Key Themes in Shakespeare

Shakespeare's plays often showcase the complexities and consequences of love intertwined with loyalty and betrayal, affecting familial and romantic relationships profoundly.

A key example, that we have already examined, is "Romeo and Juliet", in which the young lovers' commitment to each other, despite the longstanding feud between their families, leads them to betray their parents’ trust and marry in secret.

Ironically, it is Romeo and Juliet’s deaths that finally open the eyes of their families to the stupidity of their feud, and they agree to reconcile.

On the otherhand, in Othello, Shakespeare shows how easily his faith in his beloved wife, Desdomona, can be shaken and undermined by his friend Iago’s (false) reports of her unfaithfulness.

In Shakespeare’s Tragedy, "King Lear", love and loyalty are tested to the extreme.

We briefly looked at King Lear earlier in the pathway, but here we will look at how it showcases Shakespeare's favorite themes of love, loyalty, and betrayal.

The play opens with Lear, an aging monarch, deciding to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on their declarations of love for him. He expects lavish expressions of love to determine their share of the inheritance.

His elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, secure their shares by deceitfully exaggerating their affection.

However, when it comes to his youngest daughter, Cordelia, she chooses honesty over flattery. Cordelia tells her father that she loves him "according to her bond; no more, nor less," refusing to exaggerate her affection merely to secure her inheritance.

Lear, failing to see the honesty in her modesty, disowns Cordelia.

This act of rejection based on a misinterpretation of loyalty sets the stage for Lear’s tragic downfall.

Goneril and Regan's soon betray their father, stripping him of his authority and dignity, and driving him into madness. Meanwhile, the disowned Cordelia remains loyal.

“Obey thy parents; keep thy word justly” - King Lear

The theme of betrayal is echoed in the subplot of King Lear involving the Earl of Gloucester and his sons, Edgar and Edmund.

Edmund, the illegitimate son, schemes against his father and brother, Edgar, driven by jealousy and ambition.

Edmund tricks Gloucester into believing Edgar plans to kill him and deceives Edgar into fleeing for his life.

Gloucester's misplaced trust in Edmund leads to his own tragic blinding and eventual death, mirroring Lear’s tragic misjudgments about his daughters.

Edgar, surviving his ordeals, eventually returns to avenge the injustices against his father and brother, highlighting themes of redemption and the restoration of loyalty.

Shakespeare often explores the tension between order and chaos in his plays.

We can see this in two plays's we have already explored in this pathway: Macbeth, and once again, King Lear.

In Macbeth, the protagonist's ambition disrupts the monarchy, leading to a chaotic and tyrannical rule that only ends with his death, restoring order.

In King Lear, the king’s impulsive decision to divide his kingdom based on flattery from his daughters leads to a breakdown of order and results in widespread chaos and tragedy.

Both plays conclude with the restoration of order, underlining the importance of stability and the consequences of reckless choices.

Another key way in which Shakespeare explores the subversion of order is through disguise. Disguise and deception are recurring motifs in Shakespeare's works.

In plays such as Twelfth Night, The Tempest, and Measure for Measure, characters use disguise and deception to achieve their goals.

In Twelfth Night, Viola disguises herself as a man in order to gain employment in the Duke's court.

Through her disguise, she is able to gain access to the court and ultimately reunite her separated family.

Similarly, in The Tempest, Prospero uses deception to manipulate the other characters. He creates illusions and disguises to deceive the other characters and ultimately achieve his desired outcome.

In Measure for Measure, the Duke disguises himself as a friar in order to see how his rule is affecting ordinary people.

“Look th’innocent flower but be the serpent under it” - Macbeth

In Shakespeare's plays, the theme of order disrupted by chaos is often linked to the mental breakdowns of his characters, as seen in Hamlet and King Lear.

In Hamlet, the prince's madness stems from the shock of his father's murder and the betrayal by his uncle, who has claimed the throne. Hamlet pretends to be mad as a way to deal with his grief and to plan his revenge. However, his act of feigning madness begins to blur with genuine mental distress as he becomes increasingly consumed by his thoughts of revenge and justice.

Similarly, in King Lear, the king’s descent into madness is triggered by his poor decision to divide his kingdom among his daughters based on their flattery. When his older daughters betray him, Lear is faced with the harsh truth of his vulnerability and powerlessness, leading to his mental collapse. This breakdown is a direct result of his pride and mistaken judgments, highlighting how personal errors can lead to broader chaos.

In both plays, Shakespeare uses madness not only to reflect the inner turmoil of the characters but also to explore the consequences of their actions on their surroundings. The characters' mental struggles are mirrored by the disorder around them, showing how deeply personal crises can affect wider societal order.

“Madness in great ones must not unwatched go” - Hamlet