Jealousy And Mistaken Identity In Shakespeare Essays -

Jealousy and Mistaken Identity in Shakespeare Jealousy and Mistaken Identity in Shakespeare William Shakespeare's life is somewhat of a mystery to scholars due to the fact that most information that is known is very scattered and sparse. No one knows the exact date of Shakespeare's birth, but his baptism occurred on Wednesday, April 26, 1564. His father was John Shakespeare, a tanner, glover, dealer in grain, and town official of Stratford. His mother, Mary, was the daughter of Robert Arden, a prosperous gentleman-farmer. William Shakespeare and his family lived on Henley Street. A bond dated November 28, 1582 stated that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway entered into a marriage contract. The baptism of their eldest child, Susanna, took place in Stratford in May of 1583. Hamnet and Judith, their twins were christened in the same church one year and nine months later. In May of 1597, Shakespeare purchased a residential property in Stratford called New Place. Due to the fact that his father had suffered financial problems prior to this date, it is assumed that Shakespeare must have achieved success by himself. On March 25, 1616 William Shakespeare revised his last will and testament. He died on April 23, 1616. There are certainly many things in which scholars cannot explain about the life of William Shakespeare, however the facts that do exist are enough to identify him as a real person. He was a writer who, for the last three hundred years, has continued to be a major influence on drama and poetry. Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays that are all very unique in their style and subject matter. The themes vary anywhere from extreme jealousy to silly humor. Two major themes that are apparent in a lot of Shakespeare's works are mistaken identity and jealousy. The idea of mistaken identity as a plot device in comedies dates all the way back to the writers, Menander and Plautus, in the Greek and Roman times. Shakespeare borrowed that device and used it to further his plots in his comedies. His artistic use of mistaken identity is brilliantly used in many of his plays. In Shakespeare's comedy, The Comedy of Errors, mistaken identity is the sole story line of the play. The idea of asking how one really knows who one is, is introduced, but the problems that will occur between appearance and reality are not totally realized. As Shakespeare begins to write more about mistaken identity, his comic style using this ploy begins to develop more and more. In a very simple form, mistaken identity is shown in Twelfth Night. The twins are mistaken for each other and this brings about a comic conflict throughout the play. This simple form of the plot device is extended when it becomes known that one twin is actually a girl who would not normally be mistaken for her brother. This is a result because she has resorted to a disguise. Viola disguising herself as Cessario is a beginning to the double meanings throughout the dialogue that Shakespeare uses as comedy within the playing of the words. When her twin brother, Sebastian, arrives her passive nature is mistaken to be his and he is married to Olivia who thinks he is his disguised sister. As an audience member, part of the fun of mistaken identity is the sole enjoyment of trying to keep who is who straight and knowing something that the actors do not. Disguise is one of Shakespeare's favorite devices, found in many of his works. Through it he alters the identity of an individual, which creates an elevated irony, a developed theme, and an enhanced comic element to the story. In As You Like It, Shakespeare, by having characters in disguise, creates an outlet for new ironies and comic twists throughout the work. The shepherdess who is in love with the "shepherd" Ganymede who is really a girl (Rosalind) is one of the comic twists, as well as Orlando sharing feelings of love to Ganymede who is really Orlando's love Rosalind in disguise. Once again the hidden and mistaken identity constructs this plot and furthers its comedy. The entire purpose of mistaken identity can only be accomplished when a disguise is shown in the way to say and experience things in the one identity that can only be accomplished by the altar identity: this is what composes the comedy within the words. For example, in Measure For Measure, the Duke uses disguise and mistaken identity to reveal the truth about Angelo, while simultaneously providing comic moments when Lucio speaks of the Duke to the Duke unaware of his true identity. Another re-occurring theme throughout Shakespeare's plays