Shakespeare's Use of Proverbs for Characterization

SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF PROVERBS FOR CHARACTERIZATION,

DRAJyiATIC ACTION, AND TONE IN

REPRESENTATIVE COMEDY

by

EMMETT WAYNE COOK, B.A., M.A.

A DISSERTATION

IN

ENGLISH

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Approved

Accepted

August, 1974 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am deeply indebted to Professor Joseph T. McCullen, Jr. for his direction of this dissertation and to the other members of my committee. Professors Warren S. Walker and Kenneth W. Davis, for their helpful criticism.

11 CONTENTS

PREFACE 1 CHAPTER ONE: PROVERBS USED FOR CHARACTERIZATION. . 12 I. The Falstaffian Figure 13 II. The Clown-Fool 32 III. The Malcontent 43 IV. The Comic Fop 47 V. Other Representative Comic Figures .... 57 CHAPTER TWO: PROVERBS USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC ACTION 64 I. Proverbs Used to Reveal Past Action ... 66 II. Proverbs Used to Foreshadow Aspects of Character Development 73 III. Proverbs Used to Incite Action and Arouse Conflict 77 IV. Proverbs Used to Accentuate a Character's Method of Action 87 V. Proverbs Used to Expose the Immediate Dramatic Situation 98 VI. Proverbs Used to Convey a Sense of Anticipation of Action 110 VII. Proverbs Used as Devices for Sustain­ ing Comic Interlude 118 VIII. Proverbs Used as Devices for Greeting and Salutation 125 CHAPTER THREE: PROVERBS USED FOR SUSTAINING TONE . 130 CHAPTER FOXJR: CONCLUSION 164 BIBLIOGRAPHY 167

• • • 111 PREFACE

One of the curiosities of historical and modern schol­ arship is the rather engaging matter of defining the obvious or familiar. Defining the common proverb truly illustrates such a statement. While some literary historians and an­ alysts provide elaborate taxonomies for the proverb, others are persuaded to elude definition altogether. For a case in point, George Puttenham vivifies wit's penchant for brevity by simply referring to proverbs as "old said saws." Other Renaissance rhetoricians, however, spoke more technically and descriptively of the proverb. In The Garden of Eloquence Henry Peacham sensibly describes these "old said saws" in the following manner: "Paroemia, called of as a Proverbe, is a sentence or form of speech much used, and commonly knowen, and also excellent for the hiimilitude and dignification: to which two things are required, the one that it be renowned, and much spoken of, as a sentence in everie mans mouth. The other that it be witty, and well proportioned, whereby it may be discerned by some speciall marke and not from common speech, and be commended by 2 antiquitie and learning." Although the mood of this

^George Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie, ed. Gladys Willcock and Alice Walker (London: Cambridge Uni­ versity Press, 1936), p. 189. 2 Henry Peacham, The Garden of Eloquence, ed. William G. Crane (1620; Facsimile rpt. Gainesville, Florida: Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints, 1954), p. 29. definition by Peacham is that a proverb should be used es­ sentially for its edifying merit, he concludes that the "barren" proverb is one which fails to teach and delight. In The Arte of Rhetorique, Thomas Wilson relegates no special rhetorical significance to the proverb, except that the proverb is used as a device for amplification of an idea, and usually a moral one. Despite his formal, didactic tone, Wilson's view of the proverb yields a glimpse of its practicality: "Among all the figures of Rhetorique, there is no one that so much helpeth forward an Oration, and beautifieth the same with such delightful ornaments, as doth 3 amplication." For Wilson,the key figure used for moral amplification is the proverb; and proverbs are formed, he writes, "when we gather such sentences as are commonly spoken, or els to speake of such things as are notable in 4 this life." After listing several commendable proverbs, Wilson interposes, "But what need I heape all these together, seeing Heywooddes Proverbes are in Print, where plenty are to be had: whose paines in that behalf, are worthie im- 5 mortall praise."

3 ... Thomas Wilson, The Arte of Rhetorique, ed. G- H. Mair (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909), p. 119. ^Wilson, p. 119. Wilson, p. 119. Generations since, attempts at describing or identify­ ing the exigencies of the proverb, even the more modern attempts, have reflected the extremes to which the various examiners go. The editor of the Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations, Hugh P. Jones, simply puts definition aside and refers ultimately to them as "winged- words." Richard Chenevix Trench's verbal timidity prompts him to list three essential ingredients constituting the 7 proverb: "shortness, sense, salt." Most importantly, however. Bishop Trench suggests that the quality of a proverb should be determined on the grounds of its "folk popularity." Not all of the approaches of critics toward defining the proverb are so tentative as some of the ones offered thus far. Rudolph E. Habenicht, editor of John Heywood's A Dialogue of Proverbs, provides as functional a description of the proverb as one will find: "The common proverb is a particular species of a large body of moral maxims and sententiae which express some counsel, ethical precept, or truth in a succinct and memorable way. It differs from the adage, or maxim, in its language and style, the proverb be­ ing usually concrete, metaphoric, and frequently rythmical;

"Hugh P. Jones, ed.. Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations (Edinburgh, Scotland: John Grant, 1963), p. xii. Richard Chenevix Trench, Proverbs and Their Lessons (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1905), p. 7. . . . The proverb, furthermore, is figurative in concealing 8 a 'hidden' meaning." Although Habenicht's definition seems satisfactorily to identify the proverb, he omits the one aspect of origin which others have emphasized, its oral derivation. Archer Taylor makes the proverb's oral, folk origin a starting point in terms of description. Taylor writes: "The definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone. An incommunicable quality tell us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial. Those who do not speak a language can never recognize all its proverbs, and similarly much that is truly proverbial escapes us in Elizabethan and older English. Let us be content with recog- 9 nizing that a proverb is a saying current among the folk." In the introduction to The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs, Janet E. Heseltine offers a helpful proposal as to the origin and destiny of the proverb, one which goes

Q John Heywood, A Dialogue of Proverbs, ed. Rudolph E. Habenicht (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963), p. 1. Archer Taylor, The Proverb and An Index to the Proverb (Copenhagen, Denmark: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1962), p. 3. unchallenged by most collectors today. Heseltine suggests two sources of proverbial wisdom: the common man and the wise man (or oracle). From the folk came the proverbs of distilled experience, such as "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." The wise man's utterances are the result of reflection; and, naturally, his comments were received by the folk as rules of life, for they had neither time nor sufficient acumen themselves to meditate upon fundamental truths. The wise man's observations, his very wording, be­ came familiar sayings, bywords, or proverbs. It was a mat­ ter of time before the proverb was quoted by a writer, either in its obvious sense or with a transferred meaning to give point to some quite other subject, thus taking to itself a new characteristic of a proverb. As education became more widespread, the sayings, or sententiae, of the wise man were incorporated in school texts, and gradually wisdom-based saws penetrated downwards until they were adopted as proverbs by people. Heseltine contends that, in both cases of origin, there is the process of gradual penetration of the spoken word from above to below and from below to above, with literature as "a kind of eternally moving wheel on which proverbs were caught up, 10 and from which they were thrown off again."

-'•^Janet E. Heseltine, "Introduction," in The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs, by William George Smith, 2nd edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935), pp. vii-viii. Ostensibly, the matter of defining the proverb completely and without error is of less interest than pointing out that folk sayings have been of utmost benefit to men since they have come forth both orally and in the written form. Such zealous consciousness of man for his verbal nature glorifies and en­ hances the potential for the virtuosity of his language. In Unusual Words, and How They Came About, Edwin Radford succinctly confers the following blandishment upon oral English: "English speaking people have been pulling to pieces the words of their language and refitting them into other words explanatory of some current event, displaying in so doing an impish wit, a clever cynicism, or a deldghtful turn of improvisation." The observation of Radford articu­ lates yet another dimension of the proverb: its rhetorical function. And, since the subject of this immediate inquiry focuses upon a particular English-speaking person, Shakespeare, it is profitable to establish his relationship to the heri­ tage of proverbs and to his special facility with them.

In any investigation of the uses Shakespeare makes of the proverb, it is important to remember not only that Elizabethans loved proverbs, but also that they were con- 12 sciously steeped in potential usages of them. In fact.

Edwin Radford, Unusual Words, And How They Came About (New York: Philosophical Library, 1946), n.p. •'•^Charles G. Smith, Shakespeare's Proverb Lore (Cam­ bridge: Harvard University Press, 1963), p. 3. as B. J. Whiting states, Elizabethans knew that when men

spoke or wrote proverbially they "were close to man and 13 often near to wisdom." And despite the preciseness with

which we customarily scrutinize proverbs and make careful

distinctions of them, the Elizabethan conception of what 14 was proverbial was indeed elastic.

The broad base of Shakespeare's education shows his

familiarity with classical and contemporary collections of 15 proverbial expressions. Thomas W. Baldwin and Virgil K.

Witaker have made significant contributions toward inform­

ing us of Shakespeare's own literary background by aptly pointing to specific sources of his knowledge of proverbs

and sententiae. It is common knowledge that, when Shake­

speare was a boy in school, he was taught to maintain a

commonplace book of sayings gleaned from his readings. Cato,

Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Plautus, Seneca, Terence, and Virgil are names among many that he would have known well. More­ over, there are names of collectors whose proverbs reached

•^-^B. J. Whiting, Francis W. Bradley, Richard Jente, Archer Taylor, and M. P. Tilley, "The Study of Proverbs," Modern Language Forum, 24, No. 2 (June 1939), p. 83. 14 Charles G. Smith, Shakespeare's Proverb Lore, p. 3. 15 ... Thomas W. Baldwin, William Shakespeare's Small Latin and Less Greeke, 2 volumes (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1944). 1 6 Virgil K. Witaker, Shakespeare's Use of Learning: An Inquiry into the Growth of his Mind and Art (San Marino: University of California Press, 1953). 8

the ordinary classroom. In an important study entitled

Shakespeare's Proverb Lore, Charles G. Smith gives greater

specificity of literary influence by basing his investiga­

tion upon Shakespeare's use of the sententiae of Leonard

Culman (1497-1562) and Publilius Syrus (Syrus belonged to 17 the age of Julius Caesar). Furthermore, in his own day,

Shakespeare had direct accessibility to Erasmus' school

collection of proverbs called Proverbes or Adagies with newe

Addicions Gathered Out of the Chiliades of Erasmus. Shake­

speare also probably knew of John Heywood's Works (1562),

in which Heywood wrote and collected many epigrams and

proverbs.

That Shakespeare was influenced by the proverbs of an­

tiquity and of his own day is calculable. He recognized

their natural power to delight and persuade attentive au­

diences. Essentially, the proverbs that adorn his works are

pithy expressions of old truths or of practical facts, the

observations of generations, warnings, admonitions, guides

to conduct, accumulated wisdom that has borne the test of

experience throughout human history. In the introduction

to his famous Dictionary of the Proverbs in the Sixteenth 18 and Seventeenth Centuries, a work of some thirty years of

•'•^Charles G. Smith, Shakespeare's Proverb Lore, p. 9. 18 Morris Palmer Tilley, Dictionary of the Proverbs in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Ann Arbor: Univer­ sity of Michigan Press, 1950). effort, Morris P. Tilley calls Shakespeare the most adroit user of proverbs in literature and adds that perhaps no other writer ever observed the speech habits of the people around him so accurately as did he. With the proverb he produces humor, wisdom, and a frequent beauty of form. A knowledge of his use of it leads one to a more intimate understanding of the important characteristics of Shake­ speare's style as well as of his dramatic technique. Generally considering Shakespeare's use of the proverb in his dramatic works, one may cite a few which he uses often and which appear as favorites. Drawing upon persua­ sive logic, the proverb "He is well since he is in heaven" appears nine times in various forms; "You are Ipse" appears seven times; "Know thyself" appears ten times; and "Dying men speak true" appears at least five times throughout his drama. Some proverbs reveal something of the extent of Shakespeare's formal education. For example, in 2 Henry VI (V,ii,28) Shakespeare gives the proverb "The end crowns all" in French, and in Love's Labours' Lost (V,i,l) he gives a Latin rendering of the proverb "Enough is as good as a feast." Often the proverb assists the reader in fully grasp­ ing a particular passage, such as the proverbs "Ye would make me go to bed at noon" (King Lear, III,vi,89), "Let him be begged for a fool" (Comedy of Errors, II,i,40), and "He casts beyond the moon" (Titus Andronicus, IV,iii,63). In The Merry Wives of Windsor Shakespeare seems consciously to 10 distort a proverbial simile for comic effect: "As dead as a herring" becomes "By gar, de herring is no dead so as I vill kill him" (II,iii,12). In some instances Shakespeare may expand a proverb through several lines, as he does with "Make hay while the sun shines" in 3 Henry VI (V,iii,60-61); and at timics he may give only a fragment of a proverb and then transform it into a graphic and pertinent metaphor. In such instances where a single proverb may be used more than once, Shakespeare may be seeking and gaining a totally dif­ ferent effect. Therefore, the technical functions of the proverb are of significance in one's realizing fully the nuances of his craftsmanship. The purpose of this study is to examine and specify dramatically functional proverbs in four representative plays: Love's Labours' Lost, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and 1 Henry IV. The primary points of analysis entail Shakespeare's use of the proverb for characterization, dramatic action, and tone. In no sense are the topical divisions mutually exclusive; rather, action is commensurate with character, and the consequences of such "impersonated action" necessarily exude some tonal impact. As one may discover from this study, there are often residual functions of each proverbial element cited. This residuality does not mean that, when a given proverb is repeated in the same play or in a different one, function is also duplicated. In this collection of almost three-hundred proverbs in four plays. 11 rarely does Shakespeare repeat a proverb; and, when he does so, he may use it for entirely divergent effects. The technical virtuosity of proverbs cannot be contested; it is truly a versatile dramatic and rhetorical tool. Thus, the guidelines offered for study—characterization, dramatic action, and tone—are designed to specify key functions of proverbs and to comment upon the comic effects of such usages CHAPTER ONE PROVERBS USED FOR CHARACTERIZATION

A principal function of the proverb traceable through­ out all of the drama of Shakespeare is its potential for revealing character. While most of his character creations are vividly drawn and leave no serious mystery as to the type-role into which they may be placed for the convenience of general study, the proverbs used for purposes of char­ acterization help to focus a sharp light on significant, in­ dividual traits. To achieve this end, Shakespeare manifestly employs the proverb in two ways: a character may use a proverb in his description, appraisal, or subtle verbal manipulation of another; and he may use a proverb which re­ veals something of his own character. In either instance, the audience is the beneficiary of nuances of character that are specifically accented by the proverb. Each use supplies firm evidence of character identification, as well as in­ forms one of passages which perhaps may not be so vivid with­ out a grasp of the ambiguity created by the radical form of the proverb and the appearance of the proverb in Shakespeare's text.

Ipor an incisive study of the function of the proverb in tragic drama, see J. T. McCullen, Jr., "lago's Use of Proverbs for Persuasion," Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 4 (1964), pp. 247-262. 12 13

While selecting passages from four representative sources—1 Henry IV, Love's Labours' Lost, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night—in order to illustrate how the proverb effects pertinent revelation of character, I examine not only individual characters, but character types as well. The braggart soldier and the clown-fool receive considerable critical attention; the foppish characters and the singular malcontent are also treated generously. The selection of proverbs is not made without a legitimate admission of their variability of usage. In fact, almost every single prover­ bial locution achieves multiple dramatic effects. For pur­ poses of illustration, however, these proverbs have been isolated according to their most conspicuous functions; yet, from chapter to chapter they are occasionally repeated in order to demonstrate the dramatic versatility that is in­ herent in them.

I. The Falstaffian Figure: Sir John Falstaff and Sir Toby Belch

Shakespeare authorities sometimes speak of the general

similarity of type between Falstaff of 1 Henry IV and Sir 2 Toby of Twelfth Night. But hardly any truly convincing

evidence has come forth to argue such an observation, except

2John Dover Wilson, Shakespeare's Happy Comedies (Evans- ton: Northwestern University Press, 1962), p. 77. See also E. E. Stoll, Shakespeare Studies (New York: Macmillan, 1927), pp. 458, 480, 484. 14 that it has been shown that these two old sack drinkers com­ monly derived their identities and manners from classical models of martial braggadocios. It is interesting, too, that a high percentage of the proverbs used by them or ap­ plied to them are either identical or very similarly cast. Moreover, not only do their appearance, age, and roguishness draw them together, but their particular styles of rhetoric also distinguish them as kinsmen worthy of stage comedy. Each old soldier uses the proverb extensively; and, when he does, traits of his rascally character leap forth and produce happy comedy. Like his prototype, "Jack" Fal­ staff, Sir Toby ardently defends his tavern manners and tom-foolery. Hence, when "watch-dog" Maria chides him into confining his giant's sense of levity within "the modest limits of order" (a phrase similar to the claim of Falstaff that he lives "in good compass"), we hear him resort to a familiar proverb with which to defend himself: "Confine! I'll confine myself no finer than I am: these clothes are good enough to drink in; and so be these boots too: an 3 they be not, let them hang themselves m their own straps."

3 Hardin Craig and David Bevington, eds., The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman, 1973), TN I,iii,ii. Hereafter all page references to quoted material will be provided in the text of the dissertation. Quoted passages bearing proverbs will be footnoted in order to permit the reader to compare Shakespeare's use of a given proverb with the original proverb collected by M. P. Tilley. "He may go hang himself in his own garters" (G42); also see 1 Hen. IV II,ii,45. 15

Such implicit roguery, defended to verbal excess, is typical of the Falstaffian gallant throughout his long appearance 4 in literature. Sir Toby's declarations (Both Sir Toby and Falstaff often use the subjunctive mood) are always color­ fully hyperbolic, as in the following example: "He's a coward and a coystrill that will not drink to my neice till 5 his brains turn o' the toe like a parish-top" (I,iii,42). And, like that of Falstaff, the surly wit of Toby is ripe for each occasion which threatens his self-esteem. Observe the following dialogue: Mar. By my troth. Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o' nights: your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours. Sir To. Why, let her except, before excepted. (I,iii,5) As the dissertation progresses and takes up these two char­ acters again, it will become evident that the differences between them reside not in character, but in station and development.

E. E. Stoll, Falstaff (Folcroft, Pennsylvania: Fol- croft, 1969), p. 41. 5 Like a parish top (P57). ^Some complain to prevent complaint (C579). "^Professor Stoll would not be in accord wd.th the asser­ tion of similarity of the characters of Falstaff and Toby for two reasons: first, we have no evidence that Toby is cowardly; and, secondly, we simply do not see much of the character of Toby in TN. 16

In her biography of Shakespeare, Marchette Chute notes that during his youth Shakespeare had many opportunities to observe old soldiers, such as Falstaff and Sir Toby, in and about the city of London. He perhaps heard anecdotes of elaborate army grafts on which many an old veteran re­ tired, as well as the cheating, lying, and self-serving conspiracies of these disreputable old cavaliers. From an old play by the Queen's men. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth, which reviewed Hal's youth, Shakespeare dis­ covered that one of the testy followers of the young prince was one Sir John Oldcastle. The more he contemplated the Oldcastle type, the more stageworthy it became. From this early model, combined with the Italian tradition of the braggart soldier, leaped one of the most successful comedy types in the history of the world. When Sir John Oldcastle first took the stage in the Chamberlain's company production of 1 Henry IV, a howl of unregenerate satisfaction erupted from audiences who, at once, took the total personality 8 and manners of the cirude old type to their hearts. In the three plays in which Falstaff appears, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare designed and used him for a specific dramatic function, one which Falstaff himself adumbrates in his initial speech in

Q Marchette Chute, Shakespeare of London (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1949), pp. 173-174. 17

2 Henry IV. Speaking to his page, Falstaff states, "Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me: the brain of this foolish-compounded clay, man, is not able to invent any thing that intends to laughter, more than I invent or is invented on me: I am not only witty in myself, but the cause of v/it is in other men" (I,ii,7). These memorable words of self-introspection and explanation are echoed time and again in the proverbs used to cast some light upon the unique character of Falstaff. Likewise, in the one play in which Sir Toby takes the stage, he becomes an agent of wit and the cause of wit in others.

Hardly any consideration of Falstaff's dramatic role— his personality, his beliefs, his activities—would be com­ plete without seeing him from the vantage point of his physical appearance. In addition to a gold mine of non- proverbial descriptive elements in 1 Henry IV, several comic proverbs appearing generally in the form of similes and metaphors capture the essence of his size and weight; and, hence, through indirection, a graphic portrait of his physi­ cal limitations also brings us to a fuller appreciation of his comic identity. Often the effects of the picturesque descriptive hyperboles used by Falstaff of himself or by others to upbraid him achieve both comedy and pathos. While we laugh genially at his dissipation, it is not easy to forget Prince Hal's observation of him after having just robbed Falstaff and his band of the money they stole from the

T — — —- — I — ^^^^rf-^T^ /-N/^l T /T^ V • 18 Falstaff sweats to death And lards the lean earth as he walks along: Q Were 't not for laughing, I should pity him. (II,ii,115) In Hal's proverb, which is an allusion to the practice on the part of butchers of inserting fat into lean meat, one may observe the attitude of the dramatist toward his knavish, 10 yet wonderful, comedian. The image of "butter" is exercised again in scene four, when the sheriff and his carrier enter Boar's-Head Tavern to interrogate the company assembled there concerning the robbery. The sheriff reports to Hal, "One of them is well known, my gracious lord,/ A gross fat man" (II,iv,558). Completing the sheriff's reference to Falstaff, the carrier extends the description with a proverbial simile, "As fat 11 as butter," and leaves no question as to who is being sought. The only other departure from Falstaff's being de­ scribed as "buttery" or "lardly" in a proverb appears in the final act, in which his maneuverability in combat is ironically treated. In this dramatic episode of battle, Falstaff gives voice to his fears of being wounded in the fray:

^Fat drops fall from fat flesh (D616). •'•Craig and Bevington, eds.. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, p. 684n. HAS fat as butter (B768) . 19 Though I could 'scape shot-free at London, I fear the shot here; here's no scoring but upon the pate. Soft! who are you? Sir Walter Blunt: there's honour for you! here's no vanity! I am as hot as molten lead, and as heavy too: God keep lead out of me! I need no more weight than my own bowels. I have led my ragamuffins where they are peppered: there's not three of my hun­ dred and fifty left alive; and they are for the 12 town's end, to beg during life. (V,iii,34) This proverbial comparison of Falstaff to "molten lead" seems especially appropriate to the seriousness, the gravity, of Falstaffs predicament. Most critics who have surveyed this confession of self-interest in Falstaff point imme­ diately to his cowardliness, with little admitted cognizance of the poignancy of Falstaff's own incapacity to fight with any hope of survival. This passage, spawned by his own proverbial self-description, tells that he is "as heavy as lead" and that he wants to avoid being fatally wounded by lead. But there is another key image involved in his plight, which suggests something of his sense of guilt and futility; that is, he appears remorseful that he has led (an apparent pun) his one hundred and fifty "ragamuffins" into battle, from which he says that no more than three have escaped with

•'•^As heavy as lead (L134) 20 their lives. Hence, the dividends of the basic proverb are several. The multiple sense of the proverb heightens our apprehension of Shakespeare's rather mature rendering of Falstaff the man—not just the comedian.

A more humorous application of proverbial description flourishes in a comic exchange between Bardolf and Falstaff at the Boar's-Head Tavern. While Falstaff still whimpers about other "villanous thieves," Bardolf warns that, be­ cause of his fretfulness, he "cannot live long." In Fal­ staff 's reply we catch a glimpse of his intemperate, but joyfully irresponsible, style of living:

Why, there is it: come sing me a bawdy song; make

me merry. I was as virtuously given as a gentle­

man need be; virtuous enough; swore little; diced

not above seven times a week; went to a bawdy-

house not above once in a quarter—of an hour;

paid money that I borrowed, three or four times;

lived well and in good compass: and now I live 13 out of all order, out of all compass. (Ill,iii,14)

The implications of the proverbial phrase, "to live within compass," are two-fold: first, that he has lived within the limits of the law; and, secondly, that the principal consequences of his overindulgence in the vagaries of life, as opposed to the responsibilities of decent living, have

13 Live within compass (C577) 21 been merely to become obese. Shakespeare's own attitude toward Falstaff is an inherent feature of the passage, for the sense of the proverb itself extricates Falstaff from undeserving calumny. Such subtle intrusion by the dramatist helps to confirm Falstaff as a thoroughly comic figure, one who contributes much to unassailable comedy and to the stimu­ lus of wit in other characters. In a very true sense, he must be viewed as an agent for characterization and dramatic action who may thrive without moral deprecation but with observation only. A culminating defense of the role of Falstaff in 1 Henry IV is offered by the character himself. In effect, he attributes his myriad excesses to the fact of his great fleshiness. Responding to the query of Hal, "... art thou not ashamed?" (Ill,iii,184), Falstaff says, "Thou seest I have more flesh than another, and therefore more 14 frailty" (III,iii,188). Despite so general a description of Falstaff as this proverb gives, still it yields an im­ portant consequence of freeing "old fat guts" from public revulsion. It is clearly reasonable to inquire of him whether he senses any degree of shame, but his answering affirmatively certainly does not depend upon the audience's pleasure in the unique character of this funny man.

^Slesh is frail (F363) . 22

Even more incisive than proverbs which reveal the physi­ cal nature of Falstaff are those few which relate to his insatiable penchant for roguery or, to use the phrase of 15 C. L. Barber, to his joie de vivre. There is little more to say of Falstaff's sense of vocational enterprise than that he loves to steal, perhaps not so much for the booty itself as for the levity that accompanies his brigandry, To hope that Falstaff would seek some other more "respect­ able" means of support would be to wish him "out of his element." Expressing these same sentiments, Falstaff assures Westmoreland, who beckons all to join the king at Shrewsbury, "Tut, never fear me: I am as vigilant as a cat to steal cream" (IV,ii,64). In response, Hal pro­ vides the clearest basis for associating the crimes of Fal­ staff with his physical appearance: "I think to steal cream indeed, for thy theft hath already made thee butter" (IV,ii,66).

Like the common cat, Falstaff is a creature of the night, preying upon the purses of travellers or imbibing with his fellow "minions" at Boar's-Head Tavern in Eastcheap. Yet, too, Falstaff is seeking some means by which he can quit the risks involved in his work; to do so, he tries

•'•^C. L. Barber, Shakespeare's Festive Comedy (New York: World Publishing Company, 1959), p. 196. •^^The cat is out of kind that sweet milk will not lap (C167). 23

incessantly to persuade Hal to employ him and his friends

when he becomes king. Falstaff entreats Hal, "... let

men say we be men of good government, being governed, as

the sea is, by our noble and chaste mistress the moon,

under whose countenance we steal" (I,ii,31). Hal seizes

upon the impertinence of Falstaff with three proverbs which,

collectively, suggest the consequences of his nocturnal

play:

Thou sayest well, and it holds well too; for the

fortune of us that are the moon's men doth ebb and 17 flow like the sea, being governed, as the sea

is, by the moon. As, for proof, now: a purse of

gold most resolutely snatched on Monday night and 18 most dissolutely spent on Tuesday morning; got

with swearing 'Lay by' and spent with crying

'Bring in'; now in as low an ebb as the foot of the ladder and by and by in as high a flow as 19 the ridge of the gallows. (I,ii,34) The proverbs Hal evokes appear more effective because they are sayings which were formed by gallowsmen and criminals at Sugden and Tyburn. Furthermore, that Falstaff is

•'•'^As changeful as the moon (Mllll) .

•'•Soon gotten, soon spent (G91) .

^%e that is at low ebb at Newgate [Sugden] may soon be afloat at Tyburn (E56). 24

successfully threatened by the prince is evident in Fal­

staff s abrupt switch of topic. Shakespeare's audiences

would have relished these proverbial allusions to "infamous"

gallows in England.

Falstaff is as renowned for his philosophy of self-

preservation as any character in literature. We have al­

ready witnessed something of his rationale for protecting

himself from vainglorious death in his use of the proverb

"as heavy as lead" (V,iii,34ff), with which he laments the

deaths of his ragamuffins who serve the king, on the one

hand, as fodder for his cannons and, on the other, as butts

of jokes ("they are for the town's and"). Such dubious

service well earns the personal "discretion" with which Fal- 20 staff views the matter of "honour" in death.

While Falstaff and the young prince prepare to join

the king and his legions in battle, they indulge in a last

moment of comedy, which results in a vivid statement of the

personal philosophy of Falstaff. Playing upon the word

debt, Hal teases Falstaff, who has enlarged misgivings about 21 dying, "Why, thou owest God a death" (V,i,127). Falstaff matches Hal's proverb with an equally witty one that is ex­ panded to reveal, with admirable logic, his antipathy for

^^For a remarkable defense of the honor of Falstaff see J. I. M. Stewart, Character and Motive in Shakespeare (New York: Longmans, Green, 1950), pp. 128-130. 21 I owe God a death (G237). 25 the kind of valor that would be more suitable to Hotspur than himself:

'Tis not due yet; I would be loath to pay him be­

fore his day. What need I be so forward with him

that calls not on me? Well, 'tis no matter; honour

pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off

when I come on? how then? Can honour set to a leg?

no: or an arm? no: or take away the grief of a

wound? no. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then?

no. What is honour? a word. What is in that word

honour? what is that honour? air. A trim reckoning!

Who hath it? he that died a Wednesday. Doth he feel

it? no. Doth he hear it? no. 'Tis insensible, then?

Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the

living? no. Why? detraction will not suffer it.

Therefore, I'll none of it. Honour is a mere 22 scutcheon: and so ends my catechism" (I,i,28).

This proverbial logic modifies well his later words of bene­ diction over the body of Sir Walter Blunt: "Soft! who are you? Sir Walter Blunt: there's honour for you! here's no vanity!" (V,iii,33).

Proof of Falstaffs intentions to preserve himself is found in the speech he utters just after rising from having feigned death while Hal and Hotspur lock in deadly swordplay

22 He does not desire to die before his time (T290). 26 The total sense of the passage is indebted to his use of three proverbial sententiae: "Embowelled! if thou embowell me to-day, I'll give you leave to powder me and eat me too tomorrow. 'Sblood, 'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too" (V,iv,lll). "Scot" and "lot" were parish taxes, and the proverbial phrase here is used to denote complete payment. Subsequently, some penetrating comic logic is used to defend his sense of authenticity against the notion of his being "counterfeit": Counterfeit? I lie, I am no counterfeit: to die, is to be a counterfeit; for he is but the counter­ feit of a man who hath not the life of a man: but to a counterfeit dying, when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valour is discretion; 24 in the which better part I have saved my life. 'Zounds, I am afraid of this gun­ powder Percy, though he be dead: how, if he should counterfeit too and rise? by my faith, I am afraid he would prove the better counterfeit. Therefore, 25 I'll make him sure; yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Why may not he rise as well as I? Nothing

^^To pay scot and lot (S259). ^^Discretion is the better part of valor (D354) 25T o make all sure (A206). 27

confutes me but eyes, and nobody sees me. There­ fore, sirrah [stabbing him], with a new wound in the thigh, come you along with me. (V,iv,116) Few scenes in Shakespeare are so perfectly comic as this one. Here we see Falstaff clearly: his sense of what is practical and valuable to him^; his out-and-out fear of per­ sonal injury, even of the dead; and his wonderous facility of improvisation. Some proverbs are closer to Falstaffian ribaldry, for they directly reflect that character's rhetorical extravagance and his total selfishness. One such proverb concerns the granting to someone his due, and Hal uses it in the context of Falstaffs having sold his soul to the devil on Good Friday for "a cup of Madeira and a cold capon's leg" (I,ii,128) Hal promises, "Sir John stands to his word, the devil shall have his bargain; for he was never a breaker of proverbs: he will give the devil his due" (I,ii,130). Here, young Hal evinces his own highly developed sense of word-play, for his proverb on the matter of Falstaffs paying the devil what is due him is sheer comic reprisal for Falstaffs use it earlier. Apparently, Falstaff has uncivilly pricked Hal's conscience when he points out the prince's frequent debauchery with the hostess of the tavern. Hal strikes back, "Did I ever call for thee to pay thy part?" And Fal­ staff answers with a proverb, "No; I'll give thee thy due.

^^Give the devil his due (D273) 28 27 thou hast paid all there" (I,ii,59).

As one observes Falstaffs character development in

1 Henry IV, it becomes quite apparent that he most likely will not stand to his word and that the odds are in his favor to outwit the devil at the proper moment. The reason for saying so is plain; he can skirt blame more readily than any other of Shakespeare's characters, and he can pass sen­ tence on all others, while keeping himself free of stain.

He is an habitual beguiler, though his petty deceptions always are seen through by his victims. Mistress Quickly, for example, gives us evidence of this habit when she accuses him of dodging payment for his drinks: "You owe me money.

Sir John, and now you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it"

(III,iii,75). Her brief revelation of his character is sup­ ported by two proverbial expressions, one having to do with 28 his complaining to preempt complaint and the other to 29 feign a quarrel in order to escape being the subject of one.

For other cases in point, Falstaff ironically chal­ lenges the virtue of those who would rob the robber. At

Boar's-Head after the Gadshill episode, Falstaff cries, "Is there no virtue extant? . . . there is nothing but roguery . 30 to be found in villanous man" (II,iv,132). Attempting

27 Give everyone his due (D634). 28 Some complain to prevent complaint (C579) 29 To pick a quarrel (Q3) or) There is no faith in man (F34). 29

further to give evidence of the mythical struggle at Gadshill,

Falstaff hypothesizes, "I am a rogue, if I were not at half-

sword with a dozen, of them two-hours together. I have

•scaped by miracle. I am eight times thrust through the

doublet, four through the hose; my buckler cut through and

through; my sword hacked like a hand-saw—ecce signum! I

never dealt better since I was a man: all would not do. A

plague of all cowards! Let them speak: if they speak more

or less than truth, they are villains and the sons of dark- 32 ness" (II,iv,190). The crowning blow to Truth is Falstaffs 33 ironic query, "Is not the truth the truth?" (II,iv,255).

Falstaffs bombast is, in effect, a confession that

he is a rogue elephant of short memory. At his declaration

that if he has drunk today he is a rogue, Hal captures him

with a familiar tavern proverb: "0 Villain! thy lips are 34 scarce wip'd since thou drunk'st last" (II,iv,168). And later, in a stinging assault on Falstaffs propensity for

falsehood, Hal judges, "There's no room for faith, truth, 35 nor honesty in this bosom of thine" (III,iii,173). Hal's proverb openly disclaims any trace of honesty or truth in

31 Ecce Signum (S443). 32 The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (T590). 33Truth is truth (T581); See also LLL IV,i,48. 3^you licked not your lips since you lied last (L329). 3^They have neither truth nor honesty in them (T567). 30

Falstaff, while it also subtly touches on the aspect of his great size's having "no room" for virtue.

The complete knavery of Falstaff is revealed through his incessant attempts to escape indictment from others. His chief means of self-defense is his use of rhetorical equivo­ cation (a figure in which the words used may have ironic significations) in order to pass himself off as a voice of authority. Naturally, Falstaff would draw upon the proverb's persuasiveness to buttress his rhetoric. For example, when he enters Boar's-Head to report scandalous knavery of others, he employs the _i^ construction and the proverb together as a strategic method of assaulting his invisible foes or of evading them if his aggression does not work. Observe the two devices joined for corroborative effect: "Go thy ways, old Jack, die when thou wilt; if manhood, good manhood, be not forgot upon the face of the earth, then am I a shotten 36 herring" (II,iv,141). The effects of the combined usage of the subjunctive construction ("if") and the proverb is self-critical. The implication is that he himself bears no

"good manhood"; he, thus, equates himself with a lean

("shotten") herring, one that has cast its roe and is thin.

A double irony may be sensed in Falstaffs assigning himself the image of thinness, a condition which he positively cannot claim.-n • ^3 7

36AS lean as a shotten herring (H447). 37 For an extended discussion of the significance of 31

The great oaths of Falstaff declaring his honesty al­

ways tend to produce the opposite impression, as in the fol­

lowing example: "If I tell thee a lie, spit in my face, 38 call me horse" (II,iv,214). The audience, if alert to

his lie and familiar with his proverb, would enjoy the self-

demeaning aspect of his directive. Similarly, when Hal

contests Falstaffs recollections of the Gadshill thieves

being attired in "Kendal green," since darkness would have

prohibited color distinction, the gallant again shapes his

reply with the devices of the proverb and _if construction:

"If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give 39 no man a reason upon compulsion, I" (II,iv,264). Falstaff

not only avoids the main issue but turns it into jest by

punning on the word "raisins," a term which was pronounced 40 nearly like "reasons."

While one may never hear the last word on the charac­

ter and function of Sir John Falstaff, or of his type, it

is truly evident that Shakespeare used the proverb to aid his

portrayal of him. More than rhetorical adornment, the proverb

Falstaffs self-demeaning statements concerning the legiti­ macy of his "manhood" consult J. I. M. Stewart, Character and Motive in Shakespeare, pp. 112-114.

^^Then call me cut (C940).

•^\s plentiful as blackberries (B442) .

^^Craig and Bevington, eds.. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, p. 687n. 32 in the mouth of this would-be cavalier, or in the mouths

of others to describe him, enhances our understanding of

the process and product of the art of Shakespeare.

II- The Clown-Fool: Feste, Touchstone, Costard, and Moth

Shakespeare's "motley" merit special ranking in his

repetoire of comic characters; and specifically to them a 41 number of probing studies have been devoted. More than

fully realized personages, they are "types" whose wit and manners form the basis of "non-sense" comedy. Their arrant

folly, however, is not to be taken lightly; for, when they

speak and act, they do so honestly and with a striking de­

gree of rhetorical logic. Because they are not themselves

conspirators or crass manipulators—or even normal people

in pursuit of their innocent dreams—, they are not vul­ nerable to the emotional upheavals, the petty deceptions,

the overweening ambitions which govern other "wiser" players

Nevertheless, it is invariably the impulse of others to mistake the potency of the oracle-like wisdom which erupts from this natural's soul. Thus, it is not surprising that many of the best known proverbs of Shakespeare, both the simple and complex ones, relate to the character and manner

•'•See R. H. Goldsmith, Wise Fools in Shakespeare (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1955); William Wille- ford. The Fool and His Sceptre (London: Cambridge Univer­ sity Press, 1969); Leslie Hotson, Shakespeare's Motley (London: Cambridge University Press, 1952); Enid Welsford, Thft Fool: His Social and Literary History (London: Cam- 1935) . 33 of this creature of idiom.

Often the wit of the fool is sharpest when he encoun­ ters another unwitting person about whom he knows little or nothing. Feste, in Twelfth Night, evinces this candid, independent sobriety when he confronts Sebastian, whom he thinks to be Cesario (Viola). Sebastian immediately recog­ nizes Feste to be a fool, though he does not know him and does not wish to go with him to the dwelling of Olivia.

Hence, Sebastian impatiently dismisses his botherer: "I 42 prithee, foolish Greek, depart from me" (IV,i,19). This proverbial phrase, "foolish Greek," decidedly identifies the external appearance of Feste, ?iis jester's apparel.

But, before the fool retaliates, as is the custom of an of­ fended natural, Sebastian tosses him some coins.

The fool, however, is not always so passive towards others' contempt for him. In the first act of Twelfth

Night, Olivia inadvertently offends the personal esteem of

Feste by judging only his outward appearance; and he responds with a proverb designed to highlight his more important wis­ dom: "Lady, cucullus non facit monachum. That's as much to 43 say as, I wear not motley in my brain" (I,v,62). Feste's proverb is evidence of his time-honored wisdom: even the fool cannot be judged by external appearance only.

^^A merry Greek (M901).

^•^The hood makes not the monk (H586) . 34 Placing the fool under the light of one's particular bias is futile effort, for Feste himself denies the possi- bility of doing so: "I am for all waters" (IV,ii,68). 44 The sense of Feste's proverb is that he and others like him are natural tricksters. They simply cannot be pinned down like a rare butterfly under glass. In Love's Labours' Lost, Costard exemplifies this wizardry early in the first act when Armado, his caretaker, orders him to fast three days for violating the king's decree. Costard entreats Armado, "Let me not be pent up, sir: I will fast, being loose." And only Moth can penetrate his subtlety: "No, sir; that 45 were fast and loose: thou shalt to prison" (I,ii,160). Both Moth and Costard are of the natural type; and each respects the other for his verbal cunning. In the initial use of the expression "fast and loose," Costard is appraised of his shiftiness. When the phrase is used again. Moth is the recipient of the image. While indulging in a free-for-all badinage of wit with Armado, Costard flatters Moth's wordplay: "To sell a bargain well is as cunning as 46 fast and loose" (III,i,104). Costard's proverb is some­ what difficult to decipher, since it appears to serve a double ironic function. On the one hand. Costard is

To have a cloak for all waters (C421). ^^To play fast and loose (P401). "^^To play fast and loose (P401) . 35 obviously repaying Moth's earlier tribute to his wittiness; and, on the other, they are both tying the incidental proverb to the foolish behavior of Ferdinand in the main plot. His word "loose" is aptly rimed with "goose," the latter of which alludes to the proverb, "Three women and 47 a goose make a market." Although Arm^ando is lost in their riming double-talk. Moth and Costard, as well as the audience, are having fun at the others' expense. The two wits. Moth and Costard, often comically buffet the affected speech of Armado, Nathaniel, and Holofernes. In an aside to Costard, Moth says, "They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps" (V,i,39). This and other delightful sallies against the fops draw from Costard a proverb denoting his admiration for Moth's wit, while it also serves to mock the pedantry of these intellectual dillantantes. Costard says, "O, an the heavens were so pleased that thou wert but my bastard, what a joy­ ful father wouldst thou make me! Go to; thou hast it ad 48 dunghill, at the finger's ends, as they say" (V,i,82). Costard's "false Latin" (ad dunghill), as Holofernes calls it, plays off the last words of a proverbial expression used of a lesson well-learned; and it was probably recited to schoolboys by their masters (meaning "to a nicety" or

47 Craig and Bevington, eds.. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, p. llln. 48 To have at fingers' ends (F245). 36

"perfectly"). It is not unlikely, therefore, that in

Costard's "ad dunghill," we have a schoolboy's perversion of the phrase intending to mock pedantry.

While some more cautious players grant the fool his unique wisdom, others view him as an object of derision.

A common description of the fool, a proverbial one, is offered by Malvolio, who is himself a warped being. Mal- volio protests to Olivia, "I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal: I saw him put down the other day with an ordinary fool that has no more brain than a stone. Look you now, he's out of his guard already; un­ less you laugh and minister occasion to him, he is gagged.

I protest, I take these wise men, that crow so at these 49 set kind of fools, no better than fool's zanies" (I,v,89).

If Feste can be bested by one whose brain is little more than stone, then, according to Malvolio, this fool's brain is totally defunct. Even aberrant Jaques in As You Like It contends of Touchstone that "his brain . . ./ Is as dry as 50 a remainder biscuit/ After a voyage" (II,vii,38). Never­ theless, Jacques wishes, "0 that I were a fool! I am ambi- 51 tious for a motley coat" (II,vii,42).

49 He has no more wit than a stone (W550).

^°As dry as a biscuit (B404).

^-'•The hood makes not the monk (H586) . 37

1*he apparent resource of freedom, of the fool, or, more precisely, his desultory habit, pleases those who con­ sider him as a being who not only wanders from place to place without purpose but also strays from the subject. A proverb which typifies this character trait in the fool is used in Costard's non-sense exchange with Berowne in

Love's Labours' Lost:

Ber. Do one thing for me that I shall entreat. . . .

Cost. Well, I will do it, sir. Fare you well.

Ber. O, thou knowest not what it is. 52 Cost. I shall know it, sir, when I have done it. (111,1,154)

How apropo that the fool was considered something of a sooth­ sayer by men of Shakespeare's era! In As You Like It, Celia also voices her suspicions of Touchstone's aimlessness: "How now wit! whither wander 53 you?" (I,ii,59). The custom of speaking ambiguously is here played upon by Celia; and, surely. Touchstone illus­ trates his wayward thinking through his declaration that he is no "messenger," though he is present before Celia and

Rosalind to deliver a message from Duke Frederick. Though his method of reason seems strangely conceived, the fool never fails to touch the heart of truth through his expert

^^A man must not shape an answer before he knows the question (M283). ^"^Wit, whither wilt thou? (W570) . 38 logic. In Twelfth Night, Viola muses on this fact in her first lengthy comic debate with Feste:

This fellow ds wise enough to play the fool; 54 And to do that well craves a kind of wit:

He must observe their mood on whom he jests.

The quality of persons, and the time.

And, like the haggard, check at every feather

That comes before his eye. This is a practice

As full of labour as a wise man's art: 55 For folly that he wisely shows is fit;

But wise men, folly-fall'n, quite taint their wit.

(Ill,i,67)

Moreover, when the case arises, the fool is able facetiously or seriously to disturb the faulty rationale of others. In

Twelfth Night, for instance, Feste humorously undercuts the whimsical remark of Viola (Cesario) to him: "I warrant 56 thou art a merry fellow and car'st for nothing" (III,i,30). Expanding and jesting with the sense of Viola's proverb, the clown rejoins, "Not so, sir, I do care for something; but in my conscience, sir, I do not care for you: if that be to care for nothing, sir, I would it would make you

^ No man can play the fool so well as the wise man (M321); also LLL V,ii,70. ^^A Wiseman may sometimes play the fool (M428).

He cares for nothing (N256). 39

invisible" (III,i,32). Quite subtly, the proverbial phrase of Feste, which attributes the quality of "nothing" to Viola-Cesario, seems entirely suitable to his-her present condition. By reason of choice Viola is not female; and by the fact of kind, she is not male. Therefore, though Feste is not cognizant of her disguise, he prophetically assays her indeterminate state. In a moment of self-revelation, Feste displays his natural wit and provides a comical version of the role of the fool as satirist: Duke. I know thee well: how dost thou, my good fellow? Clo. Truly, sir, the better for my foes and the worse for my friends. Duke. Just the contrary; the better for thy friends. Clo. No, sir, the worse. Duke. How can that be? Clown. Marry, sir, they praise me and make an ass of me; now my foes tell me plainly I am an ass:^^ so that by my foes, sir, I profit in the knowledge of myself, and by my friends I am abused: so that, conclusions to be

^"^An enemy [Adversity] makes a man to know himself, whereas a friend [prosperity] flatters a man and deceives him (E137). ^^God send me a friend that may tell me my faults; if not, an enemy, and to be sure he will (G212). 40

as kisses, if your four negatives make your 59 two affirmatives, why then, the worse for

my friends and the better for my foes.

(V,i,ll)

These remarks of Feste on the nature of friendship reveal his extraordinary gift of logic; and his theory, however inverted for comic effect, parallels the treatment that

Jaques gives the issue in As You Like It (II,vii,50-86).

Ostensibly, the powers of logic of the fool are fas­ cinating and revealing. In As You Like It, Touchstone uses his logic-based proverb to lampoon Celia's father, who practices his cruelties without thought of the "knight's honour" about which he speaks in the following passage:

Touch. Stand you both forth now: stroke your

chins, and swear by your beards that I am

a knave.

Cel. By our beards, if we had them, thou art.

Touch. By my knavery, if I had it, then I were;

but if you swear by that that is not, you

are not forsworn: no more was this knight,

swearing by his honour, for he never had

any; or if he had, he had sworn it away

^^Two negatives make an affirmative (NlOl).

^^No man ever lost his credit but he that had it not (M326) . 41

before ever he saw those pancakes or that mustard. (I,ii,77) The proverbial wisdom of Touchstone takes its toll on Celia and arouses in her the strongest expression of emotion she displays throughout the drama. Yet, when her anger sub­ sides, her admiration for his potent logic draws from her the proverb, "Well said, that was laid on with a trowel" (I,ii,112). The oracular wisdom of Feste indeed per­ suades Celia that her father is a man who has misplaced his honor. His influence upon Celia bears significantly upon her motives for leaving with Rosalind for the protection of Arden. According to the function of the fool, he is one who, like Falstaff, is witty in himself and the cause of wit in others. An explicit instance of such a function provides the mirth in a scene in which Celia and Rosalind discuss their conceptions of the nature and the function of the fool. When Touchstone enters, the two cousins are talking coyly of distinctions between Fortune and Nature. It is the be­ lief of Rosalind that "Fortune reigns in gifts of the world, not in the lineaments of nature" (I,ii,44). The unexpected arrival of Touchstone encourages his being used an example of both Nature's and Fortune's craft. Is Touchstone's com­ ing a result of Fortune, asks Celia, "to cut off the argument"

61T o lay it on with a trowel (T539). 42 between Rosalind and her? Or is his abrupt appearance the work of Nature, "who perceiveth [their] natural wits too dull to reason of such goddesses and hath sent this natural for [their] whetstone; for always the fool is the whetstone of the wits" (I,ii,58)?^^ The name of Touchstone is close in sound and sense to the term whetstone, an instrument by which tools are made sharpe for cutting; and touchstone suggests, too, one's serving as a test or criterion for determining genuineness in others. Thus, Duke Senior's estimation of Touchstone, that he is like a "stalking horse" (V,IV,111), proves to be an effective note on his char­ acter and function.

For a final word about the ability of the fool to re­ veal the "gold" of another, one may cite two proverbs in Twelfth Night. Shakespeare employs these proverbs together in Feste's devaluation of the querulous devotion of Olivia to the memory of her brother: "Wit, an 't be thy will, put me into good fooling! Those wits that think they have thee, 64 do very oft prove fools; and I, that am sure I lack thee, may pass for a wise man: for what says Quinapalus? 'Better

62 A whetstone cannot itself cut, but yet it makes tools cut (W299). 63 To make one a stalking horse (S816) . A "stalking horse" is a real or artificial horse under cover of which the hunter approaches his game. He that is wise in his own conceit is a fool (C582). 43 6 5 a witty fool than a foolish wit'" (I,v,36).

Curiously, at no point in the drama of Shakespeare do his motley specifically elaborate on the particulars of his knowledge; rather, one only hears their representative.

Costard, profess: "I can assure you, sir; we know what we know" (V,ii,490).^^

III. The Malcontent: Jaques

Jaques, in As You Like It, appeals to critics of a most refined sense of humor. But his unflagging self- sufficiency lies not in the natural vivacity of his char­ acter, but in the satiric quality that defines and under­ scores his unique role. Like the clown-fool, the malcontent stimulates comic action; he is a backdrop from which others may sound their ideas; and he is a perfect spokesman of im­ portant "philosophical" ironies concerning the conduct of human affairs. Jaques performs each of these functions with equal aplomb. But particularly is he noted for his cynical view of all life and for his pessimistic analysis of the futility of human aspiration. However, despite these somber aspects, he nevertheless evokes a comic response which is touched off by the incongruities between his more courtly

^^The wise man knows himself to be a fool; the fool thinks he is wise (M425).

^^I know what I know (K173). 44 nature and the sylvan atmosphere in which his wit flourishes. For example, while the idealistic Duke Senior seeks to mollify the discomfort of his exile in Arden by referring proverbially to the "sweetness of adversity," Jaques steadily undermines the positivism of the duke with satirical launches intended to shackle vanity, hypocrisy, and sense of illu­ sion of men everywhere. Indeed, in Jaques' own indelicate words, he "can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs" (II,v,12).

Yet, Duke Senior and others have their wits and emo­ tions galvanized by this malcontent, Jaques, despite his sometimes gross rhetorical obtrusiveness. In criticism of Jaques, Duke Senior applies a fitting proverb intended to challenge his acrimonious barbs: Most mischievous foul sin, in chiding sin: For thou thyself hast been a libertine, As sensual as the brutish sting itself; And all th' embossed sores and headed evils. That thou with liscense of free foot hast caught, 67 Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world." (II,viii,63) The duke's censure of Jaques has the effect of a direct and conclusive judgment upon the satirist, whose coarseness threatens the "natural behavior" of all men and women, what­ ever their station or habitat. He tries to set the universe

^^He finds fault with others and does worse himself [He that will blame another must be blameless himself] (F107) 45

of nature in order, to make things black and white; and,

in doing so, he invites upon himself the stamp of hypocrit.

Nevertheless, a personal distaste for Jaques, the man,

cannot and should not mar the dramatic significance of his

function as a character type. The satirist, too, though perhaps out of harmony with nature himself, plays an im­

portant role in keeping the excesses of men in check. And,

though his mutterings be momentarily abrasive, they quite

often improve one's self-consciousness. When Jaques theorizes

upon the function of satire, it should be remembered that he

himself is the embodiment of his theory. His definition of

the satirist is masterful, and it is strengthened by two

familiar proverbs:

. . . I must have liberty

Withal, as large a charter as the wind.

To blow on whom I please; for so fools have;

And they that are most galled with my folly.

They must laugh. . . .

He that a fool doth very wisely hit

Doth very foolishly, although, he smart, 68 . Not seem senseless of the bob: if not

The wise man's folly is anatomiz'd Even by the squad'ring glances of the fool.

Invest me in my motley; give me leave

^^who is nettled at a jest seems to be in ernest (J42). 46

To speak my mind, and I will through and through

Cleanse the foul body of th' infected world.

If they will patiently receive my medicine.

Or what is he of basest function

That says his bravery is not at my cost.

Thinking that I mean him, but therein suits 69 His folly to mettle of my speech?

. . . Let me see where in

My tongue hath wrong'd him: if it do him right.

Then he hath wrong'd himself; if he be free.

Why then my taxing like a wild-goose flies,

Unclaim'd of any man. (II,vii,50-86)

In this extensive passage, the definition and function of

the satirist may be discovered. As Jaques himself relates,

he is neither fool nor wise man; but, he must be granted

the license of a fool in order to make men wise to them­

selves. Although as a satirist he denudes himself of the

attributes of a natural man, one no different than others,

he nevertheless harbors the potential "[to] Cleanse the foul body of th' infected world."

69Ma y we not do our own what we list (099). 47

IV. The Comic Fop: Armado, Holofernes, Nathaniel, Sir Andrew, and Malvolio ~~

Shakespeare's comic fops are characters who, because

of their gross affection in appearance and language, are

utterly unself-aware and, thus, unteachable. Armado,

Holofernes, and Nathaniel represent the pure form of the

type, while Sir Andrew and Malvolio are included in the dis­

cussion because of their close kinship with the others.

They all have in common the traits of pomposity and self-

ignorance.

Essentially, the Shakespearean fop is a self-made fool,

and though through his vanity one would suspect him "heaven-

bound, " the French Princess in Love's Labours' Lost ingeni­

ously reverses such an origin and fate and thereby insinu­

ates that he may more properly be a representative of the

tribe of Satan. Speaking to Berowne concerning Armado,

she observes, "'A speaks not like a man of God his making" (V,ii,529). 70 It is not surprising, thus, that in Berowne's

description of the "Spanish knight," he employs a proverb

in which there is the image of fire that playfully confirms

the princess' suspicions of origin and fate of Armado:

"Armado is a most illustrious weight,/ A man of fire-new

70 He is Tis not] a man of God's own making (M162) ; see also AYLI III,ii,216 for Rosalind's use of this proverb in reference to the foolish conduct of Orlando. 48 71 words, fashion's own knight" (I,i,178). There resides some irony in Ferdinand's remark concerning Armado that he loves to hear him "lie." In Twelfth Night, Fabian utilizes the same proverbial expression—"New out of the mint"—in his challenge to Sir Andrev; Aguecheek to rough up Cesario: "You should then have accosted her [Olivia]; and with some excellent jests, fire-new from the mint, you should have banged the youth [Cesario] into dumbness" (III,ii,22). Although Armado and Sir Andrew are not necessarily to be construed as devilish people, the proverbial "fire-nnijit" image does suggest some­ thing of a contrast between their vanity and overt hypocrisy In all instances of the appearance of a fop in the comedies, he is an instrument by which others take their pleasure. Ferdinand enjoys Armado's lies; and concerning Sir Andrew, Fabian tells Sir Toby, "This is a dear manikin to you." And Sir Toby affirms, "I have been dear to him, 72 lad—some two thousand strong, or so" (III,ii,57). Thus, the lot of Sir Andrew as a fop is to provide entertainment for the others at his own expense. In As You Like It, Malvolio joins Sir Andrew Aguecheek as a ready example of one's service as a butt of the

'^-'-New out of the mint (M985) . ^^Make not thy friend too cheap to thee nor thyself too dear to him (F711). 49 prankishness of others. And, customarily, he is mostly ignorant of such service. In his happy delusion of romance, he reads what he thinks is Olivia's letter to him: "My lady loves me," he announces; "She did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise my leg being cross- 73 garter'd" (II,v,180). The proverbial element in Mal­ volio' s boast results in his appearance as a fop, and if not as a fop, then as a "jack-ass," a description to which Maria's imperative candidly refers: "Go shake thy ears" 74 (II,iii,134). Her contempt for Malvolio centers squarely on his visible puritan hypocrisy, and in that context she specifically calls him "an affectioned ass" (II,iii,160).

Furthermore, Sir Toby joins in the revulsion Maria fosters for the puritan virtue of Malvolio and uses a proverb to strike out at his type: "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale" (II,iii,123) 75

It is doubly ironic, therefore, that Malvolio would declare his own separate identity from those who tease him: "I am 76 not of your element" (III,iv,137). The proverbial effusion of Olivia, "Why this is very midsummer madness" (III,iv,61),

73 To wear yellow stockings and cross garters (S868) .

He may go shake his ears (El6).

"^^Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus grows old (C211) . "^^He is out of his element (E107) .

Tr^^ * • -v-^a 50 reinforces one's suspicion that this puritan has truly taken leave of his senses and has fallen into some saturnalian en­ thusiasm.

In addition to the proverbs cited above, which refer in part to his being an "ass" or "satyr," or some other species out of the humian element, another proverb designates him as a "turkey cock" that jets under his advanced plumes 77 (II,v,34). And, in another, he is awarded the charac- 78 teristics of a hound: "The cur is excellent at faults,' exclaims Fabian, speaking of the attempt by Malvolio to decipher the meaning of the letters M.O.A.I. He initiates the comparison by calling Kalvolio by the name "Sowter"

(perhaps the name of an actual hunting dog), who will set out on the trail of the letter "though it be as rank as a 79 fox" (II,V,136). He means that Malvolio is so crude a hunter that he will leave the trail of a hare and follow the rank scent of a fox. Appropriately, Shakespeare exer­ cises the same image in relation to Sir Andrew's pursuit 80 of Olivia. He braggs, "I am a dog at a catch" (II,iii,63).

It is evident that each fop has drunk of some transforming potion; for in their presumptuous hope of union with Olivia,

"^^He swells like a turkey cock (T612) .

^ The dog who hunts foulest hits at most faults (D460)

"^^s rank as a fox (F628) .

80 To be old dog at it (D506) . 51 both Malvolio and Sir Andrew display their trivial natures.

However, that Olivia is moved by the distracted infatuation

Malvolio has for her, no matter how absurd the possibility may seem, is evident in the closing scene of the play, in which she allows him to be both the plaintive and judge of his o\m case against his raillers.

As a result of the utter stupidity of the fop, he is occasionally equated with the fool proper. Maria's conver­ sation with Sir Andrew in the first act makes certain the comparison:

Sir And. Fair lady, do you think you have fools in

hand?" 81 Maria. Sir, I have not you by th' hand. (I,iii,68)

Moreover, Shakespeare uses several proverbs in his descrip­ tion of the fop which include an image of the "hand." The repetition of the hand image in the proverb immediately above suggests a relationship between it and the fool-like trait of the character type. Consider closely the entire quarrel between Sir Andrew and Maria, in which two proverbs occur that contain the hand image:

Sir And. . . . Fair lady, do you think you have

fools in hand?

Maria. Sir, I have not you by the hand.

Sir And. Marry, but you shall have; and here's my hand.

^-'•You have not a fool in hand (F514) 52 82 Maria.. Now, sir, 'thought is free': I pray you,

bring your hand to the buttery-bar and let it drink.

Sir And. Wherefore, sweet-heart? what's your metaphor?

Maria. It is dry, sir.

Sir And. Why, I think so: I am not such an ass but 83 I can keep my hand dry. But what's your jest?

Maria. A dry jest, sir.

Sir And. Are you full of them? 84 Maria. Ay, sir, I have them at my finger's ends:

marry, now I let go your hand, I am barren. (I,iii,69) The result of "metaphor" that Maria draws upon is the impli­ cation that Sir Andrew is a dry fool whom she can easily influence to buy drinks. Although her "thoughts" are free, she notes, the drinks cost Sir Andrew dearly. Maria's play upon the hand image is not untimely, for Sir Andrew was first introduced to her with a proverb bear­ ing that image. In that introduction. Sir Toby insists, 85 "He's as tall a man as any's in Illyria" (I,iii,20). The

82 Thought is free (T244). 83 Fools have wit enough to come in out of the rain (F537) ^^To have at fingers' ends (F245. 85 He is a tall man of his hands (M163). 53 original proverb—"He is a tall man of his hands"—alludes to his habit of drinking and of buying drinks for others to make himself popular. Shakespeare's phrase, "as tall a man as any's," assures one that Sir Andrew is Sir Toby's man, a fool from whom he can scrounge his liquor.

While it is the hope of Sir Andrew to remain at the forefront of attention, there is no doubt that he also is cowardly and sometimes takes a quick exit in order not to have to prove his mettle. An illustration of this contrast between his actual frailty and his feigned aggressiveness occurs in the scenes in which he threatens to waylay his competitor, Cesario. Fabian, who coaxes Sir Andrew to take decisive measures to win the affection of Olivia, tells him that his cause is lost unless he redeems himself "by some laudable attempt either of valour or policy" (III,ii, 86 30). Sir Andrew is caught up in the high words of Fabian, which are highlighted by a Falstaffian proverb; and, pre­ tending chivalric resolve. Sir Andrew assures his coach that he prefers valor to discretion ("policy") for his course of action. However, when the fop does encounter Sebastian (Viola's twin), thinking him to be Cesario, and is roughed up by him, he pleads to Sir Toby, "Nay, let him 87 alone. I'll go another way to work with him" (IV,i,35).

^^Policy goes beyond strength (P462). To go another way to work (W150). 54

As the proverb reveals, when the valor of Sir Andrew is challenged by another who can do him harm, he backtracks and chooses discretion as his safer guide. In this scene his cowardliness is reminiscent of Sir John Falstaffs role in 1 Henry IV.

Especially typical of the fop in the comedies is his stilted rhetorical preciosity. Whether he be a tavern gal­ lant, a parson, a schoolmaster, or a would-be knight or courtly lover, he is completely affected of speech. And, it is particularly comical to hear him express bookish proverbial wisdom which, in truth, may be used as signals of his own banality. Holofernes is a most inveterate linguist who considers himself an unrivaled wit. Yet, ironically to his disciple "bookman," Nathaniel, he pro- go verbializes, "vir sapit qui pauca loquitur" (IV,ii,82). It is clear that Holofernes is not a man of few words, but one for whom several languages are required in order to express his voluminous nothings. He is, as John Dover Wil­ son calls him, "the eternal kind of pedant, the 'living 89 dead man' who will always be with us." In his own bookishness Nathaniel almost equals Holo­ fernes; but, his use of Latin is somewhat faulty, as his tutor notes:

^^Few words show men wise (W799). ^^John Dover Wilson, Shakespeare's Happy Comedies, p. 7 3 55

Nath. Laus Deo, bene intelligio. Holo. Bon, bon, fort bon! Priscian a little scratched, 'twill serve.Q O (V,i,30) Holofernes, the Latin grammarian ("priscian"), is quick to correct the Latin of Nathaniel; and both Holofernes and Nathaniel are harsh critics of Constable Dull, whose raala- propisms provide delightful comedy. Holofernes exclaims of Dull: "Twice-sod simplicity, bis coctus [twice-cooked, insipid]!/ 0 thou monster Ignorance, how deformed dost thou look!" (IV,ii,22) .^•'- In effect, the proverb helps to characterize both the victim (Dull), at least from the point of view of the fop, and the speaker of it. Nathaniel expands the scrutiny of Dull by saying that "he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts" (IV,ii,27). As the discussion continues, it becomes evident that Holofernes and Nathaniel have only school-book colloquies to offer of the creature of nature (the deer) , while the observation and language of Dull is more exact. Nathaniel completes his assay of Constable Dull with a proverb which humorously evinces his own illiteracy: "But omne bene, say I; being of an old father's mind,/ Many 92 can brook the weather that love not the wind" (IV,ii,33).

To break priscian's head (P595). ^•'•Coleworts [cabbage] are twice sodden (C511) . There is no weather ill when the wind is still (W220) 56

Nathaniel and Holofernes, the latter especially, are the true victims of the proverb's sense. Holofernes at first doubts the claim of Nathaniel that the deer they had been hunting was a "buck of the first head." He contradicts him in Latin, "haud credo"; or in translation, "I cannot believe it" (IV,ii,12). Ignorant of the Latin phrase. Dull supposes that Holofernes has labelled the deer a haud credo; and he interrupts to argue that the buck was a "pricket" (a buck in its second year). Their squabble over the proper semantics for identifying the age of the buck is caused by Holofernes' pretentious language. The final implication is that the knowledge of Holofernes is of the classroom or book only, that it is artificial and untested. Thus, Nathaniel's proverb cited above reveals that the two schol­ ars can endure the weather only because they remain out of it. But by doing so, they become something like the "fool" who has the sense to get in out of the rain. Thus, Shake­ speare achieves a rather sophisticated, ironic parallel through the use of a proverb. In deference to the laughable nature of the foppish type, especially to his affectations of language, Ferdi­ nand's and Berowne's summary of Armado serves well: Ber. . . . the best I ever heard. 93 King. Ay, the best for the worse. (I,i,283)

^^The better, the worse (B333). 57

V. Other Representative Comic Figures: Berowne, Dumaine, Boyet, Bardolf, and Mistress Quickly

Although there are many ways in which Shakespeare skillfully reveals the traits of being of his characters, the proverb is a sure and ready key to such identification. Usually, in the use of the proverb, one may even discover what probably was the author's attitude toward a particular figure in his play. Because the reader is bound to the written word, he cannot always visualize each character fully, or at least as the dramatist intended for him to ap­ pear. Thus, Shakespeare often uses the proverb to project the sometimes veiled qualities of his players. An appro­ priate example of this usage occurs in Love's Labours' Lost in the subtle emandation Berowne offers of Kate's physical description. Dumaine, blind with love for Kate, describes her proverbially as being "As upright as a cedar" (IV,iii, 89).^ Apparently the description is heavy with verbal irony, for Dumaine's simile prompts a more accurate note on posture of Kate from Berowne: -"Stoop, I say;/ Her shoulder is with child" (IV,iii,89). Berowne accents a detail of Kate's appearance which also reflects the extent of the love-crippled vision of Dumaine. The proverb, hence, strengthens the reader's perspective of each character.

94A s straight as a cedar (C207). 58 including Berowne, who is perceptive enough to seize the irony.

The mere idea of one's blindness, whatever the cause, suggests that that individual may prove vulnerable to the ill-doing of another or that he may himself be prone to commit somie moral error. But when Katherine is given the chance to evaluate the love-blind Dumaine, all dread of his moral failure is erased. Katharine reports:

The young Dumaine; a well-accomplished youth.

Of all that virtue love for virtue lov'd;

Most power to do harm, least knowing ill;

For he hath wit to make an il?. shape good, 95 And shape to win grace though he had no wit. (II,i,56)

Despite Katharine's obvious bias, the actual goodness of

Dumaine is uncovered by the proverb. Apparently, such is

the attitude that Shakespeare expected his audience to take

concerning the others, Longaville, Berowne, and Ferdinand.

They are absurd in their present behavior, but they are nevertheless ignorant of evil.

Other examples of Shakespeare's use of the proverb to

support characterization that seems tentative are plentiful.

For example, in 1 Henry IV the role of Bardolf is quite minor, but Shakespeare insures that his audience sees Bar­ dolf s most identifiable trait, his canker-infested visage.

95T o be able to do harm and not to do it is noble (H170) 59

Sir John declares, "I never see thy face but that I think

upon hell-fire" (III,iii,35).^^ In the same play, he brings

to the front what one suspects of Mistress Quickly. Com­

bining two proverbs, Falstaff says, "Why, she's neither

fish nor flesh; a man knows not where to have her" (III,iii, 97 144). ' Quickly retorts, "Thou art an unjust man in saying

SO: thou or any man knows where to have me, thou knave,

thou!" While Falstaff intentionally plays upon the phrase

"to have," meaning "to understand," the hostess is direct

in her confession of sexual availability.

That Berowne is a man of exceptional wit and sense of

humor is obvious in his relationships with the king's com­

pany and with Rosaline, but Shakespeare includes one proverb

in relation to his character which depicts a quality of him

that is not so obvious. In the opening scene of the first

act of Love's Labours' Lost, during which we hear Berowne

sort out his reaction to Ferdinand's contract, he muses.

And then, to sleep but three hours in the night.

And not be seen to wink of all the day—

When I was wont to think no harm all night 98 And make a dark night too of half the day—

Which I hope well is not enrolled there. (I,i,42)

^^As red as fire (F248). ^"^Neither fish nor flesh nor good red herring (F319) ; One knows where to have you (K186). qo He that drinks well sleeps well and he that sleeps well thinks no harm (H169); see also TN II,iii,1: Early to 60 Berowne's lamentations are indeed comical; but the proverb, here set off perfectly between dashes, shows well-hidden concern of Berowne that serious trouble not interrupt their undertakings. The eccentric nature of their studious as­ pirations, he estimates, will surely cause more harm than good. These subtle inclusions of character identification appear to be the specific function of the proverb. Moreover, Boyet is a character whose function is seen more clearly through Shakespeare's subtle application of proverbial thought. It is true that in his service to the French Princess and her ladies he will appear selfish in their interests. Yet, his surface loyalty to them betrays a more private defect of character, one which several prov­ erbs help to disclose. After the courtiers express their desires for the French ladies, Boyet becomes a confidant of the men indi­ vidually, while at the same time he reports their moves to the ladies. Berowne is aware of the double duty of Boyet and does not at all like him for it. When the men return * to the princess' camp after having their "Russian masquerade" spoiled, Boyet is present to inform Ferdinand and the others that the princess will see him promptly. Berowne correctly senses that he and the others are expected and that their bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise (B184). 61

costumes have beguiled none of the French party. And of

Boyet's apparent omniscience, he says, "This fellow pecks

up wit as pigeons pease,/ And utters it again when God

doth please" (V,ii,315).

Berowne continues to anatomize Boyet; and, in so doing,

he reveals his thorough resentment for his type:

He is wit's peddler, and retail his wares

At wakes and wassails, meetings, markets, fairs;

And we that sell by gross, the lord doth know.

Have not the grace to grace it with such show.

This gallant pins the wenches on his sleeve;

The ladies call him sweet;

The stairs, as he treads on them kiss his feet: This is the flower that smiles on every one.

To show his teeth as white as whale's bone; 102 And conscience, that will not die in debt.

Pay him the due of honey-tong's Boyet. (V,ii,318)

Contemptuously, Ferdinand adds, "A blister on his sweet

tongue, with my heart,/ That put Armado's page out of his 103 part" (V,ii,335); and hence he suggests that Boyet has

^^Children pick up words as pigeons peas and utter them again as God shall please (C333). -'-^^He pins his faith on another man's sleeve (F32) . "'•^•''She smiles on everyone to show her fine teeth (T428) ; As white as whale's-bone (W279). l^^I will not die in your debt (D165). 103T-,—^^4- -uor. = -Ki T c+-er on her tongue (R84) . 62 become the surrogate of Moth in the role of clown-fool.

It is not unusual to hear such contempt for Boyet from

Ferdinand and Berowne, but the French Princess, too, has

her moments of severe criticism of him. Early in the second

act, Boyet's servile flattery of the princess draws from her

two strains of proverbial censure:

Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean, 104 Needs not the painted flourish of your praise: Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye, 105 Not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues. (II,i,13)

From this evidence, it appears that the essential flaw of

false-heartedness in Boyet is held in contempt by everyone

who is not vulnerable to his praises and unreliable confi­

dences .

Perhaps, at this point, one should again be reminded

of the variety of functions of the proverb and that each

use often modifies another so skillfully as to produce the

subtle but inviting effects which, for centuries, have en­ deared the works of Shakespeare to audiences and readers.

His many characters, who play out their indelible roles upon the stage and page, or in our minds, chiefly are products of the fictive and actual experience of the artist; but they

A good face needs no paint (F7). 105 He praises who wishes to sell (P546); see also TN III,i,109: Complimenting is lying (C581). 63 are the creations of his rhetorical mastery as well. His use of the common proverb for characterization is fitting testimony of that success. Proverbs are used no less to identify a character as an illustration of a type than to identify him as an individual. Traits of character implicit in proverbial observations spoken by or about an individual also sometimes suggest his or her relationship to or impact upon the development of dramatic action and the establish­ ment of a particular dramatic tone. Indeed, Shakespeare utilizes proverbs so skillfully that he achieves, at once, unity in a multiciplicity of dramatic effects. CHAPTER TWO PROVERBS USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC ACTION

While many analysts of drama, from Aristotle onward, insist that dramatic action (plot) is the chief criterion by which we measure the success of a given play, one also should insist that action and character are not mutually exclusive. Effective drama requires both good plotting and good characterization, since plot is ultimately character in action; and, reciprocally, plot is the result of what people are. All sequences of events are grounded in the wills, desires, and objectives of characters. Thus, suc­ cessful action and characterization are the direct results of the skillful selection and organization of the "materials of life" by the artist.

As the formal aspect of a play, sequential action in­ volves the arrangement of parts into a consistent and logi­ cal pattern. Hence, dramatic structure is a concatenation of actions into an indivisible chain. Despite differences in composition of plot, the underlying pattern of Shake­ spearean drama reflects Aristotle's concept of organic unity: a series of actions that an audience can accept as "necessary and probable." And a common feature of all drama is the pre­ vailing element of tension, without which a play would have little chance of holding the attention of the audience.

64 65

A well-unified play of time, place, and action consists of a number of "signal points" in its development. Accord­ ing to the theory of Aristotle on the matter of the struc­ ture of action, there must be a beginning, a middle, and an ending. As the curtain opens, one usually is given such expository material as to capture the attention of the au­ dience and to provide "background" information so that it can grasp quickly the subsequent action. One learns who the characters are, what their relationship to one another is, what motivates them, and usually some aspect of their environment. Following the initial phase of exposition are such compelling forces as discovery and reversal, point of attack, foreshadowing, complication, climax, and crisis. The tensions of the action finally unwind or resolve them­ selves during the denouement. It is well to remember that although these aspects of plot may be separable in discus­ sion, some may often coincide in any given play. The climax and crisis, for example, may occur at the same time, or ex­ position may be used for foreshadowing. Complimenting these general considerations of dramatic structure, an examination of the function of proverbs for dramatic effect can be both interesting and informative. In a sense, the common proverb often serves as a special rhe­ torical device for signaling a particular phase or point of action involving characters who strive toward some goal. From a careful observation of the use of the proverb for 66 purposes of dramatic development in these selective comedies, one may suggest the following functions: (1) to reveal past action; (2) to foreshadow aspects of character develop­ ment; (3) to incite action or arouse conflict; (4) to ac­ centuate a character's method of action; (5) to expose the immediate dramatic situation; (6) to express anticipation of effects of action; (7) to serve as devices for sustain­ ing comic interlude; and (8) to serve as devices of greet­ ing and salutation. Each function outlined here will be illustrated according to the order of arrangement provided above. Also, one should be reminded of the multiple or over­ lapping uses that a proverb in a given passage may have. The catalog of functions cited above is offered as a prin­ ciple of organization for the study.

I. Proverbs Used to Reveal Past Action

In the epilogue of As You Like It, Rosalind includes the use of a proverb that tends to metaphorize Shakespeare's own facetious comment on his play and aptly demonstrates the use of the proverb as an expository device for revealing past action. The action that is completed is that of the play itself. Reflecting upon its success, Rosalind affirms, "If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue" (Epil., 1.3). Even so, it

Good wine needs no bush (W462). 67 is delightfully ironic that the dramatist invokes such a proverb for that purpose and integrate it into an epilogue which Rosalind contends is unnecessary. Rosalind's proverb, used here rather artificially to influence the appreciation of the audience for a completed performance may be seen in parallel contrast to the titular proverb, "Love's Labours' 2 Lost," which both heralds the nature of forthcoming action and, according to its tense ("Lost), states the results of one's labors of love before they have a chance to be dis­ played. We know how the conflict will come out before it starts, for such is the inevitable conclusion of the folly 3 of acting and talking love without truly being in love. At any rate, the usage of the proverb as a device for revealing past action proves to be a consistent technique of the dramatist. In instances of report of action the proverb almost always occurs. In As You Like It, Oliver reviews for Rosalind (Ganymede) what had taken place when young Orlando encountered his older brother lying asleep under an oak tree. As his brother approached, says Oliver, a "green and gilded snake" untwined itself from the neck of Oliver and crawled into a bush where a hungry lioness lay crouched to leap upon her easy prey. Recognizing his unkind brother, continues Oliver, Orlando "twice did turn his back" ^You lose your labor (L9). 3c. L. Barber, Shakespeare's Festive Comedy, p. 93. 68 upon the danger. Then Oliver applies a proverb to his re­ view that explains the action, not only what Orlando had done but why he had risked his own life to save his brother: But kindness, nobler ever than revenge. And nature, stronger than his just occasion. Made him give battle to the lioness, 4 Who quickly fell before him. (IV,iii,129) Several effects may be noted of the use of this proverb: it reveals a praiseworthy aspect of the character of Or­ lando; it reports an "off-stage" event; and it focuses a light upon the potential reunion of the hitherto quarreling brothers. Some proverbs tend to function as devices not unlike choral exposition. This use of the proverb may be observed early in the first act of Twelfth Night. The entirety of scene two is used to summarize the near-tragic disaster at sea, where the boat in which Viola and Sebastian were travelling had split in two during a storm. Having sur­ vived the ordeal with the captain's assistance, Viola ques­ tions him about this "new ground," Illyria. The captain explains that he was "bred and born/ Not three hours travel from this very place" and that the ruling Duke is a man named Orsino, a bachelor, who of late has sought the love

^To be able to do harm and not to do it is noble (H170). 69 of fair Olivia. How the seafaring captain has come to know these facts is verified in a proverb: "—as you know,/ 5 What great ones do the less will prattle of" (I,ii,32). The captain's facts are thus based on local rumor, but they are sufficient to inform the audience of some important de­ tails. In another sequence of action in the same play, Viola (Cesario) enlists in the service of the duke and becomes a mediator between her employer and the fair Olivia. The primary duty of Cesario is to represent the duke's suit to Olivia, but she also informs Orsino of everything that Olivia does or says. After one incerview with Olivia, Viola returns to report: A blank, my lord. She never told her love. But let concealment, like a worm i' th' bud. Feed on her damask cheek: she pinn'd in thought. And with a green and yellow melancholy She sat like Patience on a monument. Smiling at grief. (II,iv,113) The various images of color used in this passage become useful keys to unlocking the subtleties of Viola's message, and the color content of the proverb initiates the ironies

^Little folks are fond of talking about what great folks do (F442). ^Grief pent up will break the heart (G449). 70

inherent in Viola's "self-description." Viola intends to say that Olivia's cheek is pink, like the damask rose; and pink properly suggests her reservations toward love. She also is described as being inflicted with a "green and yellow melancholy." Green denotes hopefulness and yellow jealousy; so that a green and yellow melancholy is a melan­ choly in which there is jealousy, yet hope. This descrip­ tion also accords exactly with the state of mind of Viola.

Much of the behavioral comedy that springs from the masquerade episode in Love's Labours' Lost is that which is reported but not actually witnessed by some. Prior to that scene, Boyet reviews for the French princess the manner in which the king and his lords confessed their loves for the ladies from France. Secretly, Boyet has been observing their romantic labors from some nearby concealment. He quotes them and uses proverbs for effect: "One rubb'd his elbow thus, and fleer'd and swore,/ A better speech was 7 never spoke before" (V,ii,109). Boyet's rendition of one of the lord's behavior, that is his rubbing an elbow, is somewhat vague, though one may identify the gesture accord­ ing to the one's anticipation of romantic intrigue. It may also reveal more specifically his expectations of sexual gratification, since it is all of the lovers' intention to

^To rub the elbow (El00). 71 8 "woo, wed, and bed" their respective girls (IV,iii,371). During the scene in which the girls exchange disguises in order to jest further with their suitors, Boyet again comments upon the comic frenzy that has just transpired: The tongues of mocking wenches are as keen Q As is the razor's edge invisible, 10 Cutting a smaller hair than may be seen. Above the sense of sense; so sensible Seemeth their confidence; their conceits have wings Fleeter than arrows, bullets, wind, thought, swifter things. (V,ii,256). The quick-witted Berowne, the princess interjects, was "but of countenance quite" (V,ii,272). 12 Later, Berowne discovers that he and the other lords have been duped by the disguises of the women but pretends he does not know of the Muscovite "vizard" which Rosaline accuses him of wearing. She points to the mask and scoffs, "That superfluous case,/ That hid 13 the worse and show'd the better face" (V,ii,387). This

Woo, wed, and bed [wear] her (W731). As sharpe as a razor (R36). •'•^o split hairs (H32) . ^^As swift as the wind (W411); As swift as thought (T240) ^^To be put out of countenance (C705); see also LLL V,ii, 611. Apparently, when one is "put out of countenance," he is made to appear foolish. •'•'^A well-favored visor will hide her ill-favored face (V92) . 72

tongue-lashing of Berowne's actions during the masquerade episode is an important stimulus to his character develop­ ment, and it also shows something of the viprous side of Rosaline. Falstaffs proverbial oath in 1 Henry IV, "A plague upon it when thieves cannot be true one to another" (II,ii, 14 29), sets up a series of proverbial locutions applied to the description of events already experienced by him during the Gadshill robbery. Appropriate to his character and vo­ cation, these proverbs support the comic atmosphere of Boar's-Head Tavern. His reliance upon bogus facts to but­ tress his lies is red.nforced by the built-in authority of the proverb. He swears, "My sword hack'd like a handsaw— ecce signum! I never dealt better since I was a man" (II, 15 iv,186). Implicit in his rant is the suggestion that he has never been "a man," at least a man with a soldier's honor and courage. He continues, "And with a thought seven of the eleven I paid" (II,iv,241). Very aptly indeed, Hal mocks this champion of mistruth, "Falstaff, you carried your guts away as nimbly, with as quick dexterity, and roared for mercy and still run and roared, as ever I heard

-'•^Thieves are never rogues among themselves (Tl21a)

-'-^Ecce Signum (S443) . l^As swift as thought (T240). 73 17 bull-calf" (II,iv,285). These proverbs used in the con­ text of past action stylistically decorate the passages in which they occur and enhance the reader's grasp of pertinent detail.

II. Proverbs Used to Foreshadow Aspects of Character Development

At certain highpoints in the development of action and character, proverbs signal or foreshadow changes in the be­ havior of a character. Quite often in the comedies central characters find themselves in roles which appear either un­ becoming to them or impossible for them to maintain. In each case in which a character alters his behavior volun­ tarily or through the influence of another, Shakespeare cap­ tures that promise of change with a proverb. And as char­ acter alters his behavior voluntarily or through the influ­ ence of another, Shakespeare captures that promise of change with a proverb. And as characters reveal their intentions to alter the pattern of their behavior, dramatic action is

4 also affected. The capricious behavior of the prince in the first part of 1 Henry IV undergoes a welcomed change as the action unfolds. Yet, he never is fully unconscious of the seeds of maturity that reside in him. In his long speech divulging

I'^To roar like a bull (B715) . 74

his reasons for submitting himself to the vagaries of Fal­ staff s routine, a proverb informs one of the youth's in­ spiration: "If all the year were playing holidays,/ To 1 Q sport would be as tedious as to work" (I,ii,228). Hal perceives that one day soon he will assume the place of his father as King of England. At such time, the ponderous con­ cerns of state will require of him a much nobler stature than he exudes in his boyish affiliation with the gang at Eastcheap. Despite his youthful perspective, Hal knows that for him to dwell now upon his forthcoming responsibili­ ties would be to harden him prematurely. Hence, he wisely exploits the advantages of his youth in order to gird him- 19 self for his later authority. As his proverb predicts, even careless sport would become tedious if one should for­ sake the urgencies of his calling. In As You Like It, Rosalind disguises herself as Gany­ mede and "pretends" to be beloved of Orlando in order to encourage him to shake off his excessive sentimentality. She does so through constantly chiding his unmanly conduct. "Bear this, bear all!" complains Orlando of her coaxing. 20 "She says I am not fair, that I lack manners" (IV,iii,14),

-'-^Every day is not a holiday (D68) . C. L. Barber, Shakespeare's Festive Comedy, p. 195. ^^Bear this, bear all (A172). For possibly a double irony see Costard's proverb, "to take one with the manner" (M633), in LLL I,i,204. 75 he moans. He continues, "She calls me proud, and that she could not love me,/ Were man as rare as a phoenix" (IV,iii, 21 16). The ironic cast of the proverbial metaphor under­ scores part of Rosalind's (as Ganymede) own strong emotional vexation. She is as drunk with love as he. Thus, the irony of the proverb lies in the image of "true manhood." Both lovers outwardly appear as men, but through their behavior they distort their respective roles and become almost as rare as the phoenix. Yet, to strengthen her wooer, Rosalind protracts her disguised relationship with him. Celia views Rosalind's method of cure as unbecoming to her sex and potentially damaging to Orlando's respect for her. That her dalliance will be found out is inevitable. Celia rebukes her openly, "You have simply misused our sex in your love-prate: we must have your doublet and hose plucked over your head, and show the world what the bird 22 hath done to her own nest" (IV,i,206). The repetition of the bird image is provocative, for both images ("phoenix" and "bird ... to her own nest") are particularly relevant to Rosalind's "unnatural" conduct. Men should be men, and women should be women; and to be less or more is to invite unmanageable complications. A Ganymede may exert some in­ fluence over Orlando, but Rosalind-the-woman cannot hope to ^•'"As rare as a phoenix (P265) . ^^It is a foul bird that defiles his own nest (B377). 76

consumate her love while she remains in her unnatural dis­ guise. Thus, she sacrifices her womanhood, as the ancient Egyptian Phoenix sacrifices herself; but there can be no offspring while "Ganymede" thrives. Therefore, Rosalind "defiles" her own nest. It is not until she discloses her true identity that she is able to effect her amorous rela­ tionship with Orlando.

Love's Labours' Lost finally comes to some resolution of immoderate behavior in love when the French ladies prom­ ise their affections, yet delay them for a year in order to measure more responsibly the sincerity of the king and lords of Navarre. Two proverbs influencing Berowne and King Ferdinand toward a change of conduct are spoken by their respective lovers. Rosaline plans to use Berowne's letter to her, though ironically misdirected to Jaquenetta, to remind him later of his indiscretions. With reference to the note, the princess predicts, "Here, sweet, put up 23 this; 'twill be thine another day" (IV,i,109). Her prov­ erb foreshadows the resolutions made between the sexes in the concluding scene, as well as the willingness of Berowne 24 to check his audacious wit. The princess also postpones

Let him mend his manners; it will be his own another day (M628); see LLL I,i,204: To take one with the manner (M633) . Northrop Frye, A Natural Perspective (New York: Columbia University Press, 1965), pp. 80-81. 77 her union with the king for the same reasons as Rosaline:

If frosts and fasts, hard lodging and thin weeds

Nip not the gaudy blossoms of your love.

But that it bear this trial and last love.

Then, at the expiration of the year.

Come challenge me, challenge me by these deserts.

And, by this virgin palm now kissing thine,

I will be thine.^^ (V,ii,810)

The proverb seems consistently to furnish a rhetorical pre­ lude to a radical change of behavior of certain characters, especially those whose manners prohibit their desires from coming to fruition.

Ill. Proverbs Used to Incite Action and Arouse Conflict

Even in comedy the element of conflict increases the effectiveness of a play because it provides an extra dimen­ sion to character relationships and strengthens the action through various complications that naturally swell from such conflict. Individuals in "conflict with themselves, with others, or with their environment (social and physical) bolster the total aspect of staged drama which impersonates the actual. Although the points of conflict in the comedies never become great enough to yield tragedy, they nevertheless

2^To nip in the bud (B702). 79

by Longaville to get information from Boyet concerning Maria shows that Berowne's judgment of him is not without accuracy. Boyet is both risque and disrespectful concern­ ing Maria:

Lon£. I beseech you a word: what is she in the white?

Boyet. A woman sometimes, an you saw her in the light.

Long. Perchance light in the light. I desire her name

Boyet. She hath but one for herself; to desire that

were a shame.

Long. Pray you, sir, whose daughter? 28 Boyet. Her mother's, I have heare.

Long. God's blessing on your beard! (II,i,201)

Boyet's gibe upon the word "light" suggests that if the

true character of Maria were brought to light she would

prove wanton. When he repeats the idea in his response to

Longaville's question, "Whose daughter?" Longaville shows

his anger through his reference to Boyet's beard, a remark

which traditionally was a method of showing contempt for

someone.

In the final act of the play, Berowne dramatically

voices his revulsion for Boyet and ostensibly causes him to weigh himself and his service:

28As k the mother if the child be like his father (M1193) 78 exist, but in comic form only. in those instances of verbal expression of conflict or of remarks used to incite one to action, the proverb is an instrumental factor. The almost farcical conflict brewing in Twelfth Night between Cesario and Sir Andrew Aguecheek is increased by the latter's ire-arousing letter to his supposed competitor. A portion of it reads: "'Thou comest to the lady Olivia, and in my sight she uses thee kindly: but thou liest in thy throat . . .'" (Ill,iv,170).^^ Sir Toby quips, "If this letter move him not, his legs cannot" (III,iv,188). Later in the same scene. Sir Toby anatomizes Cesario, who denies knowledge of Sebastian's loyal friend, Antonio: "A very dishonest paltry boy, and more a coward than a hare" (III, iv,420). 27 Toby's vocal judgment of Cesario's apparent misconduct stimulates Sir Andrew to fight: "'Slide, I'll after him again and beat him" (III,iv,427). The aired hostilities between Berowne and Boyet in Love's Labours' Lost feature several proverbs that demon­ strate their versatility. Berowne is contemptuous of the servility of Boyet toward the French ladies, and he is sus­ picious that Boyet's offensiveness runs deeper than his sur­ face concern for duty. In fact, the Frenchman seems alto­ gether a man without discretion and propriety. The attempt

2^To lie in one's throat (T268). ^"^As fearful as a hare (H147) . 80

. . . and might not you

Forestall our sport, to make us thus untrue?

Do not you know my lady's foot by th' squier,^^ 30 And laugh upon the apple of her eye?

And stand between her back, sir, and the fire.

Holding a trencher, jesting merrily?

You put our page out: go, you are allow'd'

Die when you will, a smock shall be your shroud.

You leer upon me, do you? There's an eye 31 Wounds like a leaden sword. (V,ii,472)

Berowne's insult strikes deeply into Boyet and perhaps even motivates him either to change his methods or to reconsider his duty; for Boyet admits, "Full merrily/ Hath this brave manage, this career, been run" (V,ii,482). Afterward, the tension created by the sycophancy of Boyet appears to dis­ solve; and, along with Berowne and the others, he enjoys the fun of jesting with the fops and fools in their mock guises of the "Worthies."

In the context of the action of a play, there always must exist a cause and effect basis on which central charac­ ters (excluding the fools and fops) are permitted to function

^^To have the length of one's foot (L202) 30 As dear as the apple of my eye (A290). To slay with a leaden sword (S1054). 81

The comedies run the risk of seeming incredibly to arrive at happy conclusions; and, to prevent such, the dramatist must splice his currents of action with factors that serve as motivational guides. The proverb may be used to accom­ plish this dramatic requirement. For example, the only genuine explanation for the reluctance of Olivia to wed Orsino is found in a proverb: "She'll none o' the Count. She'll not match above her degree, neither in estate, years, 32 not wit" (I,iii,115). Shakespeare had need to establish some causal element for the disinterest of Olivia in Orsino in order to open the way for Viola's romantic aspirations for him. Ostensibly, Olivia's pledge of a long duration of mourning for her deceased brother is but window dressing. And whether or not her sense of inequality with the duke is sufficient cause for their disharmony is chiefly academic. Shakespeare avoids having Olivia matter-of-factly state that between her and the duke there is and cannot be love. To do so would invite one's attention to the causes of their inability to love. Each character, the duke and Olivia, must be free of such analysis; for, indeed, they do even­ tually discover their destined mates entirely unhindered by needless stigmas against their personalities. Shakespeare seems to underscore this evidence by allowing Sir Toby, the

"^^Like blood, like good, and like age make the happiest marriage (B465). 82 character who knows Olivia best, to report her true feelings. He summarily dramatizes his factual judgment with a prover­ bial stamp: "There's life in 't, man" (1,111,118)."^^ As You Like It contains a number of proverbs that con­ sistently keynote this cause-effect pattern of action. Evidence of conflict between the brothers Orlando and Oliver is supplied early in the first scene when Orlando complains, "I am not taught to make anything." Disdainfully, Oliver 34 says, "What mar you then, sir?" (I,i,33). Oliver's prov­ erb is kindling to the belligerent conversation between the two, and it uncovers Oliver's jealousy of his younger brother Sir Rowland de Boys had written in his will that Oliver should care for his two younger brothers, Jaques and Or­ lando; yet, while Orlando is kept "rustically at home" and gains "nothing under him [Oliver] but growth," Jaques "keeps at school, and report speaks goldenly of his profit" (I,i, 5). Furthermore, Orlando supplies evidence of the cause of Oliver's jealousy of him in his remark to old Adam that he possesses the "spirit of [his] father" (1,1,21,69). These insights provide important motivational factors for the departure of Orlando to the Forest of Arden.

^^There is life in it (L265)

34 , ,„, To make or mar (M48). 83

As the action unfolds, it becomes clear that there are cogent reasons for the appearance of each character at a certain place, especially at Arden. Duke Senior is in the forest because a treacherous brother has usurped his au­ thority. Orlando arrives there for much the same reason; his own life has been threatened by Oliver. The appearance of Rosalind in Arden is precipitated by a threat upon her life by her uncle, Duke Frederick. Her passage to Arden is required for reasons of jealousy also. Although she is 35 "as innocent as grace itself" (I,iii,56), declares Fred­ erick, she nevertheless robs Celia of the esteem she could have if Rosalind were not around to detract from her virtues. Celia is motivated to join her cousin in exile by her long-lived love for Rosalind, as well as by the fact of Rosalind's innocence. Such devotion is summarized in a proverb: "And do not seek to take your charge upon you,/ 36 To bear your griefs yourself and leave me out" (I,iii,104). Old Adam, too, utters a kindred idea in relating his inten­ tion to accompany Orlando to Arden: "Yet fortune cannot recompense me better/ Than to die well and not my master's 37 debtor" (II,iii,75). Adam elects to accept the fate of

-^^As innocent as truth (T560) . •^^Grief is lessened when imparted to others (G447) . ^^I will not die in your debt (D165). 84

Orlando primarily because of the likeness of the youth to his father, who was kind and respectful to Adam. These primary banished ones are all innocent victims of injustices inflicted by others. Almost without exception the factors that impel these characters to take refuge with the duke's company in the forest are informed by revealing proverbs.

In the initial speech of Love's Labours' Lost, King Ferdinand of Navarre cites his motivation for secluded study: Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives. Live register'd upon our brazen tombs 38 And then grace us, in the disgrace of death." (I,i,l) Ferdinand's proverb ornately describes his new ambition to isolate himself from the world. It is his lust for fame that inspires his action, not necessarily the pure love of study or the attention to affairs or men (especially women) of this world. And his other-worldliness marks the eccen­ tric nature of his endeavor and thus predicates his complete turnabout of interest in the play. Ironically, a hermit's refuge from the world becomes his punishment, not his means of self-glorification. Longaville, too, evokes the wisdom of a proverb to state his motivation for study. It is not his leader's sense of fame that inspires him, but a rather monkish attitude of

38Onl y virtue [True fame] never dies (V74). 85

starving the body of normal pleasures in order to nurture his wit: "Fat paunches have lean pates, and dainty bits/ Make rich the ribs but bankrout quite the wits" (I,i,26).^^ But it is his over-zealous wit that Maria wishes to correct. Analyzing the character Longaville, Maria notes: The only soil of his fair virtue's gloss. If virtue's gloss will stain with any soil. Is a sharpe wit match'd with too blunt a will (II,i,46) Subsequently, each character is reprimanded by his lady ac­ cording to the particular character flaw which dominates him.

It is not long before King Ferdinand and the lords find themselves in a bit of a dilemma. The king's decree forbids them to be seen with a woman; yet Nature beckons them to satisfy her needs. Fortunately, the French princess recommends a solution to their impasse. "'Tis deadly sin," she tells the king, "to keep that oath . . ./ And sin to 40 break it" (II,i,105). The proverb furnishes the men of Navarre with a route out of this dilemma. To indulge in self-abnegation is not only foolish but contrary to God's plan of nature. Whether or not she is correct does not mat­ ter; she provides them with the fuel they need with which to

-^^Fat paunches make lean pates (P123) .

^^An unlawful oath is better broken than kept (07). 86

feed their inflamed hearts. The unsteady love labors of the group at court make them seem as fools not only to the French ladies, but to Moth and Costard as well. Costard, the delightful natural fool, offers his reasons for attending upon the country wench, Jaquenetta:

Cost. The matter is to me, sir, as concerning Jaquenetta. The manner of it is, I was taken with the manner [mainoure: stolen goods]. Ber. In what manner? Cost. In manner and form following, sir; all those three: I was seen with her in the manor-house, witting with her upon the form [bench], and taken following her into the park; which, put together, is in manner and form following. Now, sir, for the manner,—it is the manner of a man to speak to a woman: for the form,— 41 in some form. (I,i,204) In contrast to the king's men. Costard violates a legal de­ cree but fulfills the laws of nature. The king disregards the law of nature by seeking immortal fame through a denial of the self. It requires the wisdom of the fool to set the "wise man" straight once again.

^•'"To take one with the manner (M633) . 87

IV. Proverbs Used to Accentuate a Character's Method of Action

After a character is properly motivated to act upon the alternatives apparent to him, he often gives utterance to his personal resolve to a course of action. His state­ ment of commitment in most instances is accented with a proverb relating to the decision made by that person. The proverb may administer a curt tag of authority, such as

Falstaff uses in his declaration not to be seen in the streets with his "scarecrow" soldiers: "I'll not march 42 through Coventry with them, that's flat" (IV,ii,41). It may also reflect something of the stoic deterr.iination of a character, as illustrated in Hal's resolve to leave Gadshill chicanery to Falstaff: "Well, come what will, I'll tarry 43 at home" (I,ii,162). This proverbial expression, "come what will, come what will," occurs only in the context of a character's statement of determination.

In As You Like It, Rosalind expresses proverbial resolve which, at a moment during her walk to Arden, helps to re­ vitalize her. Weary and hungry from their labors, Rosalind,

Celia, and Touchstone appear to be near collapse. Were it not for humorous comments of Touchstone about his own fatigue.

"^^That is flat (F345) ; see also LLL III,i,102.

^•^Come what come may (C529) . 88 the situation would look graver. But Rosalind, dressed in the male disguise of Ganymede, derives strength from her guise and is determined to continue her travel: "I could find in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel and cry like a woman; but I must comfort the weaker vessel, as doublet and hose ought to show itself courageous to petticoat: 44 therefore courage, good Aliena!" (II,iv,5). In an effect quite opposite of the use of the proverb here, Celia repeats some of the same sense and imagery when she tries to persuade

Rosalind to throw away her manly disguise (IV,i,206).

When the two female cousins and Touchstone reach Arden, they discover love epistles hanging like leaves from the trees. Rosalind realizes the identity of the poet and is surprised by the unusual coincidence of their meeting in such a wilderness. Yet, with a proverb she resolutely de­ clares her intentions to find her friend: "It is a hard matter for friends to meet; but mountains may be remov'd 45 with earthquakes, and so encounter" (III,ii,194). The proverb reveals her quite idealistic nature. Once she en­ counters the love-ridden Orlando, she further is resolved to correct his malady: "I will not cast away my physic but on 46 those that are sick" (III,ii,376). The biblical origin

^^K woman is the weaker vessel (W655). ^^Friends may meet but mountains never (F738). ^^They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick (P271). 89 of the proverb again attests to her tenacious idealism and sense of dutiful sacrifice. She appears entirely to be transformed by her role as Ganymede (Jupiter's cupbearer), who was the most beautiful of all mortals. Love's Labours' Lost contains an abundant supply of proverbs exuding enthusiastic resolution. But how well the characters need their corrective resolutions! Berowne, a witty critic of the king's decree, is the first to initiate a plan to make Rosaline his source of study. His misdirected letter, which Costard delivers to Jaquenetta, reveals his choice to abandon his present study of books and to learn through the eyes of Rosaline: "Study has his bias leaves 47 and makes the book thine eyes" (IV,ii,113). In a later dialogue Berowne, Longaville, and Ferdinand use proverbs denoting their intentions to forsake vacuous study and to commit themselves to a thirsty pursuit of the female guests: Ber. ... Or [for] women's sake, by whom we men are men. 48 Let us lose our oaths to find ourselves. Or else we lose ourselves to keep our oaths. It is religion to be thus foresworn. For charity itself fulfills the law.

To run against the bias (B339).

^^Without women we men cannot be (W692) . 90

And who can sever love from charity?

King. Saint Cupid, then! and, soldiers, to the field!

Ber. Advance your standards, and upon them, lords.

Pell-mell, down with them! but be first advis'd.

In conflict that you get the sun of them.^

Long. Now to plain-dealing; lay these glozes by:

Shall we resolve to woo these girls of France? King. And win them too: 51 Therefore let us devise

Some entertainment for them in their tents.

52 Ber. Aliens! aliens! Sow'd cockle reap'd corn;

And justice always whirls in equal measure. (IV,iii,360)

One may note of these last five proverbs that they have a cast of simplicity about them, even rusticity. They do not manifest the quality of sophistication of the ranks of those that use them. At least five other proverbs of this type appear in the last scene of the play, and all convey origins that are close to the raw wisdom of basic men and women. In his re­ port to the princess, Boyet reviews for her the enthusiasm

^^I hate no one but love all the world (W873).

^^To get the sun of one (S987).

^^Woo, wed, and bed [wear] her (W731).

52He that sows thistles shall reap thorns (T228). 91

he observed of the lords as they vocalized their romantic

strategies. One lord, he quotes, cried ecstatically,

"'Via! we will do 't, come what will come!'" (V,ii,112).^^

One may guess Berowne to be the speaker of the proverb; for,

in a final comment about the delay imposed upon him by

Rosaline, he cries again, "A twelvemonth! well; befall what

will befall,/ I'll jest a twelvemonth in an hospital" (V,ii,

879) .^^

Katharine's proverbial assertion, "Dumaine is mine as 55 sure as bark on a tree" (V,ii,285), exhibits an echo of

an earlier proverb which Dumaine uses to describe Kate as

"upright as a cedar." Shakespeare duplicated the tree image

for comic effect, each character ascribing the same image to the other. Kate's pledge of love to Dumaine is similar

to the vow Phebe makes to the shepherd, Silvius, in As You Like It. Phebe declares, "I will not eat my word, now thou 56 art mine" (V,iv,155). Kate may have peasant roots similar to those of Phebe, since Shakespeare is so inclined to asso­ ciate her with trees. The suggestion is not entirely remote, for both the king and Berowne use proverbs that are more

"russet" of origin than their sophistication would warrant.

^3come what come may (C529). ^^Come what come may (C529). ^^As near as bark to a tree (B83)

^^To eat one's words (W825). 92

Berowne resolves, "Henceforth my wooing mind shall be ex­ press 'd/ In russet yea's and honest kersey no's" (V,ii, 57 412) . And King Ferdinand promises, "Hence hermit then— 58 my heart is in thy breast" (V,ii,825). The proverbs denoting one's firm stand in Twelfth Night generally are applied to a comic situation only. Feste, who usually is game for nearly any jest with Mal­ volio, refuses Fabian a glance at the letter Malvolio has written to Olivia. This unusual resolve on the part of the fool achieves spirited comedy, for the erratic decision of Feste not to show Fabian the letter is entirely con­ sistent with the unpredictable nature of the fool. But Fabian nevertheless reviles his intransigence: "This is to 59 give a dog, and in recompense desire my dog again" (V,i,7). Sir Andrew is not without his promises to do this or that to satisfy Sir Toby Belch's whim. As Andrew swells with courage to make a second assault upon Cesario, he vows, "And for what I promis'd you, I'll be as good as my word" (III,iv,356). When Sir Toby evaluates Andrew according to his decisiveness, he warns Cesario, ". . . he is a devil in

57 Truth's tale is simple (T593). The lover is not where he lives but where he loves (L565) . 5^Give a thing and take again and you shall ride in hell's wain (T129). ^^An honest man is as good as his word (M184). 93 a private brawl: souls and bodies hath he divorced three.

. . . Hob, nob, is his word; give 't or take 't" (III,iv, 61 258). In other words, the word of Andrew is no better than a "hit or miss" proposition.

Sir Toby uses a series of proverbs in his proclamation to dupe Malvolio. Referring to his plan to make Malvolio appear as a fool to everyone, especially to Olivia, Toby ex­ claims, "My purpose is indeed a horse of that color" (II, 62 iii,181). And he adds, "We will fool him black or blue" 63 (II,v,12). To accomplish his plan, he settles on an ap­ propriate method; that is, to blow up the self-image of

Malvolio: "Here comes the trout that must be caught with 64 tickling" (II,v,25). However, the statements of commit­ ment of Toby are not always successfully carried through. In his verbal oath to link Andrew to Olivia, he asserts, "If thou hast her not i' th' end, call me cut" (II,iii, 65 202). Again he admonishes, "If I do not, never trust me, 66 . . take it how you will" (II,iii,204). How reminiscent of

^^Hob nob [Hab nab, Hab or nab] (H479).

^^A horse of another [that] color (H665) . 63 To beat one black and blue (B160). ^^To catch one like a trout with tickling (T537).

^^Then call me cut (C940).

6%ake it as you will (T27) . 94

the volatile Falstaff! Through his oaths, Toby persuades us that he should be castrated ("cut") for his lack of trustworthiness.

Once a character in the comedies openly states his commitment to a specific course of action, he also quite often tells how he will act. His method of action is ex­ pressed proverbially. In 1 Henry IV, for example, Falstaff decides that he should not allow anyone to know that he has proven cowardly on the battlefield. He is resolved to stay alive no matter v/hat; so he fakes a death while Hal slays Percy for him. Then Falstaff has to concoct a second scheme in order to leave the impression that he has fought valiantly in the service of the King. To suit that purpose, he comi­ cally goes through the vain motions of rewounding Hotspur. Accordingly, the gallant swears, "I'll make him sure; yea and I'll swear I kill'd him" (V, iv, 126) . ^"^ That Falstaff has planned to use Hotspur in some way for his own glory is revealed through an earlier application of the same prov­ erb. In scene three, Hal stumbles onto an idle Falstaff and demands from him his sword or encased pistol (his pistol turns out to be a bottle of sack) . Exacting the same prov­ erb, Falstaff lies about having killed the "hot termagant scot": I have paid Percy, I have made him sure" (V,ii,47).

67 To make all sure (A206). 95 Shakespeare's repetition of the proverb shows that Falstaff is entirely conscious that the corpse of Hotspur would bring him the soldier's esteem he needs to secure a salaried position at court. Were it not for the fact that Hal is the one who dealt the fatal blow to Percy, the rogue might have succeeded in his pretense and could have bar­ gained "to be either earl or duke." But the decision of Falstaff to use Hotspur's body as proof of his own valor only provides an extension to the strains of conflict that supply the play with its wonderful comedy.

In Twelfth Night, two proverbs illustrate contrasting effects, one comic and the other somewhat more sober. As it becomes inevitable that Sir Andrew and Cesario will ac­ tually fight and, thus, inflict injury one to the other. Sir Toby uses a proverb which promises the audience that nothing truly serious will materialize which could rob the play of its comic innocence. When the confrontation takes place, says Sir Toby, "They will kill one another by the 68 look, like cockatrices" (III,iv,214). Not only does his proverb lend a quality of harmlessness to the impending scuffle between Andrew and Cesario, since their conflict is a major line of action in the play, but it also functions as a device for alerting the reader that more comedy is in

68Th e cockatrice slays by sight only (C495). 96

the making. Serious wounds would not be easily reconciled

in a comedy, as any Falstaffian figure might argue. Again in Twelfth Night, Viola states her intention to use the kind and intelligent demeanor of her captain as a means of gaining entrance into Orsino's dwelling, since Olivia refuses to admit any suits at all. Viola informs her captain friend: Though that nature with a beauteous wall Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee I will believe thou hast a mind that suits 69 With this thy fair and outward character. (I,ii,48) Viola's proverb reveals just how she intends to approach Orsino, and it also demonstrates a more technical effect, one that insures her introduction to the man whom she ulti­ mately will wed. Viola originally mentions that she would like to serve Olivia; but the captain, who has provided her with some history of her surroundings, informs her that such service is impossible. Thus, by chance, Viola is encouraged to pass herself off as a "eunuch" in order to gain employment with Orsino. Her disguise yields the conflicts necessary to the subsequent action of the play. Despite Berowne's proverb of complaint, "Our wooing doth not end like an old play: Jack hath not Jill" (V, ii, 883) , "^^

6Q The face is the index of the heart (Fl). ^^All shall be well and Jack shall have Jill (A164). 97 it is apparent from another proverb used by Rosaline that he may not be so bad off without her. These French girls mock their lovers so much that Navarre and his lords would do well to avert potential conjugal tyranny at all cost. For an example of what is in store for Berowne should he be trapped by Rosaline, one may cite her desire to make Berowne her slave: That same Berowne I'll torture ere I go: 71 O that I knew he were in by the week! How I would make him fawn and beg and seek And wait the season and observe the times And spend his prodigal wits in bootless rhymes And shape his service wholly to my hests And make him proud to make me proud that jests! So perttaunt-like would I o'ersway his state That he should be my fool and I his fate. (V,ii,60) Rather than be remorseful over Jack's failure to win Jill, Berowne should celebrate his good fortune. Furthermore, it is not entirely infeasible that Shakespeare performed the kindest act of all by allowing Love's Labours' Lost to be be his single comedy in which his chief romantics escape the bondage of wedlock. A contrast between the ambitions of a character and the comic results of them may be observed in Berowne's love note

"^^He is in by the week (W244) 98 to Rosaline. He gives the fool. Costard, the note and a few coins to deliver it to his lady. Costard pledges, "Most 72 sweet garden! I will do it, sir, in print" (III,i,173).

Although Costard's phrase "in print" means "most exactly," he errantly takes the letter to the country wench, Jaque­ netta. Perhaps in his excitement of reward Costard forgets the name of Berowne's girl, but his error provides for the complications which ensue and which give Rosaline further means of teasing and mocking her suitor. At any rate, the most "inexact" duty of Costard stimulates comic action. The expert combination of the proverb and the report of how characters intend to act demonstrates the author's conscious attention to the matter of style.

V. Proverbs Used to Expose the Immediate Dramatic Situation

Up to this point in the discussion, some very precise technical features of the use of the proverb by Shakespeare have been noted. Proverbs help one to focus upon reported action, revisions of conduct in key characters, character motivation, dramatic conflict, character resolve, and method of action. Additionally, the proverb serves to reveal salient details of the immediate dramatic situation. In this usage, this camera-like focus of the audience is closest to the stage

"^^A man [a thing] in print (M239) 99

It is for this reason of closeness to the action on the part of the audience that the proverbs quoted are the most familiar ones of Shakespeare's plays. Few situations in the comedies are so thoroughly pro­ portioned for humor as the Gadshill robbery episode in 1 Henry IV. Sir John Falstaff, the wonderfully amoral comic rogue of this play, is not solely responsible for his comic attractiveness; others in the play, especially Hal, con­ tribute immensely to his comic role. In fact, the observa­ tions others make of the appearance and actions of Falstaff are as delightful as what Falstaff displays on his own. The account of Poins of this gallant's predicament at Gadshill— his thief's anguish, his fatigue, his fear of harm—is en­ hanced by a familiar proverbial simile: "I have remov'd Falstaffs horse, and he frets like gumm'd velvet" (II,ii, 73 1). Several functions of this proverb may be noted. First, it reveals his physical condition; it improves one's idea of his obesity and of his volatile nature; and it logi­ cally achieves a technical effect of transition. In each case of the use of a proverb that reveals an immediate dra­ matic event, it appears at the beginning or the conclusion of a scene or when a new set of characters makes its en­ trance. The proverb cited above, for example, is given in the first line of act two, scene two. The scene then shifts

"^"^He frets like gummed Taffety [grogram, velvet] (T8) . 100 quickly to Falstaff s leaping from the bushes upon the travellers, and one victim cries, "0, we are undone, both 74 we and ours forever!" (II,ii,91). After binding the king's treasurers, Falstaff picks up the image of being "undone" and rejoins, "Hang ye, gorbellied knaves, are ye undone?"

(II,ii,92). These two proverbs are bracketed between the exit and entrance of Hal and Poins, who merely analyze the action before them. After the brief interlude of the rob­ bery itself, Hal once again surveys the pitiful condition of the thieves: 75 Each takes his fellow for an officer. Away, good Ned. Falstaff sweats to death, 76 And lards and lean earth as he walks along:

Were 't not for laughing, I should pity him. (II,ii,114)

During scene three, act three, Falstaff accuses the hostess of picking his pocket and taking "a seal-ring of

[his] grandfather worth forty marks." He upbraids Mistress

Quickly: "Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn but I shall 77 have my pocket pick'd? (Ill,iii,92)" When she tells him that Hal confirmed the ring to be but copper, he begins to slander the prince and threaten to beat him with a cudgel.

To be utterly undone (U8).

^^The thief does fear each bush an officer (T112).

^^Fat drops fall from fat flesh (D616).

^^You take your ease in your inn (E42). 101

Hall and Peto hear the lie and threat of Falstaff from out­ side and promptly march in upon him. Quite surprised, Fal­ staff jumps into a pretense of innocence: "Is the wind in that door, i' faith? must we all march?" (111,111,102)."^^ The sense of his proverb is vague, but it probably modifies his reference to Hal as a "sneak-cup" in the passage in which he has just threatened him. Thus, when Hal "sneaks" up on him like the wind in the midst of his rantings, the supreme escape artist goes into action by joining in a mock parade and playing upon an imaginary fife. Later, Falstaff uses another proverb which both helps to ease the tensions between himself and the hostess and to signal a change in action and dialogue. Attempting to placate Quickly, Falstaff says, "Hostess, I forgive thee. Go make ready breakfast" (III,iii,192).^^

Falstaff guards his safety, whether he is under pressure at Boar's-Head Tavern or called into duty for the king. In scene two, act four, Westmoreland urges both Hal and Sir John to join the king's forces already in the field at Shrewsbury. While Hal and Westmoreland depart together for the battlefield, the loiterer speculates: "To the latter end of a fray and the beginning of a feast/ Fits a dull

"^^Is the wind in that door (W419) . "^^Where no fault is there needs no pardon (F116) . 102 80 fighter and a keen guest" (IV,ii,85). The timely juxta­ position of the images of "fight" and "feast" dramatizes the present dilemma of Falstaff. He does not relish going into battle, but his going too late would prove him cowardly To be late for a fray, he says, would be worse than arriving first at a feast. The contrasting images comically reflect his self-oriented thought processes. Simply, he is terri­ fied of personal danger, but he is also a great protector of his self-image. Nevertheless, he shows up for the con­ flict but manages to stay clear of the enemy. And when he accidentally intrudes upon the deadly swordplay between Hal and Percy, Falstaff elects to remain a spectator only: "To it, Hal!" he cheers, "Nay, you shall find no boy's play 81 here, I can tell you" (V,iv,75). Compared to intrepid Hal and Hotspur, Falstaff is little more than an impish old mountain of flesh whose "boyish" vagaries ill-equip him for soldiery. In act four, scene three af Love's Labours' Lost, Shakespeare enlists the piquancy of a dozen proverbial ele­ ments to help synthesize the effects of the romantic guilt and subsequent rationalization of Navarre's men. The de­ lightful perjury or "Recantation" scene opens with the

^^It is better coming to the beginning of a feast than the end of a fray (C547). Q^It is no child's play (C324). 103 admission of Berowne that he has been "defiled" by Rosaline's eyes: "I am toiling in a pitch,—pitch that defiles: de­ file! a foul word" (IV,iii,2).^^ Berowne's proverb, "toil­ ing in pitch" is a quibbling reference to Rosaline's eyes, which he earlier (111,1,199) calls "two pitch-balls." He further evinces his despondency with a proverbial allusion to mad Ajax: "By the Lord, this love is as mad as Ajax: 83 it kills sheep; it kills me, I am a sheep" (IV,iii,6). Such expression of melancholy represents a significant point in the development of the character of Berowne, and it sustains the mood of the entire scene in which all the lovers confess their sentimental woe. The king, who Berowne thinks is out "hunting deer" (a pun), approaches; and Perowne steps aside to hear his "secret." Momentarily, Longaville enters the scene "like a perjure, wearing papers." Ferdinand suspects, even hopes, that Longaville will divulge his guilt of perjury, a con­ fession which also would help assuage his own misery. Fer­ dinand sighs, "In love, I hope: sweet fellowship in shame! 84 • . . (IV,iii,49). Having stepped aside unnoticed as Berowne has done, Ferdinand hears the ironic query of Longaville: p r "Am I the first that have perjur'd so?" (IV,iii,51).

^^As black as pitch (P357). ^3AS mad as Ajax (A95). ^^It is good to have company in trouble (C571). ^^I am not the first and shall not be the last (F295). 104

Stricken by the melancholy imposed upon himself by his signing of the king's decree, Longaville articulates his own sense of wasted manhood with the help of some rather earthy images:

Vows are but breath, and breath a vapor is:

Then thou, fair sun, which on my earth dost shine,

Exhal'st this vapor-vow; in thee it is:

If broken then, it is no fault of mine:

If by me broke, what fool is not so wise 87 To lose an oath to win a paradise? (IV,iii,68)

And when Dumaine comes forth to perjure himself unwittingly,

Berowne exalts, "More sacks to the mill! 0 heavens, I have my wish!/ Dumaine transform'd! four woodcocks in a dish!" 88 (IV,iii,81). He is especially delighted with this spec­ tacle of compromise because he thinks himself to be the only one whose secrets have not been disclosed.

Like the others, Dumaine effuses the woes of unrequited love and wishes that the king, Berowne, and Longaville "were lovers too." Now that all but Berowne have confessed their desires to woo their respective ladies, each concealed auditor comes forth one by one first to chastise and then to be chastised by another until humiliation has run its

86 Words are but wind (W833). 87 To change the bad for the better (B26). 88Mor e sacks to the mill (Sl2) 105

course. Longaville initiates the process by using two

proverbs which are designed both to console and jest with

Dumaine:

Dumaine, thy love is far from charity, 89 That in love's grief desir'st society:

You may look pale, but I should blush, I know, 90 To be o'erheard and taking napping so. (IV,iii,127) The attempt by Longaville to embarrass his fellow ceases

when the king advances and begins to provoke a change in

his color: "Come, sir, you blush; as his your case is

such;/ You chide at him, offending twice as much" (IV,iii, 91 131). In return, the king's pretense of innocence draws

forth a proverbial judgment from Berowne, who loses no

time in harrassing his weak colleagues: "You found his mote; the king your mote did see;/ But I a beam do find in 92 each of three" (IV,iii,161). Arrogantly pretending to be

the only loyal observer of the king's decree, Berowne is

truly stunned when Costard ambles in with the letter that he intended for the eyes of Rosaline only. His jests choked

89 It is good to have company in trouble (C571). 90 To take one napping (N36-7). He finds fault with others and does worse himself [he that will blame another must be blameless himself] (F107). 92 You can see a mote in another man's eye but cannot see a beam in your own (M1191). 106 by a fool, Berowne admits, "you three fools lack'd me fool 93 to make up the mess" (IV,iii,207). The perjury scene aptly marks the climactic point in action, for it serves to unify the lovers in a common cause. Unfortunately for them, they do not assert themselves as they truly are but fall into further abuse when they try- to trick the French women into revealing the quality of their virtues. But the men apparently are no match for the women, who take it upon themselves to rehabilitate their suitors collectively and individually by extending the period of abstinence one year. In act two, scene one of As You Like It, Shakespeare elicits the wisdom of a proverb in order to set the essen­ tial mood for the characters in exile in the Forest of Arden. The play's action develops according to two vastly different worlds: the "painted pomp" of court life and the "golden world" of Arden. The mood of act one is also established by a proverb: Oliver's oblique query to his brother, "What mar you then, sir?" However, the unnatural and un­ savory relationships evinced in act one are in direct con­ trast to those flourishing in the Arden forest. Characters are not torn apart by rampant jealousies; rather, they are eventually purged of their court influences and are drawn together by the magnetic forces of nature. Brothers dissolve

^3Four make up a mess (F621). 107 antipathies; lovers seal desire with promise; and a superbly conceived malcontent finds contentment in an abandoned cave. When the focus of dramatic action shifts to Arden, Duke Senior proverbializes: Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile. Hath not old custom made this life miore svrect 94 Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods More free from peril than the envious court?

95 Sweet are the uses of adversity. Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, 96 Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. (II,1,1) The basic proverb, "Adversity makes men wise," qualifies the predicament of banished persons in Arden; it sustains the effects of character development; and it functions as the underlying theme of the play. The encouragement of Duke Senior to his followers to make the best of unaccustomed hardship stimulates the au­ dience to examine the moods of characters at crucial points in the drama. For example, Navarre's lords overcome their plaintiveness and are thus able to act energetically to ac­ complish their objectives. The exiled ones in Arden approach

^"^Custom makes all things easy (C933) . ^^Adversity makes men wise (A42). ^^Full as a toad of poison (T360). 108 their difficulties positively. In Twelfth Night, Olivia also faces the problem of either acting upon her impulses or remaining passive to them. As the third scene of the first act unfolds, one finds Olivia in a state of mourning.

However, in Sir Toby's evaluation of the condition of his neice, he includes a proverb which suggests a deterrent to her inactivity: "I am sure care's an enemy to life" (I,iii, 97 2). Thus, proverbs used in such a context provoke one's interest in the various nuances of change that occur in a particular character as well as in the factors which in­ fluence that change.

Less intricately involved in the structure of action are proverbs that are used as expressions of surprise or 98 discovery. "I am the man!" (11,11,26), declares Viola

(Cesario) when she realizes that Olivia is in love with her, not Orsino. And, correspondingly, when Olivia dis­ covers that Cesario is actually a female in disguise, she 99 says, "A sister! you are she" (V,1,334). An opposite ef­ fect is observed in the confused words of Feste, who cannot believe that Sebastian does not recognize him as a truant of the household of Olivia: "Nor your name is not Master Cesario: not this is not my nose neither. Nothing is so

^"^Care will kill a cat (C84) .

^^You are ipse [he, the man] (188). 99 you are Ipse [he, the man] (188). 109

is so" (IV,i,7) .-'-^^ Thoroughly vexed by the disregard of Sebastian for his invitation to speak again with Olivia, Feste muses, "I am afraid this great lubber, the world, will prove a cockney" (IV,1,14). Feste's two proverbs together effect a double verbal irony; for not only is Sebastian not the person v/hom the clov/n thinks him. to be, but also Cesario (Viola) does indeed prove to be a "cock­ ney," a term which implies qualities of effiminacy in one.

In the final act of the play, Feste again voices a proverb that relates to the delay of Malvolio's letter to Olivia, a delay which appears also to be of structural ne­ cessity: "Truly, madam, he holds BBeelzebub at the stave's 102 end as well as a man in his case may do: has here writ a letter to you; I should have given 't you to-day morning, but as a madman's epistles are no gospels, so it skills not 103 much when they are delivered" (V,1,291). The references to the fool-like distraction of Malvolio in the two proverbs clash with Olivia's estimate of the letter, that it "savours not much of distraction" (V, 1,322). Yet, the oblique re­ marks of Feste provide a plausible transition into the larger issue of what justice can be worked out. Unfortunately,

^^^As plain as the nose on a man's face (N215). •'•^•'•A London cockney (C501) . 102,po hold one at staffs end (S807) . •'•^^All is not gospel that comes out of his mouth (A147) . 110

"Madly-Used Malvolio" has the capacity neither to laugh at himself nor to forgive the "stubborn and uncourteous parts" 104 in others. He leaves swearing revenge on "the whole pack."

VI. Proverbs Used to Convey a Sense of Anticipation of x^ction

A number of proverbial elements appearing randomly in the comedies specifically convey a sense of anticipation on the part of the speaker of personal harm, or they briefly treat topics which are anticipatory of more extensive dialogue or action relating to that topic. An illustration of a character's sense of impending harm is found in Love's Labours' Lost. When Jaquenetta shows Holofernes Berowne's letter to Rosaline, the fop is quite anxious to deliver it to the king. Nathaniel is not sure of his reasons for wanting to do so but concludes, "Sir, you have done this in the fear of God, very reli­ giously; and, as a certain father saith,—" (IV,11,152). Apparently, Nathaniel intends to quote a proverb relating to the virtues of one's steadfast obedience to God. But

•'-^^Peter G. Phialas, Shakespeare's Romantic Comedies (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1966), pp. 261-262. Phialas says that Malvolio is a product of Shakespeare's long preoccupation, in his romantic comedies, with different and often conflicting conceptions of man's ideal relationship to women. Perhaps this awareness ex­ plains the rather ambiguous treatment of Malvolio in the finale of the play. Ill

Holofernes has given no thought to selfless devotion to spiritual principles; rather, he only fears being repri­ manded by the king, who has sworn that no man of his court may associate with women while the period of abstinence is in effect. Holofernes says, "Sir, tell me not of the father; I do fear colourable colors" (IV, ii, 155) . "'"^^ The proverbial phrase, "colourable colors," refers to the "plausible pretexts" for action, but the extended implica­ tion is that Holofernes has only his fear of punishment as his motivation to forward the letter to the king. The re­ sults of doing so are significant, for Berowne's acknowledged complicity in breaking the law helps to unify the mem in their mutual "shame."

In As You Like It, Orlando speaks of his apprehension of personal harm after Le Beau advises him that Duke Fred­ erick plans malice against Rosalind and him. Pressed into action, Orlando decides to go to his brother and demand his portion of the family trust: "Thus must I from the smoke into the smother;/ From tyrant duke unto a tyrant brother" 106 (I,ii,298). The proverb also anticipates the method which Oliver uses to rid himself of his young brother, that is to burn down Orlando's home with him inside.

105rjiQ fear no colors (C520) ; see also TN, I,v,5. ^^^Shunning the smoke he fell into the fire (S570). 112

A similar instance of how proverbs prove anticipatory of action and dialogue may be observed in Rosalind's first discussion with Orlando. In that scene Jaques and Orlando have just ended a rather abrasive meeting themselves, one in which the malcontent tells "Signer Love" that his worst fault is to be in love. Apparently, Rosalind sees some merit in the surly manner of Jaques and adopts for herself a similar approach for "washing the liver" of Orlando. Their turbulent relationship begins with a seemingly imper­ tinent question about the time: 107 Ros. I pray you, what is 't o'clock? Orl. You should ask me what time o'day: there's no clock in the forest. Ros. Then there is no true lover in the forest; else sighing every minute and groaning every hour would detect the lazy foot of Time as well as a clock. (111,11,317) After some while of discussing the pace of Time, Rosalind compares the pinning of Orlando to the fretting of a thief who faces the gallows: "[Time gallops] With a thief to the gallows, for though he go as softly as foot can fall, he 108 thinks himself too soon there" (111,11,345).

lOVrpo ask what it is o'clock (09a). ^^^As softly as a foot can fall (F560). 113

In act five scene one. Touchstone employs proverbs to aid his competition with William for the hand of Audrey. His first proverbial statement, "It is meat and drink to 109 me to see a clown," (V,i,ll) facetiously anticipates the comic logic with which he is able to disqualify William. Reinforcing his assertion that William is "a fool," with a second proverb, he says, "I do remember a saying, 'The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool" (V,i,33). He continues his reasoning by af­ firming an obvious truth: "Learn this of me: to have is to have" (V,i,44), and Touchstone defeats William with a flurry of syllogistic wit: "All your writers do consent that ipse is he. Now, you are not ipse, for I am he" (V, 1,47). 112 Since both men cannot possess Audrey, Touchstone uses his fool's wit to declare himself "ipse"; whether or not the logic of the fool succeeds, his subsequent threats against the life of William yield little doubt that Touch­ stone intends to make Audrey his, no matter what. An ironic twist to this usage of the proverb is observ­ able in Le Beau's invitation to Rosalind and Celia to

109 To be meat and drink to one (M842). The wise man knows himself to be a fool, the fool thinks he is wise (M42 5). ^Have is have (H215) . ^^^You are ipse [he, the man] (188). 114 witness the wrestling match. He states, "I will tell you the beginning; and, if it please your ladyships, you may see the end; for the best is yet to do" (I, ii, 119) . •'--'••^ Touchstone wisely renounces the polite indiscretion of Le Beau by commenting, ". . . it is the first time that ever I heard breaking ribs was sport for ladies" (1,11,145). However, Rosalind and Celia attend the match, where Rosalind gains an introduction to her lover, Orlando.

In a later scene, Orlando enlists the help of a common phrase, "to hold one at arm's end," which exposes his and Adam's destitute condition at the conclusion of their trip to Arden. Orlando tells his old companion, "Hold death awhile at arm's end. I will here be with thee presently" (II,vi,10). 114 The proverb anticipates the bold intrusion of Orlando into the duke's camp threatening life and limb unless they share their food. Fatigue and hunger precipi­ tate the union of the characters, and when they are brought together the action and dialogue between the lovers, Or­ lando and Rosalind, materializes. In Twelfth Night, Sir Andrew calls attention to his written challenge to Cesario by employing a proverbial phrase that creates a sense of excitement to come. "Here's the challenge, read it," he implores Sir Toby; "I warrant

^^^The best is behind (B318). •'••'• To keep one at arm's end (A317) 115 there's vinegar and pepper in 't" (III, iv, 157) ."'•-'•^ Feste is certain, however, that these "saucy" threats of Sir Andrew, and especially encouraged by Toby, are going to reap hard consequences on them from Olivia, who is exceed­ ingly enamored of Andrew's enemy. He declares, "I would 116 not be in some of your coats for two pence" (IV,1,32). To an extent the dread of Feste is fulfilled, not so much by Olivia but by Sebastian, who gives Andrew a sound cuff­ ing for his insults. Act two of I Henry IV is entirely anticipatory of the infamous Gadshill robbery that takes place in the second scene. At a Rochester inn yard, two of Falstaffs highway­ men arrive to prepare their mounts for the robbery. Gads­ hill enters first and engages in a quarrel with two carriers who will not lend him a lantern with which to find his "gelding." As the chamberlain advances from the dark, he is greeted by Gadshill. Chamberlain's acknowledgement, "At 117 hand, quoth pick-purse" (11,1,52). is slang for "Coming immediately," and it signals the alliance of the chamberlain with the robbers. Gadshill informs the chamberlain about "a franklin in the wild of Kent" who bears "three hundred marks with him in gold." Gadshill flaunts, "Sirrah, if they

•'••'• ^As sharpe as vinegar (V63) . H^I would not be in your coat for anything (C473) . •'••'•'^At hand, quoth pickpurse (H65) . 116

meet not with Saint Nicholas' clerks, I'll give thee this 118 neck" (11,1,67). Saint Nicholas was vulgarly supposed by brigands to be their patron, and Gadshill's allusion to him serves as a preview of the merriment that ensues. When Falstaff and his band gather by the roadside in preparation to strip the exchequer of his gold, a proverb is used by Falstaff to create in all the sense of happy ex­ pectation. He remarks, "Now, my masters, happy man be his 119 dole" (11,11,80). "Every man to his business," he shouts, as they all launch the attack (II, ii,81) . ^20 although from his own vantage point Falstaff is about to venture upon an uncertain project, the audience is prepared for the robust comedy that follows. Quite often a proverb of this nature exudes a built-in element of anticipation. Feste's proverb, "I'll ne'er be- lieve a madman till I see his brains" (IV,11,125) is an apt example. And in this case and in others, the expressions used function as transitional devices separating elements of supposition and proof. Falstaff is chiefly the subject of its use, the fop another. As Hal contends, the gross lies

118 Saint Nicholas' clerks (S54). Happy man happy dole (Ml58). Every man as his business lies (M104). You will not believe he is bald (dead) till you see his brain (B597). 117

of Falstaff are indeed "worth the listening to" (II,iv, 122 235), a remark which prepares us for an extensive pack­ age of lies and exaggerations. While at Boar's-Head Tavern telling of his adventure at Gadshill, Falstaff increases the number of assailants "in buckram suits" from two to four to seven to nine and then to eleven, and finishes by swearing, "and with a thought seven of the eleven I paid" (II,iv,242). Hal exclaims joyfully, "O monstrous! eleven buckram men grown out of two." These voluble mistruths of the most infamous brigand

of all in literature best typify his delightful nature.

Though Hal knows that he can anticipate no shread of veracity

in this fat man, he nevertheless is consumed by his "self-

persuasive" fantasies. As the play concludes, he lugs in

the body of Hotspur and deposits it at the feet of Lancaster

and the prince, who thought him to be dead. Hal says,

I saw him dead.

Breathless and bleeding on the ground. Art thou alive?

Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight?

I prithee, speak; we will not trust our eyes 123 Without our ears: thou art not what thou seem'st. (V,iv,139)

Yet totally seized by Falstaffs wonderfully specious "proof,"

•'•^^It is worth the hearing (H300) .

^^^Seeing is believing (S212). 118

Hal displays his first act of true regal magnanimity in his parting words to "Jack Falstaff": "For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,/ I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have" (V,iv,161).

VII. Proverbs Used as Devices for Sustaining Comic Interlude

A substantial body of the dialogue in the comedies often seems only slightly to relate to main lines of action and, hence, serves primarily to entertain audiences with comic raillery. In most instances of these isolated moments of comic banter, proverbs are used to help sustain the tone and topic, to accent traits of character, and often to re­ late to past or forthcoming developments. And chiefly, these special scenes in which certain characters fall into comic digression are designed to portray comic "being," instead of "doing." The result is to discover the prime appeal in their faculties for witty, rhetorical improvisa­ tion. These topical interludes are not few in number, for even in the midst of meaningful dramatic developments some characters are forever inclined to stray from more pertinent matters. The purpose here is to select a few passages of this nature and to demonstrate the effects of the proverbs used. Many of the debates engaged in by lovers, clowns, and fops in Love's Labours' Lost serve as peripheral interludes 119 between more demonstrative scenes of action. In act four, scene one. Costard and the French Princess partake in a frivolous banter concerning who the "head lady" is among the group of women. The dialogue is clearly a departure from primary matters and, thus, is purely comic in intent and effect:

Cost. God dig-you-den all! Pray, you, which is the head lady? Prin. Thou shalt know her, fellow, by the rest that have no heads. Cost. Which is the greatest lady, the highest? Prin. The thickest and the tallest. Cost. The thickest and the tallest! it is so; 124 truth is truth. An your waist, mistress, were as slender as my wit. One o' these maids' girdles for your waist should be fit. Are not you the chief woman? you are the thickest here. (IV,1,42) In the notes to this play in The Complete Works, the editors suggest that this passage is probably a humorous allusion to the stature of the boy who played the part of the French Princess. Hence, the dialogue draws out the comical meeting

^^"^Truth is truth (T581) . 120 between a fool and a royal lady, with additional flavor provided through the inclusion of a professional joke on boy actors playing female parts. 125 After Costard delivers the letter Armado has given him to the princess (intended for Jaquenetta), the attention shifts to playful exchanges between Costard, Maria, and Boyet that feature quibbles about archery that contain double sexual entendres. The banter is prompted by Boyet's reference to "Queen Guinover of Britain" as a "little wench" ("a young girl" or "a prostitute"). Costard delights in the double talk, and he and Boyet begin to extend the sexual content with metaphors from hunting and marksmanship: Cost. By my troth, most pleasant: how both did fit it. Boyet. A mark! O, mark but that mark! A mark, says my lady! Let the mark have a prick in 't, to mete at, if it maybe. 196 Maria. Wide o' the boy hand! i' faith, your 127 hand is out. Cost. Indeed, 'a must shoot nearer, or he'll 128 ne'er hit the clout.

^^^Craig and Bevington, eds.. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, p. 112n. •'•^^Wide of the bow hand (B567) . •'•^^For one's hand to be in (H67) . 128.J.O shoot nigh the prick (P571) . 121

Boyet. An if my hand be out, then belike your han1. d^ i•s •m . 129

Cost. Then will she get the upshoot by cleav­ ing the pin.

Maria. Come, come, you talk greasily; your lips grow foul. Cost. She's too hard for you at pricks, sir: challenge her to bowl. 131 Boyet. I fear too much rubbing. Good night, my good owl. (IV,1,131) The subtle sexuality of this comic digression aptly is based on the initial activity of the scene, where we find the French ladies competing at archery. Too, the metaphors of hunting and marksmanship are relevant to the love tradition which sponsors Cupid as the archer who afflicts people with love with his arrows. While there are also many comic interludes appearing in 1 Henry IV and As You Like It that rely upon proverbs to sustain them, one appears in Twelfth Night that best typi­ fies this proverbial function. In scene five, act one, a scene which divides the serious avowel of Cesario to woo

l29pQj. one's hand to be in (H67) .

To cleave the pin (P336). He that will play at bowls must expect to meet with rubbs (B569); see also LLL V,11,586: An honest man and a good bowler (M183). 122

Olivia in behalf of his [her] master and Cesario's initial introduction to Olivia, Feste and Maria temporize by match­ ing wits in order to set up the subsequent debate between Feste and Olivia about which of them is the true "fool." Prior to Olivia's entrance, Maria comes forth to chide Feste for being absent so long from duty. The clown replies, "Let her hand me: he that is well hanged in this world needs to fear no colours" (I, v, 5) .-"-^^ Maria, in turn, picks up this proverb and says that she knows where the saying was born: "In the wars." And when Feste claims to possess a natural talent for proverbial wisdom, Maria again threat­ ens him with hanging for his negligence. Drawing upon an­ other proverb relating to "hanging," Feste says, "Many a 133 good hanging prevents a bad marriage" (I,v,20). Although the proverbs the clown uses seem to have little pertinence, they nevertheless dimly refer to the match between Sir Toby and Maria and, more directly, to the match between Orsino and Olivia, neither of which would make a fruitful union until certain character adjustments are made: Sir Toby to stop drinking and Olivia to stop mourning for a deceased brother. At any rate, when Feste resolves "on two points" to be independent of everyone, as is common for the fool.

132 To fear no colors [hostile standards or foe; have no fear] (C520) . 133Better be half hanged than ill wed (H130). 123

Maria, anticipates, "That if the one break, the other will 134 hold; or, if both break, your gaskins fall" (I,v,25). Typically, these action-remote passages serve as inter­ ludes between elements of more significant dramatic develop­ ments. And, generally, the excursions of Feste into comic logic often dramatically influence the subsequent action. For instance, it is imperative that Olivia have her melan­ choly challenged abruptly before she will be able to func­ tion fully as a major character. Feste, the wise fool, is probably the only one capable of criticizing the self- impeding manner of Olivia and get by with it. Such becomes obvious when Olivia enteis momentarily and Feste begins to insult his mistress without reprisal. The results are truly stimulating for her: Oil. [To Feste] Take the fool away. Clo. Do you not hear, fellows? Take away the lady. Oil. Go to, y' are a dry fool; I'll no more of you: besides you grow dishonest. Clo. Two faults, madonna, that drink and good counsel will amend: for give the dry fool drink, then is the fool not dry: bid the dishonest man mend himself; if he be mend.

•'•3^Good-riding at two anchors men have told, for if one fail the other will hold (R119). 124

he is no longer dishonest; if he cannot let the botcher mend him. Any thing that's mended is but patched: virtue that trans­ gresses is but patched with sin; and sin that amends is but patched with virtue. If that this simple syllogism will serve, so: if it will not, what remedy: As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty's a flower. 135 The lady bade take away the fool; therefore, I say again, take her away. (I, v,41) As Feste continues his logical criticism of Olivia, he is able to persuade her from the chief folly which has hitherto obstructed her reason and made her an unattractive candidate for love. The clown begs leave to "prove her a fool": Clo. Good madonna, why mournest thou? Oli. Good fool, for my brother's death. Clo. I think his soul is in hell, modonna. Oli. I know his soul is in heaven, fool. Clo. The morevfool, madonna, to mourn for your 136 brother's soul being m heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen. (I,v,72) The two proverbs Feste elicits, "Beauty doth fade like a

•'•'^^Beauty does fade like a flower (B165) . •'•^^He is well since he is in heaven (H137) . 125

flower" and "He is well since he is in heaven," completely control this entire exchange and appeal directly to Olivia's sense of feminine pride and rational faculties. The success of the logic Feste employs is soon borne out when Cesario comes in and instantly becomes the object of Olivia's af­ fection. Thus, not only are the dividends of this inter­ lude simple rhetorical entertainment, but also it highlights notable influences on character and plot development. In short, these interludes of comic banter expose au­ diences to wholesome vignettes of the comic characters in­ volved, and they commonly feature proverbs that function as bridging devices leading from and to major dramatic situa­ tions .

VIII. Proverbs Used as Devices for Greeting and Salutation

Ostensibly, some proverbs in Shakespeare's day were popularly used as devices for simple greeting and farewell; and, thus, in the drama, when the occasion calls for char­ acters to enter or leave the stage, expressions of greeting and salutation are based in part on proverbial elements. Moreover, the proverb selected is always appropriate for the dramatic situation, in that it compliments tone as well as influences the audience's comprehension of subtle detail which may be "up-staged" by greater excitement or more con­ spicuous revelations of character and situation. 126

For a case in point. Prince Hal comically exercises his greeting—"Heigh, heigh! the devil rides upon a fiddle- 137 Stick" (II, iv, 534)-^"^ '—to Mistress Quickly, who scurries

forth all in a sweat to report that the sheriff and his men have come to search Boar's-Head Tavern for the Gadshill

thieves. Although Hal's greeting is directed to the hostess,

it nevertheless includes the sensation of the arrival of

the sheriff as well; for, to the lads and lasses of East-

cheap, the sheriff would prove a "demonic" figure.

In Love's Labours' Lost, complete dismissal of Armado

is in the mind of reluctant Jaquenetta, who shruggs off his

declaration of love with a common proverb, "So I heard you

say" (I,ii,147). 138 And, as Armado renders a parting salute, 139 Jaquenetta rejoins, "Fair weather after you!" (I,ii,148).

By combining the two sayings, one may conjecture the true

spirit of her farewell. The total insouciance of Jaquenetta

for the intimate words of the fop suggests that it would be

too soon if she never saw him again. In effect, it would be just as well for Armado if he were to presently launch his ship for Spain, for the only well-wishing he receives is for him to have smooth weather wherever he ventures, as long as it is elsewhere.

-'-•^^The devil rides on a fiddlestick (D263)

^"^^So you told me (T89) . ^39paij- weather after you (W217) . 127

In act two, scene one. King Ferdinand greets the French envoy in a manner that is humorously inapplicable to the three-miles' distant fields where they are lodged. The king greets, "Fair princess, welcome to the court of Navarre." And the princess retorts, "'Fair' I give you back again; and 'welcom.e' I have not yet: the roof of this court is too high to be yours; and welcome to the wide fields too base to be mine" (II,i, 93).14 0 Her proverb quickly places Ferdinand on the defensive, a posture of indebtedness which is sustained throughout the play. Additionally, Boyet and Berowne also have an ambivalent introduction to one another. When Berowne inquires of the identity of the maiden "in the cap," Boyet curtly informs him that Rosaline will be difficult to court because of her independent spirit. Berowne then offers his welcome to Boyet, who sneers, "Farewell to me, sir, and welcome to you" (11,1,213). In a manner which truly characterizes this Frenchman, Boyet means to conclude his conversation with Berowne by telling him that he is "welcome to go." Such candor on the part of Boyet apparently sets in motion the tense rivalry that exists between them throughout their various encounters.

•'•'^^To bid welcome to the fields (W257) . l^^Welcome when you go (W259). 128 In Twelfth Night, identical proverbs are used on two separate occasions for expressing one's farewell to another And, again, the tone of the first statement suggests an element of discourtesy and ill-wish. When Olivia meets Cesario for the first time, the two rivals have their dif­ ficulties in getting along. When Cesario tells Olivia, as Feste had done earlier, that the beauty she has to bestow on others is not hers to reserve, Olivia promptly states, "If you be not mad, be gone; if you have reason, be brief: 'tis not that time of the moon with me to make one in so skipping a dialogue." Maria adds, "Will you hoist sail, 142 sir? Here lies your way" (I,v,211). Later, in act three, scene one, when it becomes obvious to everyone that Olivia is stricken with love for Cesario and Cesario for Orsino, the salutory exchange takes on quite a different tone from the first occasion: The clock upbraids me with the waste of time. Be not afraid, good youth, I will not have you: And yet, when wit and youth is come to harvest. Your wife is like to reap a proper man: There lies your way, due west. (111,1,141) The irony of the passage resides closely to the lead-in phrases "waste of time" and "I will not have you." Both

•'•^^Here is the door and there is the way (D556) . •'•^"^Here is the door and there is the way (D556) . 129 Cesario (Viola) and Olivia ultimately will "reap a proper man" when events and identities are finally worked out ("come to harvest") according to the dictates of reason (wit) and nature (youth). Presently, however, each "female" is wasting her time.

Even these proverbs of greeting and salutation have a subtle bearing on the development of action and character in each play. Beyond the extent to which they merely serve as ready-made expressions of welcome and farewell, they also demonstrate their potential to include other dramatic functions. Proverbs sustain both dramatic action and dramatic tone, sometimes serious but more often genially comic. Both are integral to the characters involved, regardless of whether the proverbs used are self-revelations of a speaker or perceptive observations applied to the one revealed. As individuals, such as the King of Navarre and his courtiers, become entangled in a web of action that intensifies their discomfort or heightens self-awareness of their folly, they tend to abandon studied and sophisticated rhetoric for simple and more sincere expression. The more they approach the true nature of proverb—wisdom of the folk spoken in language of the folk—the more comfortable and acceptably human they become. Such progress is inseparable from and integral to the development of dramatic action which is almost unique to the world of Shakespearean comedy. CHAPTER THREE PROVERBS USED FOR SUSTAINING TONE

Except in theory, satire has not always had the best of reputations, not even with Shakespeare. Audiences may admire the theory of Jaques concerning the mission of the satirist in his probing "wild-goose" speech (AYLI II,vii, 44-61, 70-87); but, at the same time they, like Duke Senior, may resent the theorist's self-exempting vanity so strongly that any potential for reform is inevitably reduced. And, too, readers often find satire embarrassingly ungenerous in its depiction of man, particularly when its harshness is contrasted with the kindly tolerance of comedy or the pro­ found sympathy of tragedy for the failing of human nature. Perhaps this awareness helps in part to explain the dearth of corrective satire in the comic drama of Shakespeare. The sustained appeal of the comedies of Shakespeare over the satiric comedy of contemporaries, such as John Marston and Ben Jonson, may perhaps be attributed to the low-keyed, genial burlesque of the follies of men's lives, rather than the more direct approach of satire.

To a certain extent, this undeveloped synthesis of tone in Shakespeare's comic works finds support in a suc­ cinct observation by F. M. Frye. "These are not social comedies," Frye states, "or comedies of manners, or satires, thoush they may contain satiric elements; they are not 130 131

characterized by 'an anatomy of the abuses of these degener­ ate times,' and they do not grow out of a specific program or ideology to which society is held up and judged. From time to time in human history we may need such programs and ideologies, but we do not get them from Shakespeare." What Shakespeare does give us are charming sources for laugh­ ter at both others and ourselves, sources which rely heavily upon the popular sayings of the folk for tonal effect.

In his comedies, Shakespeare burlesques the courtly- love and sonnet traditions for two reasons: first, to capi­ talize on the ridiculous incongruities of human behavior; and, secondly, to provide opportunities for characters to displace formality with genuine sentiment—if, individually, they are capable of doing so. Whether they do come to their senses is up to them as individuals or pairs sparring with one another. Herein lies a major reason why the Shake­ spearean attitude is one of genial sharing rather than cor­ rective reform satire. Any human being worthy of a reformed status will straighten himself out if he learns to laugh with those who, aware of comparable folly in their own be­ havior, are capable of sympathetic laughter. If Shakespeare were alive today, he would share with his students a timeless joke on over-serious reformers such as politicians.

F. M. Frye, Shakespeare: The Art of the Dramatist (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970), p. 85. 132

evangelists, sociologists, and the like, who preach and irritate more people into crime, prison, hell, and insane asylums than into either responsible citizenship or heaven. In the comedies under investigation in this study, 2 lovers conform to traditional patterns in that they see themselves as loving more profoundly and purely than anyone else. They are prone to cite classical and natural paral­ lels to their loves; and, while doing so, they employ ex­ travagant conceits with which to award their conditions a cast of universal primacy. The lovers of Shakespeare's plays demonstrate the conventional belief that they love not out of personal volition but as a result of the dictates of providence. Cupid, the "anointed sovereign of sighs and groans," becomes an instrumental figure in love-complaints. His amatory arrows strike capriciously into men and women and cause them to love upon first sight. According to tradition, the domain of cupid is in the "defiling" eye of a lover, from whence he sends forth his shaft into the eye of another and pierces the heart. Cries of disparagement are heard from separated or estranged lovers. They become sickly and maudlin and are "lost" to

^For an authoritative review of the history of courtly- love, its conventions and appearance in literature, consult John'J. Parry, trans., "Introduction," in De Amore, by Andreas Capellanus (New York: Columbia University Press, 1941) and Thomas A. Kirby, Chaucer's Troilus: A Study of Courtly Love (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1940), pp. 19-31. 133 themselves because they dwell unheeded in the heart of an­ other. Appropriately, anatomical images accompany descrip­ tions of certain aspects of the condition of each lover.

These beliefs and conventions of love are humorously played upon by the dramatist through his burlesque imita­ tion of them. The profound passions of lovers are made to appear ludicrous through the various obstacles that are erected to thwart them for purposes of ridicule. And the manifold incongruities which appear between the desire of a lover and the fulfillment of it ignites the fuse for comic displays of human folly. But while Shakespeare's facetious exposure of men and women in love may be conspicuous enough for every reader, a key device through which he exploits love mannerisms is the proverb. Not only were the tradi­ tional conventions of love quite familiar to Renaissance audiences, but also the whole matter of amorousness was close to every man and woman who themselves had experienced the phenomenon of love. Hence, the proverb, a quite per­ sonal medium of both serious and non-serious communication, became for Shakespeare an ideal technical feature for bur­ lesquing the manifest excesses of formal love. Love's Labours' Lost almost entirely ridicules the artificial wooings of men and women for one another. Even though Don Armado can impugn Costard's garden intrigues with Jaquenetta, he, too, is a fine figure in love with her. Yet, when the occasion arises to declare to her face that 134 he loves her, she dismisses the fop with the common expres- 3 sion, "So I heard you say" (1,11,146). Nevertheless, he is so enthralled by the country wench that he compares his love with the great loves of Hercules and Samson: "O well- knit Samson! strong-jointed Samson! I do excell thee in my rapier as much as thou didst me in carrying gates. I am 4 in love too" (1,11,77). In his "euphuistic" letter to

Jaquenetta, Armado attempts to increase the classical flair of his love with an ancient proverb: "And he [King Cophetua to beggar Zenelophon] that might rightly say, Veni, vidi, vici; which to annothanize in the vulgar,—O base and ob­ scure vulgar!—videlicet. He came, saw, and overcame: he 5 came, one; saw, two; overcame, three" (IV,1,68). Boyet, who reads the letter aloud, delightfully mocks the august classicist: Thus dost thou the Nemean lion roar 'Gainst thee, thou lamb, that standest as his prey.

Submissive fall his princely feet before, 6 And he from forage will incline to play. (IV,i,90)

3so you told me (T89).

^As strong as Samson (S85).

^I came, saw, and overcame (C540).

^The lion spares the suppliant (L316). 135

Immediately after Berowne sends forth his letter to Rosaline by way of Costard, Berowne verbalizes his love- stricken condition and shows the extremes to which he has gone in assessing his "extemporaneous" romance with Rosa­ line. Prior to his first gaze upon Rosaline, he had been "love's whip" and a "night-watch constable." But then "senior-junior, giant-dwarf, Dan Cupid" intruded to make Berowne "a corporal of his field." The subsequent confes­ sion of love by Berowne contains four proverbial elements that explicitly confirm the tone of burlesque:

What? I love! I sue! I seek a wife! A woman, that is like a German clock, 7 Still a-repairing, ever out of frame. And never going aright, being a watch. But being watch'd that it still go right! Nay, to be perjur'd, which is worse of all; And, among three, to love the worst of all; A whitely wanton with a velvet brow. 8 With two pitch-balls stuck in her face for eyes; Ay, and, by heaven, one that will do the deed 9 Though Argus were her eunuch and her guard: And I to sigh for her! to watch for her!

"^A woman, like a German clock, is still repairing (W658) . ® As black as pitch (P357). ^As many eyes as Argus (E2 54) . 136 To pray for her! Go to; it is a plague That Cupid will impose for my neglect Of his almighty dreadful little might. Well, I will love, write, sigh, pray, sue, groan: Some men must love my lady and some Joan. (111,1,174) The burlesque tone of the confession of love by Berowne, in which he anatomizes the impact of the influence of cupid on him, is enhanced by the girls' playing at archery while he speaks. Also, it is a curious feature of the speech cited above that Berowne fuses two "foreign" proverbs with two more common ones. His allusion to "Argus," the classi­ cal monster with a hundred eyes, reflects his scholastic training; but he balances the reference with one to "Joan," a name commonly applied to servant girls. In addition to referring to the eyes of Argus, Berowne also speaks of the eyes of Rosalind as being like "two pitch-balls." The eye imagery coincides with the belief of courtly lovers that love first enters the eye to be lodged in the heart. In a second major speech, Berowne again refers to the pitch-black eyes of Rosaline, as well as to mad Ajax of classical antiquity. The speech gives us the cause and effect of his love for Rosaline: The king he is hunting deer; I am coursing my­ self: they have pitched a toil; I am toiling

Joan's as good as my lady (J74). 137

in a pitch,—pitch that defiles: defile! a foul word. Well set thee down, sorrow! for so they say the fool: well-proved, wit! By the Lord, 12 this love is as mad as Ajax: it kills sheep; it kills me, la sheep: well proved again o' my side! I will not love: if I do, hang me; 1' faith, I will not. O, but her eye,—by this light, but for her eye, I would not love her; yes, for her two eyes. Well, I do nothing in the world 13 but lie, and lie in my throat. By heaven, I do love: and it hath taught me to rhyme, and to be melancholy; and here is part of my rhyme, and here my melancholy. Well, she hath one o' my sonnets already: the clown bore it, the fool sent it, and the lady hath it: sweet clown, sweeter fool, sweetest lady! By the world, I 14 would not care a pin, if the other three were in. (IV,111,1) This speech of Berowne echoes his first one; it contains the references to the eyes and the throat, the latter being the passageway to the heart of the lover. The concluding proverb

•'••'•He that touches pitch shall be defiled (P358) . •'•^As mad as Ajax, who killed sheep (A95) . •'•^To lie in one's throat (T268) . Not to care a pin (P333). 138 in the passage underscores the suggestion of Berowne that he is acting the fool, for it is commonly used in the de­ scription of a "natural fool" who cares "not a pin" for any­ one or anything (Cf. TN III,1,66). Berowne, especially, appears to be a character who es­ tablishes and contributes to tone and atmosphere by combin­ ing the three elements of this study at almost any given moment: characterization, dramatic action, and tone. An awareness of this union is the thread which unifies this discussion of burlesque. A principle distinction, thus, can be made between the "unwitting" and "knowing" roles of characters. Berowne's acknowledgement of his folly, to an extent, relieves him from the ridicule that follows those characters who cannot see theirs. Armado, for instance, un­ wittingly contributes to tone at the expense of self- exposure he does not recognize. Berowne is just the oppo­ site: he knows what he is doing. Always capable of self- criticism, he is a prime example of how most Shakespearean characters contribute more to ironic revelation than to satiric or reform awareness. Also in contrast to the acknowledged folly of Berowne, the unwitting Dumaine exposes himself at his own expense in his sonnet to Kate. With suggestions of love-rivalry in his sonnet, Dumaine addresses Love, whose "month is ever May," and wishes himself to be as free as "heaven's breath" 139 15 . (IV,iii,108) m order to woo his beloved. Although Du­ maine is not aware of his "blindness," we know that he suf­ fers from it; for, earlier (IV,iii,89), Dumaine describes Kate as being "as tall as a cedar" (C207), and Berowne quips facetiously that her shoulder appears to be "with child." In the description that Boyet gives of the king's love- affliction, he notes that faltering eyesight hinders his "infected suit" for the French princess: Why, all his behaviors did make their retire To the court of his eye, peeping thorough desire: His heart, like an agate, with your print impressed. Proud with his form, in his eye pride expressed. His tongue, all impatient to speak and not to see, 1 6 Did stumble with haste in his eyesight to be. (II,i,238) The king is as much seized with pride as Berowne is accus­ tomed to acting as "love's whip." And together they make a fine pair of rivals. Following the recantation scene, in which the "secrets" of each -lover are disclosed to every­ one, Berowne and King Ferdinand taunt one another as they individually outline the nature of their extraordinary love.

•'•^As free as the air (A88) . ^^The more haste the less speed (H198) 140

Berowne first affirms that love is too strong a force in youth to be supplanted by an unnatural obedience to an

"unlawful" decree: "Young blood doth not obey an old de- 17 cree" (IV,iii,217). As he pleads deference to his youth,

Berowne maintains that he is overwhelmed by Rosaline's beauty and charm:

What peremptory eagle-sighted eye

Dares look upon the heaven of her brow,

That IS not blinded by her majesty? 1 ft (IV,111,226)

Berowne compares his youthful vision to that of an eagle, while the older Ferdinand refers to his princess as a light scarcely to be seen: "My love, her mistress, is a gracious moon;/ She an attending star, scarce seen a light" (IV,iii, 19 230). Competing with the king, Berowne says that his

Rosaline is like the sun, "that makes all things shine." Ferdinand argues with that description by noting the "black­ ness" of Rosaline's features: "By heaven, thy love is black 20 as ebony" (IV, iii, 247) . He flouts, "0, paradox! Black is the badge of hell, the hue of dungeons and the school of 21 night" (IV,iii,254). Berowne sarcastically replies.

1 7 Youth and age will never agree (Y43). 18 Only an eagle can gaze at the sun (E3). 19 The moon is not seen where the sun shines (M1120)

^\s black as ebony (E56a) ; see also TN IV,ii,41.

^•'•As black as hell (H397) ; see also TN IV,ii,50. 141

"Devils soonest tempt, resernbling spirits of light" (IV, 22 iii,257). Finally, Berowne elevates the aura of Rosa­ line to that of an integration of all elements of the uni­ verse (earth, air, fire, and water): But love, first learned in a lady's eyes. Lives not alone immured in the brain; But, with the motion of all elements, Courses as swift as thought in every power. 23 And gives to every power a double power. Above their functions and their offices. It adds a precious seeing to the eye; A lover's eyes will gaze an eagle blind; A lover's ear will hear the lowest sound, 24 When the suspicious head of theft is stopp'd. (IV,iii,327) Twelfth Night also supplies abundant evidence of Shake­ speare's burlesque of sentimental courtly love; and, many of the proverbs used in this context echo love conventions previously noted of Love's Labours' Lost. Duke Orsino is a sickly lover typical of others,' such as Berowne and Orlando, in Shakespeare's festive comedies. The play opens on an amusing metaphorical note; "If music be the food of love.

^^The devil can transform himself into an angel of light (D231). ^\s swift as thought (T240) . ^^Fear has a quick ear (F134). 142 play on." A tone of burlesque evolves from Orsino's voluble apostrophe to Love:

0 spirit of love! how quick and fresh thou art. That, notwithstanding thy capacity 25 Receiveth as the sea nought enters there. Of what validity and pitch soe'er. But falls into abatement and low price. Even in a minute: so full of shapes is fancy That it alone is high fantastical. (1,1,9) The "high fantastical" complaint from a rejected lover is truncated by a sobering invitation from Curio, whose ruder language sustains the burlesque element: "Will you go hunt my lord?" Later in the second act, Orsino refuses to heed the contention of Cesario that Olivia cannot love him and re­ shapes his opening speech, but includes the same images and the same proverb: There is no woman's sides Can bide the beating of so strong a passion As love doth give my heart; no woman's heart So big, to hold so much; they lack retention. Alas, their love may be call'd appetite. No motion of the liver, but the palate. That suffer surfeit, cloyment and revolt;

^^The sea refuses no river (S181) 143

But mine is all as hungry as the sea, 26 And can digest as much: make no compare Between that love a woman can bear me And that I owe Olivia. (II,iv,96) The images evoked—rivers, seas, anatomical parts, nourish­ ment—for describing one's passion are mere indexes for cataloguing the phenomena of amorous experience. Viola and Olivia, both overwhelmed by love, express their intimacies with identical proverbs bearing anatomical images. Jealous of the attention Orsino grants Olivia, Viola vocalizes a proverb which says that love is not bound to a particular place; it is where the "heart" (soul) is: "Make me a willow cabin [symbol of unrequited love] at your gate,/ And call 27 upon my soul [i.e., Olivia] within the house" (I,v,287). And, just as Sir Toby advances to duel with Sebastian, who Olivia thinks is Cesario, Olivia scolds, "Beshrew his soul for me,/ He started one poor heart of mine in thee" (IV,1, X 28 62) . Consumed by a "green and yellow melancholy," Viola is both jealous of Olivia and hopeful that her continued re­ jection or Orsino will harden his heart toward her: "Love

^^The sea refuses no river (S181) . ^•^The lover is not where he lives but where he loves (L565) . ^^The lover is not where he lives but where he loves (L565) . 144 29 make his heart of flint that you shall love" (I,v,305).

Correspondingly, when Orsino realizes that he has been usurped in favor by Cesario, he angrily calls Olivia a 30 "marble-breasted tyrant" (V,i,127) and swears, "Him [Cesario] will I tear out of that cruel eye,/ Where he sits crowned in his master's spite." The "eye" imagery he uses is especially appropriate; for, when Viola initially real­ izes that Olivia is enamored of her, she gives its substance with a proverb:

Methinks I feel this youth's perfections

With an invisible and subtle stealth 31 To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be. (I,v,315)

Viola's words of resignation, "Well, let it be," form a partial proverb ("Be as be may" [B65]) that reflects the traditional notion that love is an involuntary affliction.

That love is the work of providence is further illustrated in the outspoken wish of Olivia to win Cesario:

I do not know what, and fear to find

Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind.

Fate, show thy force: ourselves we do not owe; 32 What is decreed must be, and be this so. (I,v,327)

^^A heart as hard as stone (H311). •^^A heart as hard as stone (H311) . ^•'"Love comes by looking (L501) . 32Marriage is destiny (M682). 145

Ironically, destiny is served, but not totally as Olivia has imagined. Her lover-to-be, Sebastian, indulges in the same kind of analysis of the beginnings of love as his sister does:

This pearl she gave me, I do feel 't^"^ and see 't;"^^

And though 'tis wonder that enwraps me thus,

Yet 'tis not madness. (IV,iii,2)

Tradition holds that love is a force which cannot be bridled by rational man, nor can it be concealed or sup­ pressed. Shakespeare facetiously compares this aspect of love to an extraordinary antithesis: "A mur'rous guilt 35 shows not itself more soon/ Than love that would seem hid "^6 love's night is noon" (111,1,159). Such a juxtaposition of images best typifies Shakespeare's tongue-in-cheek ren­ dition of the sentimental love tradition.

When As You Like It first appeared in 1599, the pas­ toral vogue had been in the ascendancy for more than two decades. The publication of Philip Sidney's Arcadia in 1590 had given it a new stimulus. The thronging claims of "the new world" were everywhere thrusting into the back­ ground the noblest traditions and ideals of the past. It

^^As true as touch (T446). 34 Seeing is believing (S212) "^^Murder will out (M315) .

"^^Love cannot be hid (L500) . 146 seemed natural for minds of reflective and imaginative cast to seek refuge and refreshment in the contemplation of an age of innocence and scenes of rustic life and love, tinged with a gentle melancholy and surrounded by an ideal land­ scape which forms the background to many Italian pictures of the Renaissance and also to m.ost of Shakespeare's happy comedies. The ideal world of contentment combined the legend of the golden age with the pastoralism of Theocritus and Virgil. The Arcadia was only one among several pictorials of pastoral idealism. Sennazzaro's Arcadia (1504) and Montemayor's Diana (1552) were forerunners to the pastoral novel by Thomas Lodge, entitled Rosalynde, or Euphues' Gold­ en Legacy (1590), which is the chief source for As You Like It. While the play as a whole is the very distillation of pastoral romance, the more judicious among Shakespeare's audience would not be blind to the vein of burlesque that runs throughout. Not only does it take those in exile great pain and time to reach Arden, but they arrive there only to cope with the "icy fang" of winter, not the eternal summer of the "golden world." The second act of As You Like It initiates one into the idyllic pastoral world. The opening speech of Duke Senior reveals his view of exile in terms of the "sweetness" he and his followers can expect from it. The rather formal attitude which envelops the wisdom he espouses is soon placed 147

in contrast to the pitiful vignette of a "sequest'red stag"^^ that has been wounded by a "usurping" hunter and "exiled" by his own kind (II,i,33ff). One of the attending lords of the duke reports that Jaques is very much upset and swears that the exiled duke is more the usurper than his brother, Frederick. By these contrasting tones, Jaques properly mocks the sentimental pastoralism of courtiers who 38 moralize the discomforts of exile into blessing. And in a further burlesque of both the Utopian and the idyllic pastoral scene, Jaques says proverbially, "Tis right, . . . thus misery doth part/ The flux of company" (II, i, 51) . "^^ Despite the general sourness of Jaques, he nevertheless harbors a sensitivity of viewpoint that aids one in seeing clearly the incongruities residing in the duke's pious af­ firmation of hardship. Men may do well in the face of ad­ versity; but, in doing so, they may also inflict pain on others as they struggle to survive. A delightful illustration of the burlesque element is found in Jaques' "Seven Ages of Man" speech, in which he comically distorts the seven stages of human maturity. Prior

37 As the stricken deer withdraws himself to die (D189) 38 R. A. Foakes, "The Owl and the Cukoo: Voices of Ma­ turity in Shakespeare's Comedies," in Shakespearean Comedy, ed. Malcolm Bradbury and David Palmer (London: Edward Arnold, 1972), pp. 121-141. 39 Poverty parts fellowship (P529). 148

to the famous speech, Orlando interrupts the dining of the foresters and demands nourishment for himself and Adam. The duke, who readily shares his banquet with Orlando, re­ minds Jaques that struggle for survival is the rule in "this wide and universal theatre." Apparently, the duke makes this statement to justify his hunt of venison and to imply that men have a special faculty for survival which other creatures do noc possess. Jaques perceptively aug­ ments that supposition with a most facetious and ironic view of mankind. His speech contains three functional prov­ erbs: the first is included in the introductory lines "All the world's a stage/ And all the men and women merely play- 40 ers" (II,vii,139) ; the second proverb aids the portrait of the "whining school-boy" with his satchel and shining morning face "creeping like snail" (1. 146)4 1 to school; and the third proverb provides the substance of the wonder­ ful portrait of "second childishness and mere oblivion" 42 . . . , (1. 165). Onto this "stage" that is set m the Forest of Arden venture Orlando, who comically epitomizes the "whin- ning school-boy, " and old Adam, who is the epitome of old age illustrative of dignity, virtue, and a proper sense of devotion and duty.

^^This world is a stage and every man plays his part (W882) . 41 As slow as a snail (S579). ^^Old men are twice children (M570). 149 The truly adolescent sentimentality of Orlando, Rosa­ lind, and others is clearly in contrast with the more realis­ tic attitude that Touchstone takes toward the wooing of Audrey. In act two, scene four. Touchstone encounters the love-sick Silvius pinning for his beloved Phebe. In con­ trast, the "glandular" fool speaks of his own experience with love and provides an enriching caricature of the sen­ timental lover: "I remember, when I was in love I broke my sword upon a stone and bid him take that for coming a-night to Jane Smile; and I remember the kissing of her batler and the cow's dugs that her pretty chopt hands had milked; and I remember the wooing of a peascod instead of her, from whom I took two cods and, giving her them again, said with weeping tears 'Wear these for my sake. ' We that are true lovers run into strange capers; but as all is mortal

in nature, so is all nature in love with mortal in folly" 43 (II,iv,46). Rendered self-conscious by the wisdom of Touchstone's proverb, Rosalind says, "Thou speakest wiser 44 than thou art ware of" (II,iv,57). Burlesque of love continues in act three, scene two when Rosalind interrupts the comic debate between old Corin and Touchstone. She enters bearing a love sonnet from Or­ lando, and immediately Touchstone begins to extemporize

^^All men are mortal (M502). ^^There is more in it than you are aware of (Mil58). 150

sonnets which parody the verses of Orlando. "For a taste," says the fool:

If a hart do lack a hind

Let him seek out Rosalind.

If the cat will after kind, 45 So be sure will Rosalind.

Wint'red garments must be lin'd.

So must slender Rosalind.

They that reap must sheaf and bind;

Then to cart with Rosalind. 46 Sweetest nut hath sourest rind.

Such a nut is Rosalind.

He that sweetest rose will find 47 Must find love's prick and Rosalind. (Ill,ii,107) Touchstone concludes his mocking rhymes by scolding Rosa­ lind for polluting herself with Orlando's "false gallop of verses." Rosalind's reply is as equally delightful and creative as the mock sonnet of Touchstone. Enlisting the aptness of a proverb, Rosalind says, "I'll graff it with 48 you, and then I shall graff it with a medlar: then it be the earliest fruit 1' the country; for you'll be rotten ere

"^^Cat after kind (C13 5) . 46 Sweet is the nut but bitter is the shell (N360) No rose without a thorne (R182). 48 Fools will be meddling (F546). 151

you be half ripe, and that's the right virtue of the med- 49 lar" (111,11,123). When Celia comes in reading verses

she has found, a portion of which (111,11,137-40) contains

a proverb ("Life is a pilgrimage" [L249]) that echoes the

metaphor of Jaques, "All the world's a stage," Rosalind com­

ments proverbially: "I was seven of the nine days out of 50 wonder before you came; for look here what I found on a

palm-tree. I was never so berhymed since Pythagoras' time,

that I was an Irish rat, which I can hardly remember" (III, 51 ii,184). Rosalind later questions Orlando on whether he

is so much in love as his rhymes contend; and, the lover

ironically affirms, "Neither rhyme nor reason can express 52 how much" (III,ii,418). Rosalind tells him that his love is "merely a madness" and that "boys and women are for the 53 most part cattle of [that] colour" (III,ii,434). Shake­ speare galvanizes the burlesque element here by changing the original, more masculine animal (the horse) to one which suits the tone of the romantic bellowings of Orlando. A further burlesque of the fretsome sentimentality of

lovers may be observed in the "material" attraction that

49 Medlars [small fruit resembling a crab apple] are never good till they be rotten (M863). ^ A wonder lasts but nine days (W728). ^-'•To rhyme to death, as they do rats in Ireland (D158) . Neither rhyme nor reason (R98). 53 A horse of another color (H665). 152

Touchstone and Audrey have for one another. "The romance of Touchstone and Audrey," states C. L. Barber, "achieves burlesque of love almost entirely. The two commoners ap­ proach love objectively and without illusion. Theirs is a 54 love without any sentiment at all." However, Touchstone does what he is supposed to do in the play; he "tests" all that the world takes for gold, especially the gold of the golden world of pastoralism and sentimental love. Their dialogue is most basic; yet it contains several ingeniously suitable proverbs:

Aud. Would you not have me honest?

Touch. No, truly, unless thou wert hard-favored;

for honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a sauce to sugar. 55 Jag. [Aside] A material fool!

Aud. Well, I am not fair; and therefore I pray

the gods make me honest.

Touch. Truly, and to cast away honesty upon a foul

slut were to put good meat into an unclean 56 dish.

Aud. I am not a slut, though I thank the gods

I am foul.

54 C. L. Barber, Shakespeare's Festive Comedy, p. 228 55 Beauty and chastity seldom meet (B163). 56 Put not thy meat in an unclean dish (M834). 153

Touch. Well, praised be the gods for thy foul­

ness! Sluttishness may come hereafter. But be it as it may be, I will marry 57 thee. (Ill,iii,29)

When Jaques asks touchstone whether he intends to be mar­ ried, the fool replies, "As the ox hath his bow, sir, the horse his curb and the falcon her bells, so man hath his desires; and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would be nibbling" 58 (III,iii,80). Touchstone's expressions of commitment to

Audrey sound very different from those of Orlando to Rosa­ lind. Combining two proverbial notions. Touchstone simply says to the duke, "[Audrey is] a poor virgin, sir, an 111- 59 favor'd thing, sir, but mine own" (V,iv,60). Thus, the romance of Audrey and Touchstone presents a comic antithesis to the goings-on between Rosalind and Orlando or between

Silvius and Phebe. The almost lascivious analogy, "good meat into an unclean dish," boldly accents the burlesque tone Shakespeare uses throughout scene three.

Some incongruity may be noted in Touchstone's selec­ tion of Sir Oliver Martext (an*apparent pun on one's marring the text of traditional conjugal rites), who has promised the fool to meet him in the forest "to couple" him and Audrey

^'^Be as be may is no banning (B65) . ^^The bell tolls for all men (T303) . ^^Every man likes his own thing best (M131); Ye are my bird for as black as ye are (B389). 154

The contrast in tone between the bawdiness of Audrey and Touchstone and the implication of Hymen's song at the con­ clusion of the play, that "marriages are made in heaven, "^^ produces genial burlesque of that proverbial notion.

The earthy romance of Touchstone and Audrey presented in scene three is followed by the tumultuous relationship between Rosalind and Orlando, the more courtly lovers. The fool and Audrey come directly to the point about themselves, and they do not varnish their basically physical desires with extravagant, maudlin sonnets or with the groans and sighs which are typical of their refined counterparts. The only distinction that one can make between the foolishness of Rosalind and Orlando is that the former is conscious of her folly; Orlando is not. Yet, in the larger view of Rosa­ lind, it seems that she is as much out of love as in love. Impulsively, she becomes disconsolate when she thinks Or­ lando has broken his oath to see her one morning. Between the quips of her and Celia, Orlando is compared to the archetypal betrayer, Judas, with a red beard: Ros. His very hair is of the dissembling colour. 61 Cel. Something browner than Judas's" marry, his 62 kisses are Judas's own children. (III,iv,7)

60'Marriage s are made in heaven (M688) . ^^A red beard and a black head, catch him with a good trick and take him dead (B141). 62T o give one a Judas kiss (J92) 155

And it pleases Celia to add to the insecurity of Rosalind with proverbs such as the following: "'Was' [in love] is not 'is' [in love]: besides, the oath of a lover is no stronger than the word of a tapster; they are both the con- firmer of false reckonings" (III,iv,33).^^

More verbal and dramatic irony resides in the dialogue between Rosalind and Orlando when they meet again in act four, scene one. At times Rosalind swoons over Orlando; yet she also appears very realistic in some general obser­ vations she makes about love. For instance, she tells Or­ lando that, in the six thousand years of the world's exis­ tence, she has never heard of a man dying "in his own per­ son" for a "love cause." And she objectively,concludes of Orlando's condition: "Men have died from time to time and worms have eaten them, but not for love" (IV,1,106). The irony of her words is important. Earlier, Rosalind has acknowledged the wisdom of Touchstone's observation that "as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love with mortal in folly" (II,iv,46). However, Touchstone's summary of mortals in the grip of folly seems temporarily to have eluded her. Although she schemes to reform the unbecoming sentimentality of Orlando, she also is somewhat guilty of the same conduct, despite the fact that she is aware of her own folly. In fact, Rosalind's difficulty at keeping up her

63 Lovers' vows are not to be trusted (L570). 156 playacting provides a fresh stream of burlesque of senti­ mental love. Men and women may not die for love, just as worms do not feed on the dead "for love." Yet, the passions of men and women cannot be so easily controlled as Rosalind assumes. The worm has its need for food and satisfies it. Mortal man is a much more unpredictable being who cannot always be so objective about himself as he can be of others. This inconsistency identifies the nature of mortal men and women in love, including Rosalind. Though she almost suc­ cessfully acquits herself through "disguising" her senti­ ment, for the audience, her disguise is transparent; and through it they see the very ardor which she mocks. Through her incessant scolding and teasing of Orlando, Rosalind also draws attention to herself, as well as to the undercurrents of irony that run throughout her reasonings.

After Rosalind uses the "worm" image, to Orlando she poses a question which ironically could be applied to her own manner. She asks, "Can one desire too much of a good thing?" (IV,1,123). 64 Whatever may be said of the value of Rosalind's intentions to awaken Orlando to "self- knowledge, " it is also apparent in the scene in which the couple stages a mock wedding that she is sublimating her true wishes. And, thus, her romantic fervor is as much out of her control as that of Orlando. Anticipating the nuptial

64 The more common a good thing is the better (T142). 157

vows of Celia, Rosalind pronounces herself and Orlando hus­

band and wife and defends her action with a proverb: "And

certainly a woman's thought runs before her actions" (IV, 65 i,141). Orlando repeats the proverb and, thus, includes

himself: "So do all thoughts; they are winged." The irony

is crucial, for we can see that, in all cases of love, the

lovers are prone to excessive words and behaviors because

they are able only to yield to their fantasies of love.

Neither lover could be so realistic about himself (or her­

self) as he might, for it requires the experience of love

to sober one. It is "natural," therefore, for Orlando to

profess to Rosalind that he will love her "for ever and a 66 da/ (IV,i,143) without the slightest guarantee of such longevity.

By the attempt of Rosalind to betray Orlando's sense

of glorious potential through her promises to play the shrew

after marriage, it is clear that she actually expects to

be the perfectly devoted wife. This irony becomes evident

through her use of proverbs which concern the fickleness of

women. She says, "Maids are May when they are maids, but 67 the sky changes when they are wives" (IV, 1,148). And the probability of the following prediction is implicable: "I

65 As swift as thought (T240). 66 Forever and a day (D74). 67 Maidens should be meek till they be married (M44). 158

will weep for nothing, like Diana in the fountain, and I will do that when you are disposed to be merry; I will 69 laugh like a hyen, and that when thou art inclined to sleep" (IV,1,154). Orlando candidly says a man would be a fool to marry that kind of woman: "A man that had a wife with such a wit, he might say 'Wit, whither wilt?" (IV, i, ^70 167) . From the female point of view, a woman would be a fool not to abuse her spouse shrewishly: "You shall never take her without her answer, unless you take her without her 71 tongue. O, that woman that cannot make her fault her hus- 72 band's occasion, let her never nurse her child herself, for she will breed it like a fool! (IV,i,175). At this point, both Rosalind and Orlando conduct themselves as "romantic fools." If one is to take Rosalind at her word, then her honest comment to Celia, "Do you not know I am a woman" when I think, 73 I must speak" (111,11,263), effects a significant irony when one considers the body of the thought she advances in scene

68 When the husband is sad [merry] the wife will be merry [sad] (H839). 69 To laugh like a hyena (H844). ^\it, whither wilt thou? (W570) . 71 A woman's answer is never to seek (W670) . 79 Some complain to prevent complaint (C579). ^^What the heart thinks the tongue speaks (H334). 159 one of the fourth act. Shakespeare's culminating irony is that, though Rosalind idealistically envisions herself as a devoted marriage partner for Orlando, she inevitably will do precisely what she says she will do in jest. This Rosa­ lind and the Rosaline of Love's Labours' Lost, by virtue of the natural inclination of all maids-turned-wives, indeed will "usurp" their respective mates, Orlando and Berowne. Shakespeare's manipulation of proverbs, his sometimes quot­ ing them verbatim and at other times recasting them, pro­ duces an expanded tone of burlesque beyond the obvious. Partly through his use of the proverb can one ascertain that Rosalind's thoughts indeed "outrun her actions." When she finally removes her disguise as Ganymede and appeases each plaintive lover, she orders, "Pray you, no more of this;

'tis like the howling of Irish wolves against the moon" 74 (V,11,118). In the notes to this play, the editors offer this proverb as a possible allusion to the dissidence of 75 the Irish rebels against Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. If this specious explanation is even slightly accurate, then "virgin" Rosalind does view herself as the queenly authority over her servants, and it is she who will bark "like a hyen" at her mate.

^^The dog barks in vain at the moon (D449). "^^Craig and Bevington, The Complete Works of Shake­ speare, p. 612n. 160

The humorous inconsistency between Rosalind's own be­ havior in love and the advice she gives to other quarreling

lovers, Silvius and Phebe, further burlesques courtly-love

relationships, the nature of which is in part to be erratic

and impulsive in manner. In her counsel to Phebe, Rosalind

reminds her that she can wait too long for a man: 76 But, mistress, know yourself: down on your knees.

And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man's love:

For I must tell you friendly in your ear, Sell when you can: you are not for all markets. 77 (Ill,V,56) Although Silvius and Phebe are commoners like Touchstone and Audrey, their problems with love nevertheless form a similar pattern to those of Rosalind and Orlando. The im­ plication of such discrepancy is that love's irrationality does not visit the courtly lovers only. Rosalind and Or­ lando love at first glance, and Phebe notes the same of Silvius: "Dead shepherd, now I find thy saw of might,/ 'Who ever lov'd that lov'd not at first sight?'" (III,v, 78 81) . The associative predicaments of Orlando and Silvius and of Rosalind and Phebe enrich the various loveplots and provide tones of irony which sustain the developments of character and action.

"^^Know thyself (K47) . "^^As the market goes wives must sell (M670) . "^^Love not at first look [Love at first sight] (L426) 161

Ostensibly, a tone of burlesque also permeates the

comic portions of 1 Henry IV; and, though Shakespeare fuses

tones of seriousness and happy comedy, one may readily de­

tect the points at which sobriety ends and levity begins.

A truly delightful occasion for burlesque emerges from the

play-within-a-play scene, when Falstaff, pretending to be

the King of England, evaluates the "prodigality" of the young prince. The complete episode of pretense parodies

an actual passage in John Lyly's Euphues and exaggerates

the balance and alliteration of the style.

Affecting regal maturity, Falstaff speaks of the con­ sequences of wasted youth: "... for though the camomile, the more it is trodden on the faster it grows, yet youth, 79 the more it is wasted the sooner it wears" (II,iv,440). And, further to ridicule Hal's apparent abdication of re­ sponsible behavior, Falstaff says, "That thou art my son,

I have partly thy mother's word, partly my own opinion" 80 (II,iv,443) . In order to convince the youth that his sport with base habitues of taverns and cutpurses erodes his name and position, Falstaff completes his assay with an "ancient" proverb: "There is a thing, Harry, which thou hast often heard of and it is known to many in our land by the name of pitch: this pitch, as ancient writers do report.

79 (C34) . The more camomile is trodden down the more it grows ^^Ask the mother if the child be like his father (M1193) 162

doth defile; so doth the company thou keepest" (II,iv, 81 453). So persuasive is this dubious "father" about Hal's remission of duty through his association with Eastcheap thieves that he temporarily neglects his own cause. Out of this churlish company, says Falstaff, there is one who 82 exudes a "virtuous look," and such an external visage mirrors the goodness that lies within, just as "the tree may be known by the fruit, as the fruit by the tree" (II, 83 iv,468-69). Falstaff admonishes, ". . . him keep with, the rest banish." In addition to a light ridicule of the exaggerated style of euphuistic discourse, Shakespeare also caricatures this "white-bearded Satan" through the incongruity of his impersonation of the King of England. It is particularly whimsical of Falstaff to use proverbs both to charge Hal with dereliction and to heap upon himself virtues of his own making. Neither in visage nor in constitution can he boast of virtue; his gross size and manner belie such a pos­ sibility. This particular interlude of comic impersonation is anticipatory of the forthcoming meeting between Hal and his father (III,ii). The contrast in tones between these two scenes of pretense and actuality helps to balance, as well as to bridge, the rather dichotomous atmosphere of the play.

^^He that touches pitch shall be defiled (P358). ^^A fair face must have good conditions (F5). ""^^ •- r- -n by its fruit (T497) . 163

The tone emphasized in this chapter is largely bur­ lesque (a happy fusion of incongruity and imitation) that sometimes skirts the precincts of satire but stops short of a calculated reform motive in order that both dramatic characters and spectators may be aware of their common weak­ nesses and follies and, individually, elect to change or persist in their usual behavior patterns. Although the vagaries, poses, and conventions of courtly lovers and son­ neteers are primary subjects of burlesque in the plays in­ cluded in this study, other topics are also burlesqued. Utopian and pastoral idealism is emphasized in As You Like It. The seriousness of the forthcoming interview of Hal and his father is burlesqued during the play-within-the play staged by Falstaff and Hal. Especially important in all of the scenes devoted to burlesque is consistency in characterization. Whatever change the individual does undergo occurs in scenes the tone of which has an enlighten­ ing effect. Shakespeare does not rely on sudden conversions or jolting surprises as he depicts individuals who become the primary focus of dramatic attention. CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSION

The primary critical focus of this dissertation con­ sists of an analysis of approximately three hundred prov­ erbs from Love's Labours' Lost. As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and the comic portions of 1 Henry IV. The total number of proverbs is striking evidence of the fondness of Shakespeare for the formal and colloquial sayings of the folk. It is even more compelling to discover that he used in excess of eleven hundred proverbs in all of the comedies, seven hundred in the histories, eight hundred and fifty in the tragedies, and one hundred and fifty in his total body of poems. The sheer quantity of proverbs appearing in his works suggests that they directly support the form and con­ tent of his art. Though it is plausible that some were natural enough to the diction of Shakespeare that he in­ cluded them in dialogue without specific consideration of function, to insist that the inclusion of more than twenty- eight hundred proverbs is done so for purposes of adornment only would seem egregiously naive. An emphasis upon the apparent impact of proverbs in representative comic drama justly draws attention to Shake­ speare's rhetorical and dramatic skill. As this study en­ deavors to show conclusively, the functional dexterity of proverbial material is remarkable. While the proverb often provides accurate or ironic revelations of character, it 164 165 also supports the structure of characterization by accen­ tuating points in the development of both character and action. Also, the attitude that the artist harbors of his "life-like" characters and their verbal and physical antics is highlighted by proverbs. Thus, the interlocking functions of this conspicuous and recurrent rhetorical device do not weaken its usage in drama; rather, the form and content of drama is simultaneously enhanced by its versatility.

Shakespeare's uncommonly vivid characters represent the sum total of all that he puts into their creation, and this total is never to be equated with any single statement taken from within the plays or with any neat formulas im­ posed upon the plays from without. His characters do in fact impose wonderful challenges to our understanding in much the same way as do our actual friends and enemies, but they do so through the glass of art, so that we may ap­ proach them with vigilant detachment. They will abide our study again and again. This particular approach to the study of Shakespeare's use of proverbs for characterization, dramatic action, and tone suggests of his craftsmanship an illimitable and ini­ mitable fountain of genius. Common sayings of the folk, adapted into dramatically functional organisms, are clear evidence of his total artistry. As a result, we find in Shakespeare a laboratory of humanity which is far more re­ vealing for the total life of man than any laboratory yet 166 devised by human science. To understand and appreciate what Shakespeare has created for the stage may thus aid us in the understanding and appreciation of what we encounter in our own lives. Concomitantly, the proverbs appearing in the plays examined here in this study are especially valuable, for proverbs throughout the ages have been re­ garded as great storehouses for the general wisdom of human experience and observation. It is Shakespeare's dramatic mastery of human nature and its recorded and unrecorded utterances which indeed make him seem to most of us, as he seemed to his friend Ben Jonson, to be "not of an age, but for all time." BIBLIOGRAPHY

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