Okay, so, the summer solstice hit, and I came down with the summer vacay ‘lazies,’ leaving the rest of June and the months of July and August to other pursuits (getting very ‘serif’). And then, the autumn solstice knocked me over …
I’ve also been in and out of levels of being ensconced with finalizing Broken Benevolence—but that’s another story (well, the third story (in the series) to be exact).
Anyway, having gained the ‘serifs’ of summer and fall, as winter approaches, I’m sans serif once again.
Now, where were we? Ah, Billy Shakes …
Whether his characters are of royal status or of peasant means, there’s a recurring theme of deception in many of Shakespeare’s works, and his ‘family’ stories are no exception.
Classic Billy Shakes tales involving ‘Deception’
Taming of Shrew – Shakespeare gives us a play-within-a-play here, concerning the familial relationships between a father (Baptista) and his daughters, as well as the sisters themselves: Katherine (the older, ‘stern’ one) and Bianca (the younger, more ‘amenable’ one). There is deception on the parts of scholar, Lucentio and his servant, Tranio in their attempts to win Bianca’s hand. And we have Petruccio, who’s simply out to better himself with Katherine’s (betrothed) money. There’s a bit to be said about the views of marriage as it applies to taming the ‘shrew’ that is Katherine. When it comes to the Katherine-Petruccio matchup and how Petruccio treats her (No food or sleep? Whoa.), one must keep in mind the Elizabethan sexist views of marriage at the time and not bring the evolutionary thinking on marriage into it. No use getting all riled about a fictional work written some centuries ago. Learn and ponder, maybe, but no riling, please. But, by play’s end one must ask: is Katherine deceiving them all? Bianca, too, has some seemingly deceptive motives as maybe she’s not as compliant as she presents—because she aids the plot to marry her man. But, since it’s all a performance for fake lord Christopher Sly, perhaps we, the audience, are the ones deceived.
Twelfth Night – Shakespeare has deception mixed in with his beloved go-to, mistaken identity, at play here with siblings separated and believed dead. There’s a mishmash of elements in this work, with romance, comedy, and drama combining for an unusual (for a Billy Shakes work) happy ending. Viola mourns her believed-dead brother, Sebastian, and so, sort of assumes his identity when she disguises herself as a man (‘Cesario’) and works for Orsino as his assistant. Orsino enlists Viola/Cesario’s help in wooing Olivia, and Olivia in turn ends up falling for Cesario (Viola). At the same time, Viola develops a thing for Orsino (who believes she’s a guy). Meanwhile, there’s a side story involving others in want of Olivia’s attentions (Malvolio and Sir Andrew), but this all gets caught up in the mix-up concerning Sebastian’s return (now mistaken to be Cesario/Viola). It’s sibling love without the sibling rivalry, and all the deception gets cleared up with the mistaken identities.
As You Like It – More sibling mayhem ensues, bringing along nieces and nephews for the ride as brothers feud it out. Orlando is pissed at older brother Oliver. Brothers, Duke Senior and Duke Frederick are beefing. There’s some ousting and exiling that ensues, leaving Orlando in the Forest of Arden pining for Rosalind (who, unbeknownst to him, has also been exiled to the forest by her uncle Frederick, along with cousin Celia and jester, Touchstone). As with Twelfth Night, we have a woman posing as a man (Rosalind as ‘Ganymede’). As Orlando and ‘Ganymede’ get chummy, Orlando continues to prove his love for Rosalind, by showing his true feelings to Ganymede who pretends to be Rosalind— Huh? Wait …
Not sure why Billy was so fond of this ploy, but okay. Anyway, it seems life for Orlando, Duke Senior, Rosalind/Ganymede, Celia, and Touchstone, is just a wee bit better in the Forest of Arden; sort of a ‘Green Acres’ vibe (for those familiar with that classic TV show). The forest isn’t perfect, but the ‘freedom’ within it, makes the not-so-good tolerable.
And then Fred sends Ollie to bring back Orlando …
This is one of Billy Shakes’ happy-ending tales, as the Forest of Arden seems to cast some mystical spell to make both Oliver and Duke Frederick have changes of heart toward their brothers, Orlando and Duke Senior (respectively). By play’s end, numerous marriages take place (particularly Orlando and Rosalind, of course), Duke Frederick is on a more ‘holy, less-is-more’ tip, and Duke Senior is in charge. Families can surely be dysfunctional (and deceptive), and Shakespeare illustrates the light and dark in that ‘dysfunction.’
Although there are some dramatic moments, As You Like It has plenty comedic elements, for example Duke Senior’s buddy, Jaques (he’s dour but humorous).
And the whole Viola-Cesario (Twelfth Night), Rosalind-Ganymede (As You Like It) plot vehicles require an exploration of gender relating to the 16th century, that I’m just not going to get into.
Now, Billy can get on the eviler side of things with his family tales—especially when he’s writing his ‘kingly’ stuff: King Lear, the King Henry works, the King Richard plays. With these, all bets are off, deception and treachery rule, and everyone’s … mad.
In S.F. Powell Books:
Because the central character in my book series, Dr. Naomi Alexander, is a psychiatrist, providing family counseling, she sees her fair share of ‘dysfunctional’ on her yellow counsel couch. Book two, Obscure Boundaries, particularly, is a story about a family’s grief and loss, and the deceptions of an ‘evil’ stepmother … It’s family living—with the ‘family’ part, not so much.
The epithet for Obscure Boundaries is a quote from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Until my next Sans Serif perspective …
