Transcription
[Music] And now about Shakespeare's most perfect plays, the romances. Dramatic romances, you know. When I was in BA, I was totally confused. What are romances? What are dramatic romances? What are romantic comedies? I will tell you once again. Early comedies, then mature comedies. Mature comedies are romantic comedies. Then dark comedies, they are problem plays. And then tragic comedies, or dramatic romances, or romances. The last plays are tragic comedies, or dramatic romances. Did you understand? They are neither tragedies nor comedies. Not tragedies, because horrible bloodshed is not there. Tragic situations are there. Not comedy, because it is not full of innocent love and beauty and happiness. It is a little dark. Objectionable characters are there. And the romances are Shakespeare's most mature plays, with a perfect style, perfect characterization. In the romances, there is a predominant medieval element. Pagan elements are mixed, and music is there. Pastoral elements are there. In the romances, you always see separated families, wandering people, separated families, shipwrecks, and family reunion, forgiveness. A very mellowed, matured perception of life. Shakespeare is also an old man. He's going to retire. One has to grow mature at some point. You can't write with immature comedies always. And also remember, tragic comedy is the most important genre, one of the most important genres of the Jacobean period. Shakespeare's great tragedies and dramatic romances were all written in the Jacobean period. It was Edward Dowden who talked about Shakespeare's phases of career in "Shakespeare: His Mind and Art." And he was the man who first called them romances. Which are these romances? Cymbeline, Pericles, The Winter's Tale, and our Tempest. Wait, Two Noble Kinsmen. One more play is there, probably his last play, written along with John Fletcher. Two Noble Kinsmen is interesting. It has the same story of Chaucer's Knight's Tale, and Shakespeare pays a tribute to Chaucer in the prologue. Did you know that? Come to think of it, in Pericles also, Shakespeare brings John Gower, Chaucer's contemporary. I told you, the dramatic romances are medieval. Not only are they certain kind of medieval settings, they also bring medieval writers like Gower. And Joseph. Wait a minute. One more play is there. You're wondering, what is that? It is actually a history play. The last, Henry VIII. Henry VIII is an English history play, but it shares many of the features of the romances. Did you get that?
Now it's time to talk in detail about the romances. Cymbeline is set in mythical Britain. Cymbeline is a British king. No, no, no, no. It is not a history play, because this is mythical Britain. Cymbeline's daughter is the heroine, Imogen. She marries Posthumus Leonatus. His name is Posthumus because his father died before he was born. Imogen marries Posthumus Leonatus against the wishes of her stepmother, Cymbeline's second wife. And because of this, Posthumus Leonatus has to leave after the wedding because the queen is against him. The queen wants her oafish son, Cloten, good-for-nothing son, Cloten, to marry Imogen for obvious reasons, inheritance. Posthumus Leonatus goes to Italy. He does something he should never have done. I can never forgive him for this. You know what he did? He talked to one villainous man, Iachimo. There, trusted Iachimo. Told Iachimo, "My wife is very virtuous." Okay, that is fine. But then Iachimo told him, "No woman is virtuous." And this Posthumus Leonatus, he made a bet with Iachimo. How dare he bet on his actually virtuous wife? And Iachimo goes to Imogen's court. Gets into the bedchamber after winning her favor, hides inside a trunk or something, and then comes out at night, looks at her body while she is sleeping, goes back to Posthumus and tells her, "I made love to your wife. Your wife is not virtuous. These are the, this is the proof. These are the things I found on her body." Terrible, terrible, terrible. And Posthumus believes it. So bad. Imogen actually is not the heroine of this play. I'm telling you, this Imogen is a hero of this play. Imogen disguises as a man, Fidel, travels because she can't stay in the court. And Imogen goes to a place called Milford Haven, where she finds Count Belarius. This is an exiled general. Actually, he has two adopted sons, Guiderius and Arviragus. You think, why are these people coming now? The story is almost ending. New characters? Why? Because these two boys are actually the long-lost brothers of Imogen. Tangled family reunion, told you. Now happens, and they kill Cloten, the man who was pursuing Imogen. Someone said, oh, all these things are tied up together. Finally, Imogen forgives Posthumus. Family reunion, forgiveness, as usual. Romance ending. Did you like the play?
The second play I want to talk about is Pericles. I'm telling you, this is a very strange play. Did you know Ben Jonson, friend of Shakespeare, said Pericles is a mold? Detailed mold? Means, yeah, mold is, you know, like you keep bread outside for for many days, it gets mold, you know that one? Fungus, fungus, mold, detail. Anyway, it is a strange tale. Our Pericles is in Greece. He is going to Antioch, where Antiochus' daughter he likes. But there, she gives him a riddle. There is a riddle. He looks at the riddle and finds out what is a riddle. There is a woman who finds a lover and a father in one body. This is incest. She wants to tell him that she is the lover of his own, her own father. Horrible things are happening. And entire Pericles finds out the truth, and he has to leave because his life is in danger. Then he goes to another place, Pentapolis. Pentapolis, like pentameter, Pentapolis, five cities. There he marries Thaisa, the princess. They have a daughter, Marina. Remember Mariana, Meshava, Mesha, Marina. Pericles. Hey, one more important thing is that Marina, on that character, Measure for Measure character, Tennyson wrote the poem. Tennyson on Marina. Pericles' character. T.S. Eliot wrote. You are thinking, okay, story is ending. Very close. Happily married. Our Marina. Okay, fine. No way. Now there is a shipwreck. Family separated. After years, they are reunited. You're thinking, wait, wait, what is the story? Tell me once again, ma'am. Repeat it. Don't worry. In the audience also, people must have thought like that. That is why Shakespeare assigned one chorus-like character. Who is that? Our John Gower. From the beginning, John Gower is coming, telling the story, interpreting the story. Chorus character. Very close man. And then there is another beautiful tale, The Winter's Tale. Winter's Tale, seasons, nature, love, songs, music. It is indeed a pastoral play. You might know it is modeled on Robert Greene's Pandosto. See, there are two parts to this play. Do you notice? These last plays are pretty complicated. There are two parts to this play. The first part takes place in Sicilia, where the king is Leontes. The second part takes place in Bohemia, where the king is Polixenes. Then why didn't he just to write two plays? One in Sicilia, one in Bohemia? No way. Because there are interconnections. What are the interconnections? These two kings are childhood friends. Polixenes from Bohemia is coming visiting Leontes in Sicilia. Leontes is very busy. He assigns his wife Hermione to entertain Polixenes. Hermione and Polixenes are together entertaining. After Polixenes returns, Leontes is suspicious. Hermione, did you flirt with Polixenes? Hermione says, "No, I didn't." Leontes says, "No, you have to be imprisoned." Hermione's friend, Paulina, wants to teach Leontes a lesson. She declares Hermione is dead in the prison. And she says, "Out of my dedication to Hermione, I am building a statue." Statue is ready. Leontes comes to see the statue of his wife. Hermione is standing like a statue. How long will she stand? No problem. Leontes very soon begins crying. He feels remorseful. There is reunion. So this is a play where resurrection is a theme. Resurrection. Same thing happens in The Tempest. People who are believed to be dead come back alive. So that part of the story is over. What is happening in Bohemia? Polixenes is very angry with his son, Florizel, because son Florizel, who is a prince, fell in love with the shepherdess Perdita. Don't worry, this Perdita is the long-lost daughter of Leontes. Leontes had sent her away to be killed. Oh my God, this man is a real criminal. Trying to kill his daughter, imprisoning his wife for nothing. Anyway, this is a romance. Finally, it is discovered that Perdita is Leontes' daughter. Reunion, forgiveness, everything binds. Fine and comic ending. That is the play, The Winter's Tale. In this play, okay, okay, I know we are going to talk about The Tempest, but let me intervene before The Tempest and tell you something. In these plays, Shakespeare is a man who has overcome all the troubles of life. He has overcome all the immaturities of youth, all the troubles of middle age, and now he's growing old happily in a mature manner. He sees everybody. Nobody is perfect, but it's okay. We have to forgive. Life is like that.
And now, The Tempest. The Tempest is a stunning masque-like theatrical performance, one of the greatest plays in the Shakespearean canon. This play offers a complex view of virtues and vices. You will be surprised to know that in this magnificent play, there is very little plot. There is no suspense. We know everything from the beginning. And then how is Shakespeare maintaining our interest in the play? Prospero, the Duke of Milan, Prospero is exiled from his dukedom by his own brother, Antonio. Prospero was more interested in his magic than in the well-being of his people. So Antonio is the usurper. Prospero and his little daughter Miranda, they reach a far-off island, and they have been living there for the past 12 years. Prospero was helped by his good, honest nobleman, Gonzalo. When the play begins, Prospero is ruling the island. Don't worry, there are no inhabitants there. There is only a supernatural being called Ariel, and there is another supernatural being called Caliban. There is a big difference between Ariel and Caliban. Caliban was the son of a black witch, Sycorax. She did black magic, and the Caliban is ugly, damn cruel, immoral, almost like the devil. Whereas Ariel is beautiful, airy. Both of them want freedom from Prospero. Prospero tells Ariel, "I will give you freedom if you help me organize something." All of Prospero's enemies, his own brother Antonio, his one-time friend, the King of Naples, King Alonso, Alonso's son Ferdinand, and brother Sebastian, all of them are coming after attending Alonso's daughter's wedding. It happened in Africa. And Prospero uses Ariel to create the illusion of a shipwreck and a tempest. A tempest and a shipwreck. Their illusions, they didn't really happen. His enemies all come on shore, and Prospero manipulates them. Ferdinand, the son of Alonso, is separated from the others. Ferdinand meets Prospero's daughter Miranda, wearing his invisibility cloak. Prospero is orchestrating this romance. Meanwhile, the other men, they all come ashore. They are hungry, they are tired. They think Ferdinand is dead. In front of them, there is a banquet. Food. Ariel is disguised as a harpy, but this banquet disappears before they can eat anything. Meanwhile, Caliban joins with Stephano and Trinculo, two drunkards from Alonso's company, and they plot against Prospero, to overthrow Prospero. Finally, Alonso meets Prospero. Prospero shows Alonso Ferdinand and Miranda. It's a beautiful scene. I'll tell you how Alonso says, "Prospero, I lost my son." And Prospero says, "Alonso, I lost my daughter." What Prospero means is his daughter has fallen in love with Ferdinand, and he shows them the young couple playing chess, and there is a wedding masque, and the play ends with forgiveness, Prospero leaving the island, Ariel getting his freedom in a magnificent manner. The play ends. So you can see that there are so many intricately connected elements that make up this play. One important element of the play is, of course, magic. Prospero's magic is represented by his books, his wand. That is what creates the entire play. The entire play is an illusion created by Prospero's magic. There are three major spectacles on stage. One is the tempest itself. The other is the banquet, the feast. The third is the wedding masque. And Prospero's magic is analogous to Shakespeare's magic. Shakespeare's art is his magic. It is also significant that when Prospero bids goodbye to the island and to his magic, it is like Shakespeare bidding goodbye to the stage, because The Tempest is Shakespeare's swan song, which means probably his last play. So this Tempest uses the motive of magic, of art and illusion, of theater. The whole island is like theater. It's like the Globe. The Globe, remember, is a circular theater, and this is an island which is almost like a circle. Another amazing motive in this play throughout is music. Ariel is singing beautiful songs to entice Ferdinand and others for a good purpose. It is good music, but it is contrasted with the drunken songs, the bad music of Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo. Like music that is good and bad. There is magic also that is good and bad. The good magic of Prospero and Ariel, and the bad magic of Sycorax. This is a magnificently plotted play because, see, the intricate meanings that the play conveys. When Prospero comes to the island, Caliban is free, Ariel is imprisoned. Disorder is reigning. And when Prospero leaves the island, order is reestablished. So this is a play that kind of, in a beautiful, appropriate manner, completes Shakespeare's canon. And a very important theme regarding human nature is conveyed in this play throughout. The theme of change. Every character in this play changes. Good and bad, everybody changes, except perhaps the arch-villain Antonio. There is change in life, you know. This is almost like literary theory. Oh, so many things that we read about in literary theory are already there in The Tempest. Everything changes like the seasons. Human life changes. Human nature changes. You can't compartmentalize good and evil. After all these plays of Shakespeare, after creating villains like Iago, look at what message Shakespeare gives at the end of his writing. Human nature is a magnificent, diverse, heterogeneous entity. Everything is there in it. You can't judge people. That amazing message is what The Tempest leaves you.