Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1972 Clerical Characters in Shakespeare's Plays. Don Robert Swadley Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Swadley, Don Robert, "Clerical Characters in Shakespeare's Plays." (1972). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 2251. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2251 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This dissertation was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. 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University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 A Xerox Education Company 72-28,386 SWADLEY, Don Robert, 1925- CLERICAL CHARACTERS IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1972 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor. Michigan © 1972 Don Robert Swadley ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CLERICAL CHARACTERS IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English by Don Robert Swadley B.A., North Texas State University, 1950 M.A., North Texas State University, 1955 May, 1972 PLEASE! NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. University Microfilms, A Xerox Education Company ACKNOWUaXMENT I extend heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the many persons who have encouraged and supported my efforts in this work. Special acknowledgment goes to the members of the supervisory committee, Professors Lawrence A. Sasek, John Hazard Wildman, Don DL Moore, and John J. Weaver, and, most of all, to Professor William John Olive, chairman and director. Professor Ihcmas Austin Kirby, Chairman of Ehglish, and the English faculty at Louisiana State University have provided continued aid and inspiration to effort. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION .............................. 1 II. THE FIRST TETRALOGY AND KING J O H N .......... 7 1 Henry V I ................................ 7 2 Henry V I ................................ 31 3 Henry V I ................................ 56 Richard I I I ................................ 58 King J o h n .................................. 73 III. THE SECOND TETRALOGY AND HENRY VIII .... 90 Richard I I ................................ 90 1 Henry I V .................................. Ill 2 Henry I V .................................. 118 Henry V .......................................135 Henry V I I I .......... ..................... 144 IV. SOME MANIPULATING FRIARS AND A NOVICE . 153 The Two Gentlemen of Verona . ............... 153 Romeo and J u l i e t ............................ 155 Much Ado about N o t h i n g ......................173 Measure for M e a s u r e .......................... 179 CHAPTER PAGE V. A BAGFUL OF DIVERSE CLERICAL CHARACTERS . 204 The Comedy of Errors ..........................204 The Taming of the S h r e w ......................207 Love's Labors L o s t ............................ 209 As You Like I t ................................ 219 The Merry Wives of Windsor ................... 224 H a m l e t .........................................235 Twelfth Night .............................. 239 VI. CONCLUSION.................................... 248 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................ 259 iv ABSTRACT This study of the clerical characters of Shakespeare's plays analyzes their roles and functions in dramatic con­ flict and in the development of theme and meaning, their contribution to the exposition of Shakespeare's political and moral ideas, and their uses in specific dramaturgical situations. As a category of characters, clerics bulk large in Shakespeare's plays. Every one of the ten English history plays has at least one, and most have several. In some instances they are major figures in the conflict, and they frequently enunciate important thematic motifs. The comedies and tragedies have comparatively fewer clerical characters, and these generally have less important roles in the action and resulting theme. A notable exception to this rule among the comedies is Duke Vincentio of Measure for Measure, who is the dominant character in the action and the force behind the moral resolution of the conflicts. In the comedies clerics tend to be either conventional clerics performing conventional clerical offices, such as Friar Francis of Much Ado about Nothing and the Priest in Twelfth Night, or figures of fun whose clerical office is incidental, such as Sir Nathaniel of Love's Labors Lost and Sir Hugh of The Merry Wives of Windsor. The tragedies have v vi only two clerics with speaking parts, but one of these, Friar Laurence of Romeo and Juliet, is a major figure in development of both plot and theme. Clerical characters in twenty-one plays are treated, their employment ranging from mere mention to central dramatic and thematic signif­ icance . The principle of organization employed in the study is a mixture of the approach by type of play, the order of composition in Shakespeare's career, and similarity of dramatic function. The clerics of the English histories are examined first. The progression follows the order of composition, one chapter treating the First Tetralogy and King John, another the Second Tetralogy and Henry VIII. The next chapter examines a group of "manipulating friars," clerics who play an important role in plot development. Chief among these are Friar Laurence and Duke Vincentio. Similarity of function characterizes the clerics of this segment. The succeeding chapter treats a number of cleri­ cal figures who have little coherence as a group, ranging from Aemilia of The Comedy of Errors through the Priest in Hamlet to the Priest in Twelfth Night. Included in this group are Sir Oliver Martext, Sir Nathaniel, and Sir Hugh, comical parsons. One of the major results of the study is the demon­ stration that Shakespeare employs clerics in a wide range of roles and dramatic uses. When introduced at all they are usually employed in some dramatically or thematically vii significant way. The clerics are generally presented respectfully by the dramatist and are so treated by the other characters. Even in the English histories, which contain the largest number of clerics whose actions might subject them to audience disapproval or whose actions are viewed unfavorably by their fellows, Shakespeare exercises considerable balance of presentation. Clerics who perform actions that might be regarded unfavorably are character­ istically offset by other admirable clerics, or they are allowed to show qualities that mitigate their failings. The varied roles of clerics and the dramatically important roles of some of them add richness and variety to the plays. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Of the multitudinous ways in which one can approach Shakespeare's plays, a perennially popular approach has been study of character. Even as one recognizes the diffi­ culties inherent in that approach— that the characters are not real people but dramatic creations performing functions limited to the world of the play; that other aspects of the drama are of equal, if not more, importance; that character, perhaps more than any other element of drama, invites sub­ jective judgment, to name only a few— one nonetheless feels that the people who inhabit