Quatercentenary Year of Shakespeare’s First Folio

 

Thirty-six plays with 1,233 characters speaking 8,44,421 words that spread over 900 pages are what we see between the bound covers of the First Folio of William Shakespeare printed by the father-and-son pair of William and Isaac Jaggard in 1623 at their shop near St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

First Folio owes its existence to two actors of the King’s Men: John Heminges and Henry Condell. These two compiled the Folio in the years that followed Shakespeare’s death. Though it is not clear as to what compelled them to undertake its compilation, one thing is certain: they held Shakespeare in high regard as their preface reveals: “His mind and hand went together… Reade him, therefore; and againe, and againe.”

Over and above the texts of the plays, the folio contains certain interesting features. There is that iconic engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout on the frontispiece. On the opposite page, there is a poem by Ben Jonson, Shakespeare’s friend and rival that asks readers to “look / Not on his picture, but his book”. For the first time, its table of contents shows how the plays were categorized by genre into Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. It also gives the list of the 26 actors who performed the plays in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later the King’s Men) theatre company.

Shakespeare’s fans attach a great significance to the First olio, for it presented his entire work—Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories & Tragedies—in a single fancy keepsake volume. And we must bear in mind that it was published seven years after Shakespeare died by people who put time and effort into preserving his plays. Had the folio not been published, we might never have been able to read Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It and The Tempest.

Without the effort of John Heminges and Henry Condell, “we wouldn’t even be talking about Shakespeare,” says Emma Smith, a Shakespearean scholar at the University of Oxford and the author of Shakespeare’s First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book. For, it had rescued the name of William Shakespeare and half of his plays from oblivion.

John Heminges and Henry Condell, and William and Isaac Jaggard have thus created a living memorial to Shakespeare. During the last 400 years folio enabled generations of readers to listen to such wonderful characters—Cordelia, Desdemona, Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo, Juliet, and hundreds of others—“speaking words that continue to move and inspire us”. Indeed, as Brian Cummings once said, today First Folio exists more as a fetish.

I am of course, not fortunate enough to turn the pages of First Folio and linger over lines like, “Oh, look upon me, Sir / And hold your hands in benediction o'er me" from King Lear, but I do have a tremendous sense of reverence for the craftsmanship of the printers that even after 400 years there are as many as 228 copies of it still in existence out of the 750 copies said to have been printed originally. It is here in the folio that Shakespeare’s writing that emerged from the “unfathomable depths of his own oceanic mind” ultimately found its apotheosis by virtue of which it became a relic. And it is this relic that ultimately invented the Bard of the words within it. It is here in the folio that a reader finds the body and soul of Shakespeare. Therefore, it’s hard not to see the folio as a sacred object.

As Tiffany Stern said, “Shakespeare isn’t famous as a person, he’s famous as a playwright. This folio anniversary is a celebration of what we actually admire Shakespeare for: a set of extraordinary plays. That’s why the Folio’s anniversary is so significant.”

As a playwright, Shakespeare touched on universal themes that transcend time and space. It is precisely for this reason that every generation, as Michael Witmore, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC said, “makes Shakespeare their own, and every generation fights with him and loves him in their own way.”

The very performance of Shakespeare’s plays even after 400 years around the world wouldn’t have been possible if his friends had not gotten all his plays into First Folio after his death as a tribute to him. Suffice it to say that the First Folio remains as a symbol of literary preservation, nay the enduring power of Shakespeare’s plays and it is precisely for this reason that the First Folio deserves quatercentenary celebrations.

 

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King Richard II—“Landlord of England art thou now, not king.”

(Story-line)

With the death of King Edward III, Richard, son of the good-natured and gallant Black Prince who died prematurely, and grandson of Edward, becomes the King of England at the age of eleven. People celebrate his coronation gaily, hoping much from him. But, as the time goes on, the hopes of the commoner are dashed: Richard is weak, wasteful in his expenditure, unwise in choosing councilors, regal in his approach, and detached from his country and its people.

Initially, Richard rules the country discreetly, but often finds himself carried away by flattery. Fearing the Duke of Gloucester, his uncle, Richard seizes and sends him to Calais, where Thomas Mowbray is the governor. There, in a prison, he dies mysteriously. There is no sure indication of Richard’s involvement, but people believe that he was murdered by the King’s order.

His other uncle, John of Gaunt and Duke of Lancaster, has a son by name Henry Bolingbroke. He is a soldierly man. His wife is the sister of Gloucester’s widow. He too could not accuse cousin Richard of the murder. But he charges that Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, who was the governor of Calais at the time of Gloucester’s murder, was involved in the treachery.

The King summons the appellant and the accused to appear before him. Bolingbroke accuses Mowbray on three counts: detaining 8000 nobles, which should have been paid to King’s soldiery, treasons committed, and importantly for the death of the Duke of Gloucester. Then the King demands response from Mowbray, assuring that he need not fear, for the King’s eyes and ears are impartial. Mowbray then lies to Bolingbroke. Failing in his mediation attempt to appease them, the King orders them to appear at Coventry on St. Lambert’s day to settle their differences with sword and lance.

On the appointed day, when the combatants are readying for the fight, the King stops them and announces his sentence of banishment of both. He banishes Bolingbroke for 10 years and Mowbray ‘never to return.’ He then calls both of them and asks to swear on his sword that they will never meet and plot against him. As soon as Mowbray leaves, Richard, looking at old Gaunt, his uncle and father of Bolingbroke, reduces the banishment of Bolingbroke to six years. Bolingbroke leaves the court bidding farewell to his countrymen warmly.

Richard, thus relieved of the anxiety that one day the Crown may pass on to Bolingbroke, to whom common people have shown such affability, and having already emptied his coffers for his selfish extravagance, begins to rent out parcels of English land to wealthy noblemen to raise money to carry on with his wars in Ireland. On the death of his uncle Gaunt, he confiscates his estate and money for his own royal use, dispossessing Bolingbroke. This makes the noblemen and the commoners realize that Richard has gone too far.

Once Richard leaves for Ireland to pursue a war, the Earl of Northumberland, head of the great house of Percy, starts questioning the conduct of King. Hearing that Bolingbroke has landed with an army at Ravenspurgh in the north-east of England, the Earl of Northumberland joins him. The commoners, being fond of Bolingbroke and being angry at Richard’s mismanagement of the country, welcome his invasion and join his forces.

As Bolingbroke marches with his army to Berkeley, Gloucestershire, he meets his uncle, old York, who challenges his advance. Bolingbroke pleads with him: “My gracious uncle, in what have I offended? My belongings have been seized. I only came to lay my claim in person.” Hearing his argument, old York turns neutral. One by one, Richard’s allies among the nobility desert him and join Bolingbroke, as he marches through England.

Richard, thus loses his grip over the country, much before his return from Ireland. On returning from Ireland, though his aids advise him to use all the means to stall the invasion, Richard assures them that “not all the water in the sea has power to wash the balm from an anointed King.” He expects god’s angel to fight for him. Thus, there indeed is no actual battle. Bolingbroke takes him as a prisoner in Wales and brings him to London, where the crown is passed on to Bolingbroke by Richard himself.

Bolingbroke is thus crowned as King Henry IV. Richard is imprisoned in the castle of Pomfret in north England. There, an assassin murders him. Of course, no one is sure of the role of the King in the murder, though King Henry repudiates the murder. He also undertakes a journey to Jerusalem to cleanse himself of his part in Richard’s death. Nevertheless, the beginning of the new regime of King Henry starts off inauspiciously.

immortal Shakespeare's 450th Birthday Celebrations

 

“Follow your spirit, and upon this charge / Cry, “God for Harry! England, and Saint George!” — thus lead the charismatic leader, Henry V

The political situation in 15th century England is tense. King Henry IV has died. His son, young Henry V has ascended the throne. The scars of civil wars that the country has suffered are there to be seen. People are still leading a restless and dissatisfied life.

Nor could the newly crowned King Henry V offer instantaneous solace to the citizens. Of course, people are slowly realizing that he is no longer Prince Hal: he has shunned his wild adolescent past—living with thieves and drunkards of the Tavern on the seedy side of London—and has become a sober-minded willing listener of advice with a strong will of his own. He, people feel, has at once become a King with high concern for his country’s welfare and honor.

To overcome the constraints and to show his royal mettle, Henry V, tracing his relation to the French royal family and using a technical interpretation of certain ancient land laws, lays claim to certain parts of France. But the young Prince of France repudiates his claim by sending an insulting message. This, obviously, makes Henry decide to invade France. Supported by clergy and the nobles, Henry mobilizes troops for war.

The mobilization of troops for invading France, however, affects the common people. Many from the Tavern side, with whom Henry spent his time as young Prince but disowned them after becoming the King—such as Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym, the common lowlifes and part-time criminals—join the troops. As they are getting ready for the war, the news of the death of an elderly knight, Falstaff, the former closest friend of King Henry, makes everyone unhappy.

As Henry is all set to sail to France, he comes to know of a conspiracy to kill him. The trio involved in the conspiracy at the behest of the French plead for mercy. Ignoring their plea and ordering their execution, Henry sails out for France. 

Against many odds, his troops fight their way through France. The English troops, being motivated by the inspiring speech of Henry, conquer the town of Harfleur. As his troops, who included men from all parts of Britain, march forward winning one battle after another, Henry, learning that Nim and Bardolph have been looting the locals, orders their execution. Such is his commitment for forthrightness even in attacking the French. 

The war comes to a climax at Agincourt. Here, the English troops are outnumbered by the French by five to one. The night before the final battle, Henry, disguising himself as an ordinary soldier, moves around his camp, meeting soldiers to learn how they perceive the day’s battle, level of their spirit and their expectations about the outcome. At the end of his rounds, sitting alone in the dark, Henry soliloquizes: “What watch the King keeps to maintain the peace, Whose hours the peasant best advantages.”

As the day dawns, he prays to God; and before setting out to attack, he gives one of the most powerful and inspiring speeches ever to be given by a leader— We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. / For he today that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, / This day shall gentle his condition. / And gentlemen in England now abed / Shall think themselves accurst they were not here, / And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks / That fought with us.”—to his battle-set troops, and leads them from upfront. Miraculously, they win the battle. The proud French ultimately surrender to the English.

Finally, the peace negotiations result in: Henry will marry Catherine, the daughter of the French King and Henry’s son will be the King of France.

“Commend me to my kind lord”, Othello!!!

One night,  Roderigo, a rich man, blames Iago, an ensign of Othello, in a street in Venice, for not performing his leg of contract: helping him in his suit to Desdemona, for he comes to know that Desdemona has just married Othello, the Moor. But Iago, saying that he hates Othello for he has ignored his claim for promotion as lieutenant and instead elevated an inexperienced Cassio, pleads that he is still working on the plot.

Hiding in dark, Iago and Roderigo then shout to Brabantio, father of Desdemona, that his daughter is stolen by and married to Othello. Hearing which, Brabantio searches for his daughter, and finding that she is indeed missing, he, with a couple of officers, goes out to find Othello. To hide his hatred from being noticed by Othello, Iago, in the meanwhile leaving Roderigo behind, rushes to Othello well before Brabantio.

At Othello’s lodgings, Cassio arrives with an urgent message that the Duke has summoned him in connection with the imminent Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Following it, Brabantio reaches him and accuses that he has married his daughter by witchcraft. But knowing that Othello is on his way to the Duke, Brabantio decides to go along and present his allegation before the senate thus: “She is abused, stolen from me, and corrupted / By spells and medicines bought of Mountebanks.”

Hearing Brabantio’s accusation, the senate, being sympathetic of his contributions in wars, grants Othello a chance to speak for himself. He then explains that he won Desdemona’s heart not by witchcraft — “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them. / This only is the witchcraft I have used”— but by narrating his adventures of war and travel. He even requests the senate to get the fact verified by summoning Desdemona. Later, she arrives at the senate and confirms her marriage with Othello and announces her allegiance to him. Frustrated at the developments, Brabantio gives up and allows the senate resume meeting. The Duke then directs Othello to go to Cyprus to defend it from the Turks. As sought by her, Desdemona is permitted to accompany her husband. Arrangements are then made for their departure that very night. 

Good news awaits them in Cyprus: a storm at sea wrecks the Turkish fleet. But the ship carrying Cassio arrives safely followed by the one carrying Iago, Desdemona, Roderigo and Emilia, the wife of Iago. At the arrival of Desdemona in Cyprus, Cassio greets her by clasping her hand. Watching this, Iago, who is waiting along with others to receive Othello, draws a scheme to use it to ensnare Cassio. 

Arriving in Cyprus, Othello announces a party that night to celebrate the safety of Cyprus from Turks. Once everyone leaves, Roderigo complains to Iago that there is no way to break Othello’s marriage. But Iago, assuring Roderigo that it will not last long, guides him to cast Cassio into disgrace by picking a quarrel with him at the evening party. Thus the die is cast to first eliminate Cassio in his master plan for ruining Othello.

Iago gets Cassio drunk in the party and then sends Roderigo to pick a quarrel with him. Apparently, provoked by Roderigo, Cassio stabs him. Iago then sends Roderigo to raise alarm in the town. Hearing the alarm, Othello arrives at the scene. On his enquiring, Iago first pretends as though he is reluctant to implicate his friend, Cassio, but ultimately tells Othello the whole story. Othello then strips Cassio of his rank of lieutenant. Cassio expresses his grief to Iago. After everyone departs, Iago, with an ulterior motive of framing Cassio and Desdemona as lovers, assures Cassio that he can get back into Othello’s good books through Desdemona. 

As suggested by Iago, Cassio meets Desdemona privately and pleads with her to help him. Being sympathetic of his request, she promises to make Othello forgive him. As Cassio is about to leave, Othello and Iago return home. In his discomfiture, Cassio departs without talking to Othello. Then Othello enquires if it is Cassio who parted from his wife. Iago makes best use of the enquiry to kindle jealousy in his mind by whispering, he cannot think for sure if Cassio “would steal away so guilty-like” seeing him coming.

Othello becomes upset at it. Looking at his mood, Iago suggests that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. She later requests Othello for reinstating Cassio as lieutenant which at once makes Othello confirm his doubt about her fidelity. This upsets him terribly. Coming to invite Othello for supper and noticing him unwell, she gives him her handkerchief to wrap around his neck. However, finding it too small, Othello drops it on the floor and exits for supper. Emilia picks it up and passes it on to her husband as asked for earlier. 

Iago then plants it in Cassio’s room to use it as evidence of his affair with Desdemona. When Othello asks for proof of his wife being unfaithful to him, Iago says that he has seen Cassio wipe his beard with Desdemona’s handkerchief at his house. Hearing it, Othello asks Desdemona for the kerchief that he has gifted her. She replies that she does not have it with her. Unwittingly, she, attempting to change the topic, reminds him of Cassio’s cause. Obviously, this drives his rage further.

Influenced by Iago’s machinations, Othello gets deeply consumed by jealousy. In the meanwhile, Othello is ordered to return home with instructions to Cassio to take over his place. This disturbs Othello further. That night he accuses Desdemona as a whore. He, brushing aside her protestations as also Emilia’s pleadings about Desdemona’s innocence, storms out. Iago, true to his evil nature, pretends to smoothen Desdemona’s hurt feelings by saying that Othello is upset with matters of state and things will return to normal soon.

Poisoned thus by Iago, Othello, finally, did what a hero guided by imperfect observation and self-fulfilling analysis does: one night he kills Desdemona. She, proclaiming “A guiltless death I die,” joins the silence. Later, on coming to know of the truth about the handkerchief from Emilia, and Iago’s villainy, Othello, “to die upon a kiss”, kills himself.

Towering Ambition Toppled a Mighty Warrior!

The play begins with a trio of witches declaring “Fair is foul and foul is fair” as though to tell us in advance as to what the play is about.

The scene immediately shifts to the Scottish King, Duncan. He, hearing about his brave generals Macbeth and Banquo defeating the invading army under the leadership of rebel Macdonwald, and another army from Norway, praises Macbeth for his valor and loyalty.

Following the fierce battle, Macbeth and Banquo head for the King. On the way they encounter three witches. They prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane of Cawdor and would eventually become king of Scotland. They also forecast that Banquo’s progeny will become Scottish kings while he would remain as he is. Soon after, they vanish.

As Macbeth and Banquo are wondering at it, the King’s men approach and thank them for their victories. They also inform Macbeth that in the place of the previous thane, who has been condemned to death for betraying the king, he has been made Thane of Cawdor. That makes Macbeth wonder if the rest of the prophecy too would come true. He is however, uncertain of what to expect. He then meets King Duncan. They plan to dine together in the night at Macbeth’s castle. In the meanwhile, he writes a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, narrating all that has happened.

Back home, reading the letter, Lady Macbeth desires that he become the king soon. After Macbeth arrives at the castle, she indeed persuades him to murder Duncan that very night. They plan together to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so that they will sleep quiet in the night and therefore they can blame them for the murder against which they will be defenseless for they remember nothing. Thereafter, she clears all his doubts and gently nudges him to murder the King. Finally, Macbeth stabs the sleeping King.

Next morning, when the King’s death is discovered, Macbeth kills the chamberlains, as though in rage at their crime. Then he assumes kingship. In the meanwhile, Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, runaway to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed the King would wish to get them also annihilated.

Fearful of the witches’ prophecy about Banquo’s heirs ascending the throne, Macbeth hires mercenaries to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They kill Banquo while his son Fleance escapes into the darkness. But Macbeth is very unhappy at the escape of Fleance, for he fears that as long as Fleance is alive his power is insecure.

Thereafter, in the banquet arranged by the new King Macbeth to greet the nobles, Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth. Seeing the ghost, Macbeth raves at the guests, which obviously, startles them. Lady Macbeth, however, attempts to neutralize the damage.

But then onwards, his kingship encounters increased resistance from nobles and subjects. Disturbed by the developments, Macbeth visits the witches. Upon his request, the witches take him to other spirits, which further prophesy that he must be careful of Macduff, who resisted his accession to the throne. They also assure him that he cannot be harmed by any man born of woman and he will be safe until Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane castle. This prophecy relieves him of the fear of insecurity. Learning that Macduff has fled to England, he orders the forceful seizure of his castle and murder of his wife and children.

Learning about his family’s execution and grieving at it, Macduff vows revenge. In the meanwhile, Malcolm, Duncan’s son, raises an army in England to challenge Macbeth. Joining Malcolm, Macduff rides to Scotland to attack Macbeth. Frightened by the tyrannical behavior of Macbeth, the Scottish nobles extend support to Malcolm.

Lady Macbeth, in the meanwhile, overtaken by the crime they committed on Duncan, becomes spiritually so sick that sleep—the “nourisher” of life—becomes “death’s counterfeit” and to get relieved from that living hell she kills herself.

Life, by then, becomes so sterile to Macbeth that the news of his wife’s death could not make any difference to him. It’s not that he hasn’t realized what he has lost by submitting himself to the will of evil … all in the name of ‘I’, but by then it is so late that he could do no more than heaving his heart into his mouth: “And that which should accompany old age, / As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have, but in their stead / Curses, …”

Nevertheless, learning that the English army is advancing towards Dunsinane with boughs cut from Birnam wood, he, though becomes numb, enters the battle and fights violently till Macduff—who has been “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb—kills him.