F.S. Boas in Shakespeare and his Predecessors categorized All’s Well That Ends Well, Troilus and Cressida, and Measure for Measure as Shakespeare’s problem plays. According to F. S. Boas these three plays introduce the audience to “highly artificial societies, whose civilization is ripe unto rottenness”. These problem plays provide the audience with a perplexing ambiguity and a perplexing complication in human life.
Shakespeare’s problem plays are all concerned with hidden motives and in order to find out what is the substance of a particular character the reader must analyze the hidden motivations to discover what lies at the core. Several of the characters of these plays are from the outside admired but when delving deeper into their characters it is discovered, as in Shakespeare’s sonnet 94, that “lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds”. These characters are initially admired but there are chinks in their armour. Consequently there is an erosion of the previous interpretations of what a character stood for.
Characteristics of Shakespeare’s Problem Plays
- The playwright deflates conventionally accepted hierarchies and authorities. People in authority have to live up to certain rules but these plays undermine this kind of authority that leads to a devaluation of humankind. Consequently there is a lack of morality in these plays as the community has no real anchor which keeps it on the right track. These plays engage the audience in the exposure of an ugly reality beneath fair appearances relating to human worth. For instance, in Troilus and Cressida the main characters must deal with the consequences of painful revelations that are related to human weakness.
- Love in the problem plays. In Shakespeare’s problem plays the theme of love is always thwarted with betrayal. In All’s Well That Ends Well, Helena has to deal with her unworthy husband. In Troilus and Cressida, Troilus is betrayed by the deceitful Cressida, while in Measure for Measure, Angelo coerces Isabella to succumb to him.
- A moral Issue and a case of conscience. In Shakespeare’s problem plays the characters are often faced with a morally difficult choice and it is sometimes difficult for the audience to know which way to go for the truth. It is not as is the case with Shakespeare’s Macbeth where the audience is never in any doubt of what is good and evil.
The Problem of Interpretation in Shakespeare’s Problem Plays
Shakespeare’s problem plays call attention to the problem of interpretation in the minds of the audience. Although these plays are not exactly satires there is blatant irony and also cynicism. According to Boas in Shakespeare’s problem plays the audience’s expectations are not fulfilled. Although the ending of these plays provides some sort of solution it is a superficial solution that does not address the issues that were raised in the plays.
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