Silly Shakespeare....Literally
So a year or so ago I took a Shakespeare class and our final paper was about....well, whatever we wanted. I decided to do a nice little study of what our lovely Purdon (that's our professer) calls the 'antic disposition'. Aka people acting crazy when they're really not. Probably a dry read, but I find it interesting. Well, obviously. I wrote it. Lol
Many dramatic works depict tales of love, family, revenge, and peril. To those who may have come across harrowing situations like those of the characters in King Lear or Hamlet, choosing to distance oneself from the situation by means of “antic disposition” and intrigues of the like may seem to be the most obvious choice, but it may have negative and lasting psychological consequences, not only for the person experiencing the event, but for those around them. It can lead to the destruction of a relationship, eventually cause actual mental illness, and even cause the death of a loved one or in some cases the person themselves. It is clear from examples such as these that antic disposition is not a concept to be trifled with, as it can have severe consequences.
In some other cases, like The Taming of the Shrew, feigned insanity may have no consequences on the person themselves, and may even help other involved persons to see their flaws and correct them, therefore benefiting all involved. To see how feigned madness and the antic disposition can influence the surrounding individuals, it is necessary to look at two of Shakespeare's prominent works-Hamlet and The Taming of the Shrew. By looking at these two plays and their selected characters in-depth, it is easy to see how the antic disposition can work both against and in favor of those employing its tactics.
One of the most well-known cases of feigned madness in Shakespeare's work is the title character in Hamlet. To briefly summarize Hamlet's condition, the prince is forced to distance himself from reality by putting on a falsified insanity, by which he hopes to save himself and those he loves from the consequences of the plan already set in motion to capture his uncle. Throughout the course of the play, Hamlet acts contrary to the typical reality constructed around him and goes to great lengths to both find the truth regarding his father's “most foul and unnatural murder” and to protect those he loves from the person responsible for his father's death. However, this has obviously less desirable consequences than Hamlet originally envisioned, both for himself and for everyone else involved in the tragic situation.
First one must take into account his relationship with Ophelia, which is to say the least fraught with confusion, misunderstanding, and the origin of the phrase “I love you to death.” Hamlet tries desperately to protect Ophelia from the situation he finds himself entangled in. He is forced to distance himself from the woman he truly loves in order to spare her the repercussions of his actions. In his feigned fits of madness, Ophelia continually tries to aid him and bring him back to a state of sanity, but Hamlet resists, even to the point of pushing her away from him.
In Act III Scene I Hamlet and Ophelia meet, shortly after Hamlet has been contemplating ending not only the plan to avenge his father, but ending his life itself. In such a vulnerable state, he rendezvous with Ophelia and rejects her affections in order to keep himself distanced from the world around him. “You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it: I loved you not...Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” (Act III, Scene I) In short, Hamlet kicks Ophelia to the proverbial curb. It is quite apparent to the audience that Hamlet is acting in Ophelia's best interest, but to the young lady herself it appears that Hamlet's love has deserted her and left her empty and alone. She is afraid for herself as well as Hamlet, and her brief speech at the end of the scene shows her reaction to the illusion that Hamlet has constructed before her.
“O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword; the expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mould of form, the observed of all observers, quite, quite down! And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, that suck'd the honey of his music vows, now see that noble and most sovereign reason, like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; that unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me, to have seen what I have seen, see what I see!” (Act III, Scene I)
Hamlet's illusion is cleverly veiled to protect her from the actual meaning of his predicament, and this is in fact what troubles her so deeply, the notion that he has pulled away and wants nothing to do with her. However, Hamlet gives her subtle clues as to his true motives, with the intention of keeping her at bay and yet at the same time not leaving her entirely. “Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness: this was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once.” (Act III, Scene I) This is one of the examples of Hamlet's clever use of subtext and language to communicate to Ophelia the real situation at hand-his love for her must be overpowered by his need to protect her from the current chain of events, therefore necessitating that he remain at a carefully guarded distance from her in order to keep her out of the path of danger and harm, both from the enemies of the country as a whole and the enemies of Hamlet himself. Hamlet continues to act this way towards Ophelia until finally she ultimately believes his illusion and leaves him to his own devices. The next time they meet, so to speak, Hamlet has returned home for a short while, only to come across her funeral.
This is up for much debate, but it is necessary to consider the possibility of Ophelia's suicide. Assuming that she killed herself, it is extremely likely that Hamlet's brash actions toward her assisted her in her final conclusion of suicide, as losing one's true love can be quite a blow especially to an already damaged mind as was the case for Ophelia. Thus, as has been argued during the previous pages, it is entirely possible that in trying to protect Ophelia from being harmed by others, Hamlet left her alone with her grief and sadness and no one else to trust, in the end in fact backfiring his plan and causing her death.
Hamlet has many interactions with other characters besides Ophelia, and in particular Horatio stands out as another person greatly affected by Hamlet's actions. Horatio and Hamlet are close friends and confidantes, yet when it comes to Hamlet's master plan, not even Horatio knows all the details of the scheme. This seems somewhat counterproductive when it comes to the progress of Hamlet's investigations, but in the long run Horatio does come out of the situation unscathed, at least from the perspective of not getting killed like the rest of the characters. Hamlet was still able to keep Horatio at bay in order to protect him as much as possible, and was still able to enlist Horatio's help in his schemes. To keep his antic disposition believable and useful, however, Hamlet needed to hide it from everyone, even his best friend, to ensure that he could achieve his goals with the least negative consequences possible. To summarize, although Hamlet's actions overprotected Ophelia, Horatio was fortunately enough out of harm's way to still be able to be used by Hamlet and yet be kept safe at the same time. He relied on his friend to help him in his pursuits, but only to the degree which was safe for both Horatio and everyone else involved.
In the end, Hamlet's efforts to reduce the damage caused to his friends, love, and even his mother failed miserably. By the end of the play, every major character except for Horatio has perished either by their own hand accidentally or by another's hand intentionally, which includes Hamlet's revenge killing of Claudius, his father's murderer. This can be blamed in part upon Hamlet, whose secretive behavior and intrigues kept everyone in the dark about the situation until it was too late for them to escape uninjured. To analyze Hamlet's actions, it can be found maddeningly unethical to lie to one's friends and loved ones merely to achieve a personal goal or gain. However, in this case, part of Hamlet's goal was to protect his family and friends, and thus it is arguable that his actions are justified, even if his actions sadly did not have the consequences he had originally hoped for.
Fortunately, Petruchio has much better results with his attempt at feigned madness in Taming of the Shrew. Although both men have the same sort of intentions, to either protect their loves or to improve their lives in general, they have vastly different tactics to garner the desired results. While Hamlet tried to protect Ophelia from the dangers of his uncle and drove her to her death in the process, Petruchio instead made the choice to use madness to show Kate how silly and outdated her conventions were, in the end perhaps garnering a bad reputation but ultimately gaining the respect of his newly-enlightened wife, who by his efforts is made respectable herself.
Petruchio seems a noble sort even if he is a bit flippant and proud. When presented to Kate, he delights in the opportunity to match wits with her, meeting her sarcasm with that of his own and so forth. All appears to be going well for the two, as Kate will finally get the husband she wants and Petruchio will get the increased wealth he desires as well as Kate herself, fulfilling his desire to “wive and thrive,” as he says toward the onset of the play. But when the day of their wedding arrives...all proverbial hell breaks loose.
Petruchio enters the scene in a heinously wild outfit, acting like somewhat of a drunkard and babbling on about how clothes do not make the man, so on and so forth. The guests can come to the conclusion, as could the audience had they not prior knowledge of his motivations, that Petruchio has gone completely nuts. To say the least, he causes quite a bit of shame showing up late, dressed like a fool, everything previously mentioned, and Kate begins to become despondent at his actions. When he refuses to stay for the marriage feast however, she stands up and protests to this unconventional behavior. Since they are now married however convention dictates that she must do as he asks, even if it seems unnatural or ridiculous. This must be reviewed briefly in order to comment on Petruchio's actions in the near future.
Still in his state of antic disposition, Petruchio throws a royal fit at everyone he sees, leaving Kate baffled and forced to watch his feigned tirade. He heckles the cook, for the fine meal set before them is in his eyes overcooked and inedible, and thus forces the cook to remove the only meal that Kate has had all day. She protests, but he ignores her pleas, going next after the tailors, etc., as the wonderful gowns that have been made for Kate seem to him rags. By this point Kate is understandably confused and dejected, or as some have said it, disillusioned, by Petruchio's harsh and uncharacteristic actions. The problem is that as he is acting in this way in order to help her, and will not cease his strange doings until she understands his motives and choices.
This continues throughout much of Act IV, with the couple having a brief argument over time of day and then deciding to travel back to Baptista's home. At one point, Petruchio makes the comment, “Come on, i' God's name; once more toward our father's. Good Lord, how bright and goodly shines the moon!” (Act IV, Scene IV) He says this of course, to test Kate's reaction and see if she yet understands his games, as it is the middle of the day. Kate has quite frankly had enough and will say anything to make Petruchio happy and maintain peace between them, so after a brief argument she resigns and replies, “Then, God be bless'd, it is the blessed sun: but sun it is not, when you say it is not; and the moon changes even as your mind. What you will have it named, even that it is; and so it shall be so for Katharina.” (Act IV, Scene IV)
This previous exchange gives Petruchio the notion to continue, as Kate will agree with him regardless, but still cannot think for herself and remains a slave to her conventions and ideologies. Soon after the sun and moon discussion, they come across an elderly gentleman, whom Petruchio greets in the following manner. “Good morrow, gentle mistress: where away? Tell me, sweet Kate, and tell me truly too, hast thou beheld a fresher gentlewoman? Such war of white and red within her cheeks! What stars do spangle heaven with such beauty, as those two eyes become that heavenly face? Fair lovely maid, once more good day to thee. Sweet Kate, embrace her for her beauty's sake.” (Act IV, Scene IV) Kate concurs and greets the old man in the same fashion, at which point Petruchio scolds her for making such a clumsy mistake.
Suddenly Kate understands the reality of the situation and of Petruchio's actions and lets him know of her enlightenment by saying she was “too dazzled by the sun” to see the older man for what he truly was. It becomes clear to Kate that Petruchio's actions have been to lead her to the truth, and this realization brings her even closer to her husband, a fact which is evidenced in Kate's final speech at the end of the play. This certainly justifies Petruchio's odd behavior throughout the rest of the play, and serves as an example of pure love toward his bride to teach her to think for herself.
One more example must be provided in this vein, if only to prove that even when one is in control of their own actions, they cannot control the overall situation, nor those around them. Sadly, this example has resorted back into the melancholy example of Hamlet. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet drinks a potion that renders her apparently lifeless in order to escape the marriage edict of her father. Her plan is executed perfectly, and news of her intrigues is sent to her husband Romeo. Word of her intricate plot never reaches him however, through a series of unfortunate events involving the carrier of the letter and closed borders due to plague.
To simplify, Romeo hears that Juliet has “died” and assumes it to be the truth. He then rushes to her area, from which he is banished by the way, and has encounters with a couple other characters in the play. No further detail of those events is needed however, as it suffices to say that this sets into motion the chain of events that causes his suicide, as well as Juliet's own death at seeing the failure of their plan and the body of her dead love.
One can glean from this several things. First of all, an explanation is due to explain how this fits into the topic of antic disposition. The deceptive intrigue, which by some opinions is the more general family of mind games into which the antic disposition makes its home, is evidenced perfectly in this situation. A plot is afoot to deceive the masses as to the condition of the young Juliet, done so she can attain her desired end of escape with her Romeo. By the end of the story however, they are both dead as a result of her actions, however pure her motives may have been.
It is clear to see from the examples given that the use of feigned confusion, insanity, or even rage can have serious implications on others in a situation, and that the antic disposition, while quite a good literary tool, should not be used too often in real life, as it can have consequences similar to those referenced in Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.
While occasionally such practices produce good results, as is the case in Taming of the Shrew, those instances are few and far between, and so one should carefully consider their actions and the repercussions they may have before they make a rash decision to enter into a state of antic disposition. It may distance one from the situation at hand, but it can also bring one too far away and therefore impair judgement and cause a loss of perspective, or have the opposite effect and drag one further into the situation, therefore becoming too involved in the situation and likely to get others involved and potentially hurt.