Good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues.
As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 4
Shakespeare’s work is not always easy to categorise. His tragedies have funny moments and his comedies include deaths; ‘The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together’ (All’s Well That Ends Well). As this book shows, the deaths are just as difficult to file under nice neat headings as the plays he portrayed them in.
The Bard killed off over 250 named characters in his plays and poems, in dozens of different ways. In many respects he reflected the time he was writing in. He lived in an unenviable era as far as death and violence were concerned. Unlike today, bears, sword fights and executions could be responsible for the untimely end of Londoners in Elizabethan and Jacobean times. In other ways the reality of life and death in Renaissance England is poorly reflected in his literary output. Plague and the majority of contagious diseases are all but ignored. But Shakespeare was not documenting the life and death he saw around him. He wrote to entertain the thousands of people who packed themselves into the playhouses day in and day out.
Every death included in his work, and the manner of it, serves a dramatic purpose. Some deaths show the injustices of life and others bring justice to those who have done wrong. There are accidents, planned deaths and unavoidable deaths. Some are passed over quickly, while others are described in detail. His first loyalty was to the drama itself; historical accuracy and realism were only secondary considerations. The comedies, in places, stretch credibility, but every fantastical moment adds to the enjoyment of the play. His histories play havoc with timelines and motives, but all the essential historical elements are still there. The tragedies may seem bloody and violent, but they are no more so than modern TV series. And, among all the drama and theatricality, there are some extraordinary insights into the processes of death. The accuracy of some of the minutiae that he included suggests Shakespeare had observed them first-hand.
Death is a part of life that today is rarely witnessed outside of sanitised and controlled situations, which means that unlike our predecessors we are not always familiar with the reality of dying. It is one of the many things in his plays that can be difficult to relate to for modern audiences. Over the intervening four centuries there has been a dramatic shift in attitudes to life and death, but there appears to be no lessening of enthusiasm for the Bard and his work. We may not laugh at all the same jokes, or fully appreciate comments on contemporary events, but Shakespeare still entertains and inspires like no other playwright. His impact is felt far beyond the Renaissance London stage he was writing for.
We still speak his words in everyday conversation, often without realising. Phrases such as ‘heart of gold’, ‘break the ice’, ‘wild goose chase’, ‘seen better days’ and many more were given to us by Shakespeare. He is credited with adding 1,700 words to the English language, though not all have survived the passage of time. He transformed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives and created other words apparently from scratch; Hamlet alone contains 600 words previously unknown in the English language.
Beyond his contribution to the spoken word, the breadth of his cultural appeal and influence is astonishing. His works are only outsold by the Bible and he is the third most translated author.1 His plays have been staged all around the globe, from famous theatres to village halls. There have been productions in the open air and on the open sea. His characters have been dressed in everything from elaborate Elizabethan costumes to modern-day military fatigues. Over 400 operas have been derived from his work (according to Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians), and the British Universities Film and Video Council’s database lists over 600 entries for Macbeth alone. His work has been adapted and reinterpreted for musicals, ballet, TV, books, games and memes. There seems to be no end to the creativity Shakespeare can inspire.
The richness of the writing he left us has been the source material for tens of thousands of books and articles examining his life and work, an outpouring of research and interest that shows no signs of stopping. Academics across a range of disciplines have found something of relevance to their field or a new perspective in Shakespeare’s work, and death is no exception.
This book has looked at only one tiny aspect of Shakespeare’s work. There is so much more to explore but we are out of time. I am no good at endings so I shall leave it to the master.
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
Notes
1 According to an ever-fluctuating list, the Bible is the most translated work; Agatha Christie’s novels take second place, with Shakespeare roughly equal third with Jules Verne.