Draw Your Tool
Taylor Williams
2 December 2004
Dr. Ditmore
Shakespeare
Draw Your Tool
William Shakespeare has attained such an incredible degree of renowned that precious few, if any, people have been able to follow in his footsteps. When interviewing people on the streets last weekend regarding what they know about Shakespeare, though I was shocked how little some people knew, I did not find a single person that did not know the name. To appeal to such a vast range of people, one must excel in a number of different elements in his, or her, writing and presentation. Shakespeare wrote his plays with such a wide audience in mind. He knew that he would have to show kings in such a light that pleased the kings, show peasants in such a lithe that pleased the peasants, and everyone in between, and do so in a manor that everyone found enjoyable. One of the ways he did this was to create word plays that bordered on the offensive, but never quite crossed that line for his audience, at least not that they all understood. Studying Shakespeare today, I have to wonder, if Romeo and Juliet would be required reading if people understood some of the wordplays that Shakespeare weaves in throughout the play.
Within the first few lines of Romeo and Juliet the vulgar humor is already underway. Directly following the prologue, the audience is presented with Samson and Gregory, from the house of Capulet, discussing their disdain of the Montagues. Samson tells Gregory, “I strike quickly, being moved.” To which Gregory replies, “But thou art not quickly moved to strike.” (Shakespeare I.i. 5-6) Though on the surface a mild discussion of his aptitude to fighting, what Shakespeare weaves under the lines is a sexually charged interchange. The subtle reference is to “strike” in a sexual sense. Continuing the interchange a few lines later they reference the maids in the house of Montague, and more accurately their will to “Thrust his maids to the wall.” (Shakespeare I.i.16) The entire conversation is working to establish clearly a defined understanding of the fight between the houses of Capulet and Montague. Shakespeare sees that he can best do this by playing up the bawdy humor with which one house refers to the other. It not only continues when the Montagues show up, but rather becomes much more blatant and increasingly personal. Upon the entrance of Montague’s servants, the exchange has digressed to “Draw thy too… My naked weapon is out.” (Shakespeare I.i.29-30) The sword is an extremely phallic weapon and lends itself incredibly easily to such wordplay as Shakespeare employs here. However, most of the sexual bantering comes later, in less apparent statements.
As the play goes on the innuendo becomes mildly less obvious and much more poignant. Mercutio’s speech about Queen Mab is dripping with subtleties that are intended to spark a rhetorical dual, however unsuccessful. The footnotes to the Norton Edition of Shakespeare note that Mab was a common name for prostitutes, but even without this knowledge, the speech is clear. She is depicted as a supernatural being that “when maids lie on their backs, that presses them and learns them first to bear, making them women of good carriage.” (Shakespeare I.iv.92-94) Mercutio tries over and over to insight Romeo, but the love sick fool will have none of it. He only responds that “thou talk’st of nothing.” (Shakespeare I.iv.96)
Mercutio and Romeo have more of conversations that spur on this extreme sexuality. In act two, Mercutio and Belvolio are awaiting Romeo’s return after Romeo has spent the night trying to get into Juliet’s room. Once Romeo finally enters his explanation of where he was is “My business was great, and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy.” (Shakespeare II.iii.44,45) Though much less obvious than the extremely overt sword references earlier, it is still very clear here what is meant. His “business” is reference to intercourse and is thus the beginning of an enormously bawdy verbal joust. The conversation progresses through Romeo’s “pump” being “well flowered,” (Shakespeare II.iii.), an obvious sexual reference, to ear nibbling, all the way to Mercutio’s comment, after groaning allusions, that Romeo is an idiot that “runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.” (Shakespeare II.iii.79,80) Benvolio tries to cut off the interchange, but is reprimanded by Mercutio with more phallic comments, and if it were not for the entrance of the Nurse, it probably would have just gotten worse and worse.
This lewd wordplay is not only present Romeo and Juliet, in fact it is in most, if not all of Shakespeare’s plays, to some extent. The question of Hamlet’s actual relationship with his mother is often questioned, A Midsummer’s Night Dream is quite promiscuous, Lady Macbeth is often erotic, and the homosexuality in Twelfth Night is at the forefront of all the action. The only reason that these often get overlooked, is the often misunderstood language in which they are written, and moreover the fact that the people reading it have a desire to overlook them so as not to taint their impressions of the plays. Whatever one might think of Shakespeare, his concentration on sexual themes and conversations go far beyond anything that conspiracy theorists have ever claimed of a Disney movie. No “sex” spelled out in smoke here, it’s said loud and clear for all to hear.
Works Cited:
1) Greenblatt, Stephen; Cohen, Walter; Howard, Jean E.; Maus Katharine Eisaman, eds. The Norton Shakespeare. London: Castle House, 1997
2 December 2004
Dr. Ditmore
Shakespeare
Draw Your Tool
William Shakespeare has attained such an incredible degree of renowned that precious few, if any, people have been able to follow in his footsteps. When interviewing people on the streets last weekend regarding what they know about Shakespeare, though I was shocked how little some people knew, I did not find a single person that did not know the name. To appeal to such a vast range of people, one must excel in a number of different elements in his, or her, writing and presentation. Shakespeare wrote his plays with such a wide audience in mind. He knew that he would have to show kings in such a light that pleased the kings, show peasants in such a lithe that pleased the peasants, and everyone in between, and do so in a manor that everyone found enjoyable. One of the ways he did this was to create word plays that bordered on the offensive, but never quite crossed that line for his audience, at least not that they all understood. Studying Shakespeare today, I have to wonder, if Romeo and Juliet would be required reading if people understood some of the wordplays that Shakespeare weaves in throughout the play.
Within the first few lines of Romeo and Juliet the vulgar humor is already underway. Directly following the prologue, the audience is presented with Samson and Gregory, from the house of Capulet, discussing their disdain of the Montagues. Samson tells Gregory, “I strike quickly, being moved.” To which Gregory replies, “But thou art not quickly moved to strike.” (Shakespeare I.i. 5-6) Though on the surface a mild discussion of his aptitude to fighting, what Shakespeare weaves under the lines is a sexually charged interchange. The subtle reference is to “strike” in a sexual sense. Continuing the interchange a few lines later they reference the maids in the house of Montague, and more accurately their will to “Thrust his maids to the wall.” (Shakespeare I.i.16) The entire conversation is working to establish clearly a defined understanding of the fight between the houses of Capulet and Montague. Shakespeare sees that he can best do this by playing up the bawdy humor with which one house refers to the other. It not only continues when the Montagues show up, but rather becomes much more blatant and increasingly personal. Upon the entrance of Montague’s servants, the exchange has digressed to “Draw thy too… My naked weapon is out.” (Shakespeare I.i.29-30) The sword is an extremely phallic weapon and lends itself incredibly easily to such wordplay as Shakespeare employs here. However, most of the sexual bantering comes later, in less apparent statements.
As the play goes on the innuendo becomes mildly less obvious and much more poignant. Mercutio’s speech about Queen Mab is dripping with subtleties that are intended to spark a rhetorical dual, however unsuccessful. The footnotes to the Norton Edition of Shakespeare note that Mab was a common name for prostitutes, but even without this knowledge, the speech is clear. She is depicted as a supernatural being that “when maids lie on their backs, that presses them and learns them first to bear, making them women of good carriage.” (Shakespeare I.iv.92-94) Mercutio tries over and over to insight Romeo, but the love sick fool will have none of it. He only responds that “thou talk’st of nothing.” (Shakespeare I.iv.96)
Mercutio and Romeo have more of conversations that spur on this extreme sexuality. In act two, Mercutio and Belvolio are awaiting Romeo’s return after Romeo has spent the night trying to get into Juliet’s room. Once Romeo finally enters his explanation of where he was is “My business was great, and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy.” (Shakespeare II.iii.44,45) Though much less obvious than the extremely overt sword references earlier, it is still very clear here what is meant. His “business” is reference to intercourse and is thus the beginning of an enormously bawdy verbal joust. The conversation progresses through Romeo’s “pump” being “well flowered,” (Shakespeare II.iii.), an obvious sexual reference, to ear nibbling, all the way to Mercutio’s comment, after groaning allusions, that Romeo is an idiot that “runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.” (Shakespeare II.iii.79,80) Benvolio tries to cut off the interchange, but is reprimanded by Mercutio with more phallic comments, and if it were not for the entrance of the Nurse, it probably would have just gotten worse and worse.
This lewd wordplay is not only present Romeo and Juliet, in fact it is in most, if not all of Shakespeare’s plays, to some extent. The question of Hamlet’s actual relationship with his mother is often questioned, A Midsummer’s Night Dream is quite promiscuous, Lady Macbeth is often erotic, and the homosexuality in Twelfth Night is at the forefront of all the action. The only reason that these often get overlooked, is the often misunderstood language in which they are written, and moreover the fact that the people reading it have a desire to overlook them so as not to taint their impressions of the plays. Whatever one might think of Shakespeare, his concentration on sexual themes and conversations go far beyond anything that conspiracy theorists have ever claimed of a Disney movie. No “sex” spelled out in smoke here, it’s said loud and clear for all to hear.
Works Cited:
1) Greenblatt, Stephen; Cohen, Walter; Howard, Jean E.; Maus Katharine Eisaman, eds. The Norton Shakespeare. London: Castle House, 1997
posted by Taylor Williams at
6:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home