Act 1 Scene 3 : Shakespeare works as Strategic Social commentator

Shakespeare as depicted in "The Simpsons", 2002

 The Purpose of the Arts – Entertainment, Escapism, or Social Commentary?

Having awoken to the wonders of the 21st century - mobile phones, electric cars and vending machines, Shakespeare would no doubt marvel at the wondrous advancements we have made since his time.

Some of the most significant inventions and social advancements since Shakespeare’s death in 1616 include:

•       1700s: Steam Engines and Steam Boats, The Spinning Jenny, Flush Toilets, Smallpox Vaccine, Batteries.
•       1800s: Electricity, Typewriters, Telephones, Printing Presses, Sewing Machines, Three-Wheeled Motor Cars
•       1900s: Womens right to Vote UK, Radios, Airplanes, Television, Laptops, Video Games, World Wide Web, Mobile Phones

Some points from: theinventors.org. (n.d.).

However, once he had acclimatised himself to this new age, there are some things he would find shocking in very much a negative way.  Some of the social issues and themes in Shakespeare’s work are very much still evident today, issues such as class division, racism, power, and ambition, to name a few. The relevance of Shakespeare’s themes today is a huge reason why his plays are still performed worldwide, and even make up an obligatory section of the English Examination syllabus in Ireland (Read, 2021). There’s also no doubt that Shakespeare would find some of his most popular characters and their traits represented in modern day politicians and public figures.

In this blog post let’s look at how the Arts have been historically used, and how it is used today. We can also speculate how Shakespeare will include 21st century social issues in his work today. We'll be looking at the history of the purpose of the arts, from escapism to a form of powerful social commentary. 

The Arts as Escapism

Historically, artists have obliged to make art enjoyable. Many of their audience were working class. 95% of Middle age Britain were working class peasants and a “poverty epidemic” existed well into and past Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era (Daily Life in the Elizabethan Era, 2021). For many working class, travelling circuses and fairs were the only respite from daily working struggles. Entertainment was made to be well, entertaining, and a diversion from grueling work and financial struggles that was the norm for most of the England’s population.

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Side Note: Escapism also is a prominent theme in some of Will's works: It is widely debated that Romeo and Juliet's bizarre accidental joint suicide was not due to love but to escapism (from 'the Rosalind breakup' for Romeo, arranged marriage for Juliet).

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The Arts as Cultural Depictions and Satires:

It wasn’t until the last year of Elizabeth's reign that satires really took off. Before, they were frowned upon for being unchristian-like (Jones, 2019). More recently, one public figure that certainly left a legacy of in satires was Margaret Thatcher. As Arts critic Michael Billington (2013) aptly notes - 

"Thatcher may not have cared passionately about the arts, but she left her emphatic mark upon them."

One of the first depictions of Thatcher was in “Spitting Image” a satirical puppet show broadcast on ITV. The show also coincided with a mass wave of unemployment in Britain during the 1980s - media once again as escapism.  

From one of Thatcher's first depictions as a puppet, to Gillian Anderson’s depiction of Thatcher in ‘The Crown’, Thatcher is unfortunately one of the most satirised public figures in history. The Wizard of Oz’s "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead" even charted to a number 2 spot in UK Singles Chart in 2013, following Thatcher’s death.

While Shakespeare steered away from satirising specific noblemen and women, he certainly enjoyed satirising some of their specific traits, such as arrogance, in his works - A Midsummer's Night's Dream, As you Like It and more. Shakespeare frequently used "High Comedy" - comedy belittling the upper class aimed to appeal to the working class. He generally avoids pinpointing a specific person. He mocks general groups of people - The gentry, Court Fools etc. but never a specific person. Writing under Queen Elizabeth's reign, he also never addresses her in his plays, however his plays do feature a lot of strong female leads.

In general Shakespeare wrote about people, groups and classes of people indirectly, never directly. Yet in 2021, freedom of speech runs rampant on Twitter pages and chat forums alike..... perhaps Shakespeare feels more at ease directly addressing events and people in his work?

The Arts as Propaganda

The arts can also be used to spread opinion on behalf of government officials, and subconsciously influence the public's mood through their general day-to-day consumption of television, radio and newspaper.  Lets be honest, the most noticeable example of this is propaganda in Nazi Germany. Newspapers were filled with cartoons depicting Jews as inhuman like creatures.  Movies involving Jewish characters also placed them in roles of criminals, beggars, or consumed with greed. (The Eternal Jew, 1940). The 1936 Olympics which took place in Berlin was used  to maximise the image of Germany as "strong and mighty" (Brown, 2013).

In war times in general, movies were directed and stories were written to drive national spirit upwards and villianise the opposition.

There has been some speculation that Shakespeare was even a perpetrator of propaganda in his time. His play Richard III  portrays the king as a "hunchback" with a "limp and withered arm" (Shakespeare, 2019). It is possible that this play's fairly ruthless account of Richard was sponsored by the Stanley family. The Stanley's family's lack of support to King Richard in the Battle of Bosworth played an almost certain part in the kings downfall. Without getting to deep into it, Fernando Stanley was one of Shakespeare's early patrons and some of the reasons for commissioning this play could be;

1. to remind Queen Elizabeth how her place on the throne was due to him
2. to strengthen the Stanley claim to the throne

It must be said however, that this is widely speculated, some even claim Queen Elizabeth was the money behind Richard III.

It's fair to say that if Shakespeare ever wrote on someone else's terms, this could be because he was fairly reliant on patronage. This is not in general a problem 21st Century writers have (the successful ones at least....)... and given this freedom, who knows what Shakespeare could write up? 

The Arts as Political Expressions

While it may be difficult to discern Shakespeare's specific opinions on today's difficult social issues (I mean I suppose we could always just ask him), We can in the meantime ponder whether he would even opt to comment on these issues in the first place.

No doubt Shakespeare would be stunned at the likeness between some of his most popular characters and some of today's not-so-popular politicians. The weaknesses of one of his arguably most well-known character King Lear are very evident in one (infamous?) Donald Trump. Not alone in this opinion, a quick google search of "Trump and Lear" brings up pages of like-minded accounts of their similarities (Roden, 2021), (Halaby, 2020).

The following quote, one of Lear's most famous, is certainly the most illuminating in revealing his character;

"I am a man more sinned against than sinning." - K. Lear

Interestingly it is almost exactly mirrored is Trumps (-sic-) expression of how he was treated during his presidency; 

"No politician in history — and I say this with great surety — has been treated worse or more unfairly (than me)." - D. Trump

Noticing these parallels could inspire Shakespeare to take things a step further. Shakespeare's work is generally an expression of imagery, themes, metaphors etc. but if Shakespeare was indeed alive and kicking today, could he take advantage of  these uncanny resemblances? Being a creator of art and media puts you in the unique position to express one's own opinion on elections, politics etc. and even sway public onion. As the Arts is very much open to interpretation, you can always remain  protected from the backlash that comes from commenting directly on the issue itself. 

(memegenrator.net, 2021)

2021 Shakespeare has huge potential to shape the course of history by (directly and indirectly) expressing his views through his work. But the question is will he? We can only guess from his works. Being a man of metaphors, he never satirised people directly, he used generalisations of character traits and  situations. Will he do the same today?  Or would be be outraged to the point of directly expressing his views on presidential candidates, referendums etc. through his work? Looking at strategy in his plays, while he features wars and military combat, he never discusses planning and coordination of military operations. He always focuses on personalities, characters and personal strategies. In king Lear, Lear splitting his kingdom into three parts (a part for each daughter) is meaningful in revealing in Lear's personality, rather than meaningful in how disadvantageous this would be for his actual kingdom.  This really shows that Will likes to concentrate on personal meanings, personalities and themes. He generally does not directly reference things to do with policy, strategy etc. unless they are to do with a character's personality or a central theme.

The Arts and the Media have one the most prominent affects on public opinion - and Shakespeare was the most famous producer of literary works for a very long time. Now that he's back with a bang, he certainly has a strategic advantage in wide access to the public, and can avoid backlash by hiding behind his work. His strategic advantage also comes from marketing his works using 21st century information systems and tools (watch this space for a blog post on this!!!). 

And so, readers, let us know how you think Shakespeare will use his work now that he is no longer confined by patronage, has more-or-less complete freedom of Speech.... Do you think he will stick to pure literature, where the closest he comes to addressing real-life events is a metaphor? Or will he be moved to use his plays as social commentary, and an attempt to sway the masses?

 

Rosie :-) 

 

Up Next: Act 1 Scene 4: The Globe, Hollywood, or Bollywood?

Bibliography

 

Billington, M., 2013. Margaret Thatcher Casts A Long Shadow Over Theatre And The Arts. [Online] The Guardian. Available At: <Https://Www.Theguardian.Com/Stage/2013/Apr/08/Margaret-Thatcher-Long-Shadow-Theatre> [Accessed 7 November 2021].

Brown, D., 2013. Boys In The Boat. [S.L.]: Nielsen Bookdata.

Encyclopedia.Com. 2021. Daily Life In The Elizabethan Era | Encyclopedia.Com. [Online] Available At: <Https://Www.Encyclopedia.Com/Humanities/News-Wires-White-Papers-And-Books/Daily-Life-Elizabethan-Era#:~:Text=(Peasants%20were%20farmers%20who%20worked,Almost%20all%20of%20the%20labor.> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

 Halaby, R.J., 2020. King Lear And Donald Trump: Two Peas In A Pod.

Jones, W., 2019. Satire In The Elizabethan Era. [Place Of Publication Not Identified]: Routledge.

 Memegenerator.Net. 2021. [Photograph] Spongebob Rainbow - It's A Metaphor. [Online] Available At: <Https://Memegenerator.Net/Instance/68252606/Spongebob-Rainbow-Its-A-Metaphor> [Accessed 7 November 2021].

Read, L., 2021. Adaptation Of English Standards For The Learning Of A Diverse Population Of Students.

Roden, K., 2021. When It Is Wise To Play The Fool: A Lesson In Servant Leadership, Courtesy Of King Lear. In William Shakespeare And 21st-Century Culture, Politics, And Leadership. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Salmon, N., 2017. Kevin R Mcnally Says King Lear And Trump Parallels Are 'Breathtaking'. [Online] Standard.Co.Uk. Available At: <Https://Www.Standard.Co.Uk/Culture/Theatre/Kevin-R-Mcnally-The-Parallels-Between-King-Lear-And-Donald-Trump-Are-Breathtaking-A3613846.Html> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

Shakespeare, W., 2019. King Richard the Third. 2nd ed. Warszawa: Ktoczyta.pl.

Theinventors.Org. (N.D.). Nineteenth Century Inventions 1800 To 1899 - Inventions Of The 1800s. [Online] Available At: Https://Theinventors.Org/Library/Weekly/Aa111100a.Htm.