of style," a motto seen on the t-shirts sold at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, appear as constant themes in both types of entertainment. What makes Shakespeare's work so special is the way in which he embellishes these plots.
Few of Shakespeare's plays were original creations, and many were based on actual events. Macbeth, for instance, is based on the story of a real Scottish king who killed his predecessor and took the throne. Little more is known of the real Macbeth, but Shakespeare took this story and, by adding to it, turned an obscure Scottish ruler into one of the best known characters in Western literature.
Shakespeare paints a dark, gloomy picture of ambition and betrayal in Macbeth. He sets the mood by placing each scene at night, or in a "dark" location, such as a battlefield. Macbeth's ambition is set in motion by a trio of witches, whose dark prophecy that he will be king whets his appetite for power. Shakespeare supplies Macbeth with a controlling wife who is even more ambitious than himself. These elements move the plot forward, and Macbeth is driven to kill King Duncan and take his throne. Of course, all this comes back to haunt Macbeth, as he proves a tyrant. The witches even return to warn Macbeth of his imminent doom, but he this time he ignores their prophecies, and seals his own fate.
Each act and scene of Macbeth is structured to move the plot along, and each scene contrasts with the one before and after. For example, in Act II, Scene 2, one can cut the tension with a knife, as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth scramble to cover up the murder of the king just when guests come knocking on the castle doors. Compare this with the comic actions of the porter in Act II, Scene 3, who loudly knocks at the castle door spouting pone drunken utterance after another, oblivious to the hideous deed that has just occurred inside the castle walls.
One of the more interesting things Shakespeare does with plot in Macbeth is the "twist" he uses to bring about Macbeth's downfall. In Act IV, Macbeth visits the witches, who prophesy that "none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth." (1) Macbeth takes this to mean that no one can slay him, but what he (as well as most first-time members of the audience) doesn't realize is the interpretation of the word "born." Recognition of this misinterpretation comes when Macduff, in heated battle with the protagonist, reveals that he "was from his mother's womb/ Untimely ripped." (2) Faced with this revelation, Macbeth meets his maker.
Another aspect of Shakespeare's mastery is his use of characterization. His principal characters are often intriguing, flawed, complex individuals at war not only with outside forces, but with forces within themselves. Lady Macbeth, more cold-hearted and venomous than Joan Collins ever was on "Dynasty," cannot bring herself to personally slay the king because he reminds him of her father. (3) Macbeth himself is divided in his loyalty to his king (who is also his kinsman) and his ambition.
In Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the title character is sworn to kill his uncle, the king, in revenge for the murderer of his father, the former king. Hamlet's internal struggle is with his indecisiveness-his "To be, or not to be" soliloquy is a good example of the difficulty he has in making up his mind. The prince also struggles with his own maturity for most of the play, up until Act V, Scene1. When the young prince sees his love Ophelia laid in her grave, a victim of suicide, he realizes that his seemingly harmless actions-in this case, spurning Ophelia without telling her it was but a ruse (or one of his "games")-often have dire consequences. In an instant, Hamlet matures, and transforms from a whinny, spoiled, indecisive, Machiavellian schemer to a noble mensch resolute in his determination to see justice done: "Let Hercules himself do what he may,/ The cat will mew, and dog will have his day." (4)
Insanity plays a role in both Hamlet and Macbeth, and Shakespeare's use of language illustrates the state of mind of the afflicted, or seemingly afflicted characters. Lady Macbeth, wracked with guilt for her role in setting her tyrannous husband on the throne, is shown sleepwalking and muttering to herself in Act V, Scene 1. When seen before, Lady Macbeth was determined and level-headed, but now, she speaks in nonsensical, cryptic rhymes, "The Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now?" (5) seeming to mourn yet another victim of her husband's tyranny. In Act IV, Scene 5 of Hamlet, Ophelia, driven to insanity by the Prince's words and actions, sings a song of mourning and arranges flowers (foreshadowing her own funeral), oblivious to the concerns of her brother and the king and queen.
Shakespeare's use of thematic interplay also illustrates his mastery of storytelling. In exposition, several themes are introduced into his plays that later come to fruition. In Hamlet, Shakespeare hints that Denmark is in decline ("Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (6)), and lays out the background story of the ascendant power of Norway, which Denmark has warred against in the past. This plot thread comes to bear by the end of the play, when the Norwegian Prince Fortinbras is named by the dying Hamlet as successor to the Danish throne. In Hamlet, Laertes, Ophelia's brother, is also introduced early in the play, and later returns near the end to act as a foil for Hamlet.
However, getting your Budweiser-swilling buddies to forgo the monster truck rally for a night of Shakespeare in the Park is unlikely, at least by trying to explain the Bard's use of plot, characterization, and thematic interplay. Perhaps the best way to introduce the uninitiated to the genius of Shakespeare is via the lowest common denominator: sex. Show them all the naughty bits, all the innuendos and double-entendres, and their appreciation is one thing that is sure to grow. Tell them that Lady Macbeth's "But screw your courage to the sticking place" (7) refers to more than simple courage. Explain that Hamlet is really telling Ophelia she belongs in a whorehouse when he says, "Get thee to a nunnery." (8) Tell them what Hamlet means by "country matters" and "nothing," (9) and that he takes Ophelia's comment "You are keen" (10) to mean something other than his wit is sharp. Let them know that Laertes' lecture to Ophelia about "unmask[ing] her beauty to the moon," "canker [worms]," "buttons," and "contagious blastments" is little more than a Renaissance public service announcement about the dangers of promiscuity.
Though using this method to introduce people to the genius of Shakespeare is arguably a bit like taking "the primrose path," perhaps it will lead them to a further a deeper appreciation of the Bard's artistry-it certainly worked for me.
1. Macbeth, IV.1.80-81.
Ibid, V.8.15-16.
Ibid, II.2.12-13.
Hamlet, V.1.291-292.
Macbeth, V.1.42-43.
Hamlet, I.4.89.
Macbeth, I.7.60.
Hamlet, III.1.120.
Ibid, III.2.116-121
Ibid, III.2.248.