You may not know it, but literally thousands of movies and TV shows are based on Shakespeare’s works- he even has an IMDb page! Since today the academy announced this year’s Oscar nominations, I thought I would give you a list of films Shakespeare has won awards for, (posthumously of course). List of Oscar wins for Shakespeare
Let me know in the comments if you want me to review one of these films!
Portia (Or Porcia), was the wife of Marcus Brutus. Many ancient writers emphasize her courage, beauty, and devotion to her husband and Rome. Many painters and illustrators have chosen to depict her as a model of courage and grace.
https://portiacatonis.weebly.com
Happy International Women’s Day! I would like to dedicate my posts today to my daughter, a wonderful strong girl, a Shakespeare fan, and a lifelong lover of the musical “Six”.
I’ve discussed Shakespeare’s best Mother characters before, and his Roman characters as well, but I thought I should include some of the ones who are not mothers and/or unmarried (at least for most of the play). I don’t want to rank these characters since I detest ranking women in general, so here are some of Shakespeare’s best characters, and some of their immortal speeches:
Even though “Henry the Eighth” is my least favorite Shakespeare play, I love how strong Katherine is and how well she fights against the machinations of Cardinal Woosey and her husband. She is a courageous, virtuous, and strong-minded woman, who when Henry demands that she consent to a divorce, Katherine simply says: “No Way!”
A fascinating and electrifying character. She seduces her husband and makes him fully commit to murdering the king. If you look at the post above, you can see the multiple potential readings for why she courts evil spirits to convince her husband to murder the king. Her strength and energy is highly attractive and it was easy for me to see how a man might do anything to make her happy.
I think Elizabethans would have seen the connection between the Virgin Queen who fought off assassination from the Pope, and Isabella, a virgin who fights off the advances of Angello, who seems pious, but who secretly is degenerate and cruel. Isabella even becomes a princess at the end of the play, (assuming she marries the Duke), which means she could literally become a Queen Elizabeth to English eyes.
https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/measure-for-measure/character/analysis
One of the best female characters in the Roman plays, Portia demands to be taken seriously as a wife and as a Roman citizen. In her one great scene we see her demand that Brutus tell her why he has been so distant and cold:
Some have speculated that in real life Portia helped Brutus with the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, after all, she was the daughter of Caesar's great rival senator Cato, who was willing to die when he realized the Roman republic was finished.
Not only was the real Portia a great woman, she also inspired some great art. Below is the great masterpiece: Portia Wounding her Thigh, by Elisabetta Sirani (1664). According to Dr. DR. MAURA GLEESON, the painting was commissioned by a fabric merchant, which explains Portia's sumptuous outfit. Portia remains totally calm, yet focused and determined as the other women in the background idly spin clothes in the background. For more information on this masterpiece, click the link below:
If you’d like to learn more about Portia and Julius Caesar, sign up for my online class on the play via Outschool.com. Get a $5 discout with coupon code HTHES6Q5XA5 until Apr 2, 2024. Get started at https://outschool.com/classes/the-violent-rhetoric-of-julius-caesar-flex-schedule-edition-fwB3cwQM and enter the coupon code at checkout.
So happy International Women’s Day ladies! Hope you get some of the love and appreciation you deserve today! More posts coming soon!
I just had an amazing birthday gift! My wife took me to a real modern-day blacksmith to create my very own Viking axe! This was a really cool, really challenging, and very educational experience that taught me a lot about how medieval blacksmiths and armorers made axes, swords, and other weapons. So join me on an intoxicating trip to the forge!
Yes, sir. Here is now the smith‘s note for shoeing and
Henry IV.
plough-irons.
Drunken Smithy
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,
King John
The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool,
With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news;
Who, with his shears and measure in his hand,
Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste
Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,
A weapon is a tool used in battle. Like any tool, it depends on who uses it and for what purpose. As my video below about swords demonstrates, many medieval weapons were designed to defeat the armor of the period- whether the chain mail of the early 12th century or the advanced suits of armor of the 15th:
So choosing a weapon to fight with depends on the warrior using it. For example, a Viking warrior in the early Middle ages might only be armed with a spear, while a late medieval knight might have plate armor and use weapons like a pole axe or a mace to concuss or punch through plate armor.
and from the tents
Henry V
The armourers, accomplishing the knights,
With busy hammers closing rivets up,
Give dreadful note of preparation:
https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_b/backbone/rb_3_3.html
Tonight is the Chinese New Year, beginning the Year of the Dragon. I’ve talked before about the fascinating relationship between Shakespeare and China, and I thought I’d illustrate it here by talking about a shared cultural mythology- the concept of dragons. Both Western and Eastern cultures use dragons in their myths, but as you’ll see, they have very different cultural meanings.
Before thee stands this fair Hesperides,
Antiocus, Pericles
With golden fruit, but dangerous to be touch’d;
For death-like dragons here affright thee hard:
Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish;
Antony and Cleopatra
A vapour sometime like a bear or lion,
A tower’d citadel, a pendent rock,
A forked mountain, or blue promontory
In Western myths, dragons are symbols of wrath and fierceness. In ancient Greek and Viking myths, dragons are often guards of treasure, (and sometimes in modern stories like Harry Potter). In the myth of Hercules, a multi-headed dragon guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, (the apples that kept the gods young and immortal). King Antiochus wants to scare Pericles by comparing his daughter to the apples; if he fails to win her love, he’ll be devoured as Hercules almost was.
His CORIOLANUS is grown
Coriolanus
from man to dragon: he has wings; he’s more than a
creeping thing.
Shakespeare’s Roman general Coriolanus is frequently compared to a dragon in Shakespeare’s play. According to Dr. Peter Saccio of Dartmouth College, this is because the general is unable to relate to other humans- he is solitary, violent, jealous of his power and wealth, and prefers to strike first, then retreat from other people when the battle is won. This is why he utterly fails to get the Roman people to elect him consul in this scene from Ralph Fiennes’ movie. I find it ironic that Fiennes has played not only this character, (who is associated with dragons), but with Lord Voldemort, (who controls several large serpents), and also Francis Dollarhyde in the film Red Dragon:
Swift, swift, you dragons of the night, that dawning
Cymbeline
May bare the raven’s eye! I lodge in fear;
Though this a heavenly angel, hell is here.
Sometime he angers me
Hotspur, Henry IV, Part I
With telling me of the mouldwarp and the ant,
Of the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies,
And of a dragon and a finless fish,
A clip-wing’d griffin and a moulten raven,
A couching lion and a ramping cat,
And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff
As puts me from my faith.
A thousand hearts are great within my bosom;
Advance our standards, set upon our foes
Our ancient word of “courage,” fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Richard III
In the medieval story of St. George, the titular knight defeats a dragon, which is basically a stand-in for Satan. George was seen as the ideal knight- virtuous, devoted to his cause, strong, and patriotic. His defeat of the dragon was an allegory for how knights should devote themselves to protecting their lords, ladies, and the innocent against evil. Therefore, it’s intentionally unsettling that Shakespeare has Richard III telling his soldiers to act not like the virtuous St. George, but like the cruel and violent dragon. Richard is Shakespeare’s most villainous king, so it makes sense in context that he would side with the dragon, and thus his defeat would seem even more like a triumph of good over evil. In addition, the real King Richard flew this flag with a dragon on it during the actual Battle of Bosworth Field.
Peace, Kent!
King Lear
Come not between the dragon and his wrath.
None of the animals is so wise as the dragon. His blessing power is not a false one. He can be smaller than small, bigger than big, higher than high, and lower than low.”
–Chinese scholar Lu Dian (AD 1042-1102)
Dragons didn’t have the negative connotations of Western myths. In China, they were symbols of good luck, strength, and success. They were also known to be proud and temperamental-sometimes kind but sometimes vengeful to people who didn’t show them proper respect. In a sense, the dragon was like the ancient Greek gods- they should be viewed with respect and gratitude as well as fear.
The Chinese calendar goes by a cycle of years, not months. It has 12 animals that represent various qualities and those qualities will characterize the coming year. So hopefully a year of a dragon will be a year marked with courage, good fortune, and justice.
IV. What would a Chinese Lear look like?
Looking at the quotes I showed you earlier, it’s interesting that King Lear calls himself a dragon, and it made me think- Lear is a powerful warlord who demands absolute loyalty from his children. Would a Chinese version of King Lear work?
There was a Chinese production of King Lear back in 2017, where the translator and director traveled to the Royal Shakespeare Company in England and worked with the actors and directors of a London production to make their production gain insight into the characters’ motivations. However, I wonder how successfully they translated the Western ideas and values of the play for a Chinese audience. One of the reviews from China Daily.com describes the play like this:
Originating from old British legend, King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s four most famous tragedies. Through the internal disorder of the royal family, the rise and fall of King Lear’s fate and the final punishment of evil powers, Shakespeare expresses his optimistic views in the future of society, thereby adding the glory of strong idealism into his work.
ChinaDaily.com
The last word I would use to describe King Lear is “optimistic”. It is the only tragedy where not only does everyone die, but the entire future of the monarchy is in question. Nevertheless, reading about this production makes me interested in imagining my own version of King Lear, one that emphasizes Chinese values, but also questions them.
Many Chinese stories stress family loyalty, communalism, and respect for elders. You could portray King Lear as a story about the disastrous consequences of self-interest. After all, Regan and Goneril cast their father out and dismissed his followers, and it led their kingdom into civil war. In that version, Lear is like the Dragon King, who in Chinese folklore, was a powerful ruler of the seas, (giving new meaning to the lines “Blow winds, and crack your cheeks”). As a bonus, historically, many imperial Chinese rulers decorated their palaces with images of dragons, and the emperors themselves were associated with the creature, (especially during the Han Dynasty), so when Lear says “Come not between the dragon and his wrath,” In his mind, he literally is a dragon.
In 1736, Jean-Baptiste Du Halde wrote about the Emperor: “His clothing is embroidered with dragons: they are his emblem, and only He can wear dragons with five claws – any infringement to this rule is punished severely.”
Cornell University: Emblems and Mascots of Rulers:
Chinese Imperial Dragons
That said, some dragons were associated with bad luck and ill omens. I’ve said before that Lear’s biggest flaw is that he fails to take time to examine himself or think about the consequences of his actions until it is too late. Maybe Lear thinks of himself as a benevolent dragon, but really is a bad man cursed with bad luck; he is not a dragon, he just has one on his back. So, in short, a Chinese re-imagining of King Lear could be a fascinating look at Chinese culture and give a fresh re-imagining of Shakespeare’s tragic story.
I hope you enjoyed this look into dragons in Shakespeare and Chinese culture. Joseph Campbell said that all cultures share and interpret archetypes to understand their own culture, but also to grasp what makes us all human. For whatever reason, every culture on Earth has some kind of large serpent- Chinese dragons, European dragons, The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the Viking Yormungand, even the Piasa of the native tribes of the Mississippi. and they can mean many different things to many different people, which means that we as humans are in some way tied to gether through all these dragon tales (no pun intended).
Greetings mystery lovers! This project started out as a labor of love to keep my own children entertained, but since they loved it so much, I thought I’d adapt it for my own students over Outschool. Get ready to take a trip to the wild and mysterious town known as Gravity Falls!
The class is organized into 5 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period). When you sign up for the class, I will send you a link to a website, (powered by Google Sites), that will feature embedded YouTube videos and Google slides that you can complete at your own pace. Some pages require you to search for a picture and click on it to advance (a sort of I-spy game). If you are confused, a handout will be provided that gives helpful hints and answers the questions.
Students will learn about the science of cryptology by practicing their code-breaking skills. This in turn will develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The course also touches on the science of optical illusion and computer coding, which helps students understand how their brains work and how computer programmers create their favorite games. Finally, the course teaches about the concept of conspiracies and how important it is to use verified legitimate sources when looking at information, especially on the internet.
You’ll also get $20 USD when they sign up with your link and take their first class!
I’m really excited about the Disney Plus release of the Percy Jackson TV show. My family and I are really enjoying it and I think it’s a very good adaptation, (much more faithful than the previous movie versions). The tone is darker, the characters are better fleshed out, and also there’s a much more nuanced take on Percy’s character, which I believe is at the core of the series. The movie is essentially just a fetch quest where Percy is going from location A to location B looking for various magic items and fighting monsters. Movie Percy is a very static character but in the books and the show, they keep all of those journeys but also delve into his complicated relationship with the gods, his own insecurities growing up without a father, and his overwhelming feeling that this world of gods and mortals is fundamentally flawed and that he is the one to fix it.
“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related for better or for worse…and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”
-Percy Jackson, The Sea of Monsters
In short, what makes the show great is that it emphasizes the elements of the book that make it a classic story of a young man who is trying to find his place in the world and complete the quest that his father set for him. Of course, once I started watching it, my Shakespeare Brain activated, and I immediately compared him to Shakespeare’s ultimate example of a hero trying to complete a quest given to him by an absent father- Hamlet.
So today I’ll Talk about why I think Percy Jackson is actually a descendant of Hamlet or rather that Hamlet and Percy Jackson are both descendants of the same common ancestor in Greek mythology and touch on what these classic stories can say to us today.
As I touched on earlier, there are some glaring similarities between the plots of Percy Jackson and Hamlet- we have a young man who has who hates his stepfather, who is deeply protective of his mother, who goes on a magical quest given to him by his father, (who cannot directly aid him because he’s not physically there). In Percy Jackson, his father is a god- the ancient Greek water god Poseidon, while Hamlet’s father is a ghost. Both heroes have to deal with treachery, uncover a plot, avert potential wars, and get caught up in great military and political power schemes. While Hamlet is trying to restore the rightful heir to the throne (himself), Percy is trying to avoid a war between the gods. Both heroes have stoic sidekicks- Hamlet has Horatio whereas Percy has Annabeth and his friend Grover the Satyr. Hamlet’s friend l Horatio is kind of like a combination of Annabeth’s intelligence and Grover’s kindness and empathy. Finally, both stories conclude in a duel (spoiler alert) where they fight against a near-impossible adversary, and in the end, succeed in their quest, although in Hamlet’s case, he does so at the cost of his own life.
The main difference between these stories is connected to tone and genre- Hamlet is a revenge play, and most Revenge tragedies end in the death of the avenger. Percy Jackson is an adventure quest so based on the conventions, he can succeed, survive, and go off to fight another day. Nevertheless, in terms of the broad outline, the plots are very similar. I would argue this is probably because Hamlet has its roots in many ancient mythological stories like Oedipus, Orestes, and of course, the Danish Viking myth of Amleth. I would argue that both Percy Jackson and Hamlet have a very clear direct common ancestor: the ancient Greek myth of …
https://prezi.com/btk3m_bamkmh/hamlets-monomyth/
As this funny cartoon illustrates, the plots of Percy Jackson and Hamlet can be seen as a modern incarnation of the Perseus myth, from the villainous stepfather to the hero’s protective feelings to the mother to the magical quest to get rid of a stepfather who takes away his birthright. These plot elements follow a very similar formula; as Jake also alluded to, all three of these stories are part of what writers and scholars like to call the monomyth or the “Hero’s journey,” a concept in mythology and storytelling that has inspired works such as Percy Jackson, Star Wars, and many others.
In 1949, scholar Joseph Campbell wrote a book called “The Hero With a Thousand Faces,” which posited that every culture has stories that fit into universal archetypes- that essentially all human cultures have unique stories, but also call to mind universal truths about humanity. He then distilled the common archetypes and plot tropes of these myths into something called “The monomyth” or “The Hero’s Journey,” a 17-step process that is at the core of many ancient myths, modern adventure stories, or revenge stories such as Hamlet. Below are some of the common tropes of the Hero’s Journey. When you see it spelled out like this, it is very clear that both Hamlet, Percy Jackson, and Perseus follow the Monomyth formula:
Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done?
The Lightining Thief
Every Greek hero starts with a call to adventure- Theseus finds his father’s sword and sets out to find him. Oedipus needs to lift the plague on Thebes, and Hamlet needs to find out why his father’s ghost has returned.
A Half-Blood of the eldest gods, Shall reach sixteen against all odds
The Oracle- Sea of Mosters
And see the world in endless sleep
The Hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze.
If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.
The Lighting Thief
I won’t go looking for trouble. I usually don’t have to
Neither Hamlet nor Percy outright refuse to go on their quests, but both experience doubts. Percy, looking at how the gods have cursed and fought and betrayed each other, wonders whether or not they deserve his help:
Hamlet on the other hand, is so worried that the ghost is trying to deceive him into killing an innocent man, that he nearly kills himself in the most famous speech in all of Shakespeare.
Supernatural Aid – A magical helper appears or becomes known
Go on with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all.
The Nereiads, Lighting Thief Chapter 17
Both Percy and Perseus get help from the gods- magical weapons, advice, etc. Hamlet gets the revelation from his father that his uncle killed him and how. What sets Hamlet apart from any number of myths is that, since there’s no tangible evidence that his father was there, Hamlet is not sure if his father helped him, or if he is going insane.
Suspecting and knowing are not the same.
-The Lighting Thief
In Perseus, the first threshold would be when he leaves Acrisius’ palace and sails to the island of Cerebos. In Percy Jackson, this would be when he leaves Yancy Academy and goes to Camp Half-Blood, and in Hamlet, it would be when he meets the ghost.
My fate cries out, and makes each petty artery in this body as hardy as the Nemian Lion’s mane. Still am I called!
Hamlet, Act I, Scene iii.
There’s always a part of the story when a character feels they are in too deep. Sometimes it’s a literal belly of the beast- Pinocchio and the whale, Luke Skywalker and the Sarlaac pit, Frodo when he reaches Mordor, and Agent K in Men In Black when he literally gets eaten by the Bug. In Percy Jackson, it would definitely be when he journeys to Hades, like many Greek heroes like Orpheus or Hercules.
I’d love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera.
The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!.
Usually, the belly of the beast occurs near the climax of the story- the ultimate test of the hero’s courage and resolve. For Hamlet, this would be the duel with Laertes- he’s in a situation where Claudius has total control of what he does.
“You weren’t able to talk sense into him?”
“Well, we kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death.”
“I see. You tried the diplomatic approach.” (The Sea of Monsters)
I’ll get into a deeper summary of the steps of the Hero’s journey on my podcast later this month, but to summarize, the Hero’s Journey is essentially a story of growth, maturity, and enlightenment. It’s not a coincidence that all three of these heroes are young men who leave home and then return to confront an evil stepfather or uncle. Campbell regarded the Hero’s journey as a metaphor for young men growing up, learning about themselves, gaining confidence in themselves and their abilities, and taking their rightful place in society by displacing a corrupt older authority figure. This is also why these stories often resonate with young people, and why storytellers like Disney often use the Hero’s Journey as a template for children’s movies.
These universal stories of growing up, maturity, and a life worth living have always inspired people and even though the stories have different purposes and the plots take different forms, the core of what makes them universal remains the same.
For my Shakespeare club, I’m coaching two young actors on Viola’s celebrated soliloquy in Act II, Scene ii.I thought I’d share some of that work with you. In this speech, Viola has an epiphany; the lady she was sent to woo on her master Orsino’s behalf LOVES HER!
I left no ring with her: what means this lady?
Fortune forbid my outside have not charm’d her!
She made good view of me; indeed, so much,
That sure methought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure; the cunning of her passion
Invites me in this churlish messenger.
None of my lord’s ring! why, he sent her none.
I am the man: if it be so, as ’tis,
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper-false
In women’s waxen hearts to set their forms!
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we!
For such as we are made of, such we be.
How will this fadge? my master loves her dearly;
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him;
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master’s love;
As I am woman,–now alas the day!–
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe!
O time! thou must untangle this, not I;
It is too hard a knot for me to untie!Exit
Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene ii, lines 648-672.
Viola has spent an unspecified amount of time disguised as a man. She has just tried (unsuccessfully) to woo Countess Olivia on behalf of her employer, Duke Orsino. Olivia seemed intrigued by her in her disguise as “Cesario,” and refused to hear any more words about Orsino, but asked Viola to come see her again. The Countess then sent her messenger Malvolio to give Viola a ring, which he claims she tried to give to Olivia as a gift. At first, Viola is confused and upset by the accusation, but slowly realizes that the ring is actually a gift for her; in fact, it’s a love token.
I think the comedy depends on how Viola reacts to the realization that Olivia loves her. I’ve seen some Violas that are embarrassed, some that are a little frightened (after all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned), and others with sad sympathy. Viola is a good person, so she can’t laugh at the lovesick countess, but she can have a wry laugh at herself and how her disguise has caused all this trouble; making her unable to confess her love to him, while at the same time making Olivia think she is a handsome young man.
Michelle Terry is very matter-of-fact in her portrayal. She doesn’t pause, she doesn’t drag out the lines. In fact, she seems more annoyed and scandalized than anything else. The comedy comes mainly from her gestures and movements as she talks to the audience as if they were one of her gal-pals- venting her frustration with this ridiculous situation.
Michelle Terry excels as Viola, straight-faced, tormented, only occasionally raising a conspiratorial eyebrow at the audience.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/aug/08/twelfth-night-review-shakespeares-globe-theatre
Judy Dench in the RSC TV show “Playing Shakespeare” is very sympathetic to “Poor Olivia, ” and plays the speech with a romantic sentimentality. She’s focused on Olivia, and feels awful for the false hope she’s given her.
Both these interpretations are valid, and they’re a good baseline for two sides of Viola’s personality- the sensitive genteel duke’s daughter who is sympathetic to Olivia, and the down-to-earth funny one who is willing to disguise herself as a boy to survive.
The main image here is the image of the knot- a central image of how convoluted this love triangle is.
I left no Ring with her: what meanes this Lady?
Fortune forbid my out‑side haue not charm'd her:
[650]
She made good view of me, indeed so much,
That me thought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speake in starts distractedly.
She loues me sure, the cunning of her passion
Inuites me in this churlish messenger:
[655]
None of my Lords Ring? Why he sent her none;
I am the man, if it be so, as tis,
Poore Lady, she were better loue a dreame:
Disguise, I see thou art a wickednesse,
Wherein the pregnant enemie does much.
[660]
How easie is it, for the proper false
In womens waxen hearts to set their formes:
Alas, O frailtie is the cause, not wee,
For such as we are made, if such we bee:
How will this fadge? My master loues her deerely,
[665]
And I (poore monster) fond asmuch on him:
And she (mistaken) seemes to dote on me:
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my maisters loue:
As I am woman (now alas the day)
[670]
What thriftlesse sighes shall poore Oliuia breath?
O time, thou must vntangle this, not I,
It is too hard a knot for me t'vnty.
It’s interesting to note that (in the First Folio text), the verse alternates between being regular, and using a run-on technique called enjabment, where the thoughts continue after the end of the lines, starting with lines three and four. Ironically, when Viola says that Olivia was distracted and confused when she visited her, her own thoughts are disjointed and fragmentary as she reaches the inevitable conclusion that Olivia is infatuated with Viola in her disguise.
In the book “Shakespeare’s First Texts” by Neil Freeman he describes how the Folio prints the speech in four distinct sections. Freeman hypothesizes that Shakespeare organized this speech into four phrases that chart the stages of emotions Viola goes through:
Each stage has its own easily identifiable quality, reflecting the growing steps of Viola’s journey in what for her is a huge struggle not only to comprehend, but also to deal with the enormous complications of the dreadful love triangle- the potential results of which are now becomming only too clear.
Freeman, 175.
In the first three and a half sentences, Viola goes through the facts- she gave no ring to Olivia, Olivia was eying her, and half paying attention to what Viola was saying. The phrase ends with Viola’s conclusion that Olivia must be in love with her.
The sentences are of very irregular length- sometimes six words per line, sometimes a few as four. According to Freeman, the irregularity of the verse shows how Viola’s emotions are getting the better of her. Viola could be gasping with remorse over the pain she’s caused Olivia, or shocked at how easily she was taken in by Viola’s disguise.
Each line of this section mentions the people in this love triagle: “My master,” “And I,” “And She,” etc. Viola might be thinking about the possible outcomes to this situation- getting fired, getting discovered, getting married, etc.
Like Hamlet before her and Macbeth after her, Viola ends her soliloquy by saying she has no conclusion. She has no idea how to solve this problem, but can only hope that Time will provide a solution.
As I said, this is a soliloquy, which is to say, a speech where the character is solo or alone onstage. Some people think this means that the characters are talking to themselves, but I firmly disagree with this notion. One reason why Shakespeare writes soliloquies is because they allow a character to share their thoughts and feelings with the audience. They are the ancestors of every aria or solo in opera and musical theater, and every Disney Princess/ Villain song. I’ve even said before that there are some similarities between Viola and a famous Disney Princess:
The Shakespearean Student 