Cross-dressing , Improbabilities and Contradiction in "As You Like It" of William Shakespeare

Cross-dressing   in "As You Like It" :

The prolific and deft dramatist William Shakespeare has resorted different techniques in his plays to make them attractive and to achieve the desired result. The cross-dressing is one of such techniques that we find in his comedy "As You Like It". Rosalind, before setting out for the forest of Arden to find her banished father take the camouflage of a man. She titivates herself as a brave hunter or a martial-man with, in her word, "A gallant curtle-axe upon my thigh,/A boar-spear in my hand," She takes disguise of a man as she is 'more that common tall'. Now she is not Rosalind. She says: "I'll have no worse a name than Jove's own page"; she takes the name 'Ganymede'. Celia, her cousin, does not take male dress but she changes herself  with 'poor and mean attire' and 'with a kind of umber smirch' on her face. Celia , now 'Aliena( which means a stranger) has played a vital role in making the matter of 'cross-dressing' meaningful. Why do Rosalind and Celia camouflage in such way ?   The reason behind it, in Rosalind's word " Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold".

The Duke Frederick has banished the Duke Senior and has usurped the dominions , but he does not banish Rosalind with her father. It's no compassion, but self-interest that inspires him to keep Rosalind who would serve as a constant companion of his daughter Celia. Now, being jealous with Rosalind's good nature and disposition that, he thinks, belittle Celia's honour, the Duke Frederick has ordered Rosalind to leave the kingdom within ten days. Celia tries to persuade her father to revoke the order, but in vein and she also decides to leave the kingdom and to go with Rosalind to the forest of Arden. Why would she denounce such royal dignity and comfortable life ?  The reason is clear in Celia's words : " We still have slept together,/Rose at an instant,learn'd,play'd,eat together,/And whereso'er we went, like Juno's swans, / Still we went coupled and inseparable". However, the whimsical, jealous and cruel nature of the Duke Frederick  compel his daughter Celia to leave home stealthily causing much concern for her father. This is the cause behind the introduction of the 'cross-dressing' in the comedy "As You Like It". 

The 'cross-dressing' in "As You Like It" has brought about a new comic flavour in the play.The dress and disguise of these two royal girls add variety to this drama. The innovative power of Rosalind and Celia comes to the fore. The fertility of their brain proves with their thinking that the thieves are provoked more by the beauty  of woman than the precious gold.

The 'cross-dressing' helps in smooth movement and proper development of the play, it helps in the plot construction. Had it been avoided the play would have ended in the midway or would take turn in another way. If Rosalind and Celia left the kingdom in their original royal dress, they would have fled , they would have been caught by Duke's people.

The 'cross-dressing' helps Rosalind to gauge the depth of Orlando's love for Rosalind. The relationship of love between Oliver and Celia would not have developed.More than that the Duke Senior could recognize his daughter in normal attire and the play would suffer some further development . 

 

Improbabilities  in "As You Like It"  :

 

Improbability should not be termed as defect of the drama. It does not  mar the literature in it. Improbability can only itch the mind of the readers and disturbs him/her a little in the full enjoyment of the play. Some Improbabilities are found in 'As You Like It' like all other dramas of Shakespeare. First we point out the matter of Ganymede , the disguised Rosalind. It seems improbable that Orlando who loves Rosalind so much can not recognize her. More than that , the Duke Senior can not get the smell a bit  of his daughter. How can it be possible ? In disguise one can hide ones appearance to some extent or to a great extent, but the person does not undergo the change of such a  great proportion he/she becomes a person of new identity and personality. A careful view can detect the disguised person easily. It's a great wonder that Orlando comes to  close contact with Ganymede,he converses with disguised Rosalind and also woos her,yet he fails to recognize her.

Is it not an improbability that Celia who is very practical and intelligent falls in love with Oliver  who can not be an attractive lover. Oliver is basically a villain , he has a wicked past ,he hatches plans one after another to kill his own brother Orlando, he betrays even his dead father Sir Rowland de Boys. Love is a matter of finer sentiment and it can not be appropriate for a cruel person like Oliver.Celia-Oliver love affair is described by Rosalind in  amusing way  : "There was never anything so sudden , but the fight of two rams and Caesar's thrasonical  brag of Come, Saw and Overcome".  

Macbeth - William Shakespeare : Five different scenes including the opening one are five pillars in the structure of the play.

Introduction

"Macbeth" written by William Shakespeare is a great tragedy on historical theme. The opening scene of the play is very significant and necessary for this play. Beside this, the four other scenes known as  Dagger scene, Porter scene, Banquet scene and Sleep-walking scene are so adhering to this tragedy that without these scenes the drama would remain incomplete and  would be termed as a poor-structured  tragic composition. Before the discussion about the importance of these scenes we first locate the particular place and point where the said scenes occur.

 'Opening Scene' as the name suggests occurs  at the first of the play and it is the Sc. I of Act - I. Next the 'Dagger Scene' is arranged in Act - II , Sc. - I. The third one, the 'Porter Scene' is included in Sc - III of Act - II.One finds the 'Banquet Scene' in Act - III, Sc. - IV. The Act-V, Sc. - I of  "Macbeth" starts with the famous 'Sleep-walking Scene.'

'Opening Scene' : 

 

"Macbeth" starts with the popular 'Opening Scene' which introduces us to three witches who assemble in a  heath amidst the lightning and thunder. The second witch speaks in a very enigmatic way that they would again meet "When the battle's lost and won" and the third witch mentions the name of Macbeth. Besides all the witches jointly say: "Fair is foul and foul is fair." Though  the  volume of the scene is very short and very few words are uttered by the witches, the scene demands grave importance. 

According to some critics the play  "Macbeth" gains no dramatic effect by this scene. It may be regarded as poor and pointless by some critics, but the great poet Coleridge said that the opening scene of "Macbeth" strikes the key note of the whole play and thus he defended the scene. None can deny that this scene with the appearance  of the witches prepares the mind of the readers that some ominous is going to happen in the play. One thing is clear that the  witches are deliberately waiting for Macbeth as 'Evil' waits for the most unfortunate person. The epigrammatic utterance  "Fair is foul and foul is fair" indicates the 'reversal of values' and also throws some light on the character of Macbeth at the very outset of the play.

So this scene is of immense importance and its necessity is admitted for the fulfillment of the play.

'Dagger Scene'

The foregrounding  of the dark and evil atmosphere in the opening scene is strengthened in the dagger scene. When alone , Macbeth visualizes  a dagger hovering in front of him and the handle is towards his hand. He tries to clutch the dagger but it escapes him. After keen watch Macbeth realizes that the dagger is tangible and it is just like the dagger kept in his scabbard. His tension and terror increase when he discovers the drops of blood on the blade and handle of the dagger. Various dreadful thoughts dawn in Macbeth's mind and he vents his mind in his soliloquy. 

This dagger scene is very important as it reveals the inner working of the mind of Macbeth. Actually Macbeth's guilty mind creates a hallucination in the form of a dagger. As he is not a born criminal, it indicates his moral agitation. The dagger besmeared with blood is the external manifestation of the murderous design of Macbeth.The devilish character of this  valiant hero is , to some extent, revealed 

by the dagger scene.

'Porter Scene' 

In the porter scene the intoxicated porter thinks himself the janitor of the Hell Gate. He is going to be tired as there is continuous knocking at the door and the sinners enter this 'dungeon horrible' one by one.

A farmer, an equivocator and an English tailor are granted the hell for some sinful acts.

The porter scene is of immense importance.It serves as the comic relief as it removes the tension and  heaviness in the minds of the audience and prepares the minds for further actions to come. This scene provides some time between the exit of Macbeth in the previous scene and the entrance in the present scene after changing his dress and washing the spots of blood. The porter scent indicates that Macbeth has turned his castle into a hell after the murder of the king Duncan. 

'Banquet Scene'

The coronation banquet is ready and all the dignified guests are waiting in the great hall. The murderers appointed by Macbeth inform the latter that Banquo is murdered but Fleance, Banquo's son is escaped. When Macbeth utters Banquo's name , he with great horror and amazement discovers that the ghost of Banquo  is installed on seat reserved for Macbeth. He , thoroughly unnerved, addresses the ghost : " Thou canst not say I did it." Macbeth vents his rambling mind. With the reappearance of the ghost he loses his total control on himself. However, the intervention of Lady Macbeth somehow manages the situation but much thing is divulged. 

The ghost of Banquo appears only to Macbeth, nobody else, not even Lady Macbeth.The ghost is nothing but the personification of Macbeth's sense of guilt. Macbeth being unnerved exposed the secret of Bunquo's murder and proves that he is not a confirmed murderer. This banquet scene throws some light on the character of Lady Macbeth, on her cleverness and presence of mind.She vents some encouraging words to her husband, explains the cause of the abnormal behaviour of Macbeth and takes the charge of the situation with her extraordinary skill.  

'Sleep-walking Scene.'

The sleep-walking scene opens with a Doctor of physic and a Gentle woman talking about the somnambulism of Lady Macbeth. After the murder of the king she is mentally disturbed and is found walking in the room in her sleep during night. The lady appears with a taper and speaks about the murder of Duncan, Banquo and Lady Macduff. She takes paper, writes on it , seals it and keeps it. She washes her hands to remove the smell of blood. The Doctor comes to know all the misdeed done by Macbeth and his wife.

This scene is too much expository. This scene exposes the guilt of the two - Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It reveals the fact that Lady Macbeth is after all a lady with all weakness of a woman, though she has projected masculine  mettle. This scene proves that Lady Macbeth is not a born criminal and she can not be called the 'fourth witch' of the play "Macbeth"

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Different types of thirst in Eugene O' Neill's play Thirst

Literally, thirst means a state or feeling of one when one wants to or needs to drink water. Extending the meaning we can say thirst is a strong desire or yearning for something. In Eugene O' Neill's play different kinds of thirst become prominent from different angles which  can broadly  be categorised into three heads: Thirst of human beings on-stage, Thirst of nonhuman beings in sea and Thirst of human beings off-stage.

Thirst of human beings on-stage : On the stage we find no other than the three woebegone passengers who are under tremendous pressure of thirst for water and thirst for rescue,in a word thirst for life. How can the thirst for survival belittle the thirst for wealth and that of carnal need is conspicuous in the behaviour of the Negro Sailor.  With the idea that the Sailor has some water hidden with him the Gentleman incites the Dancer to offer  her diamond necklace worth five thousand dollars to the Sailor for a sip of water.The Sailor who is strangely silent and continuously  crooning turns down the offer though the Gentleman confirms : " I have heard his people are very fond of such things."  Now the Dancer , at the cost of her honour and dignity , offers the Sailor her beautiful body . The Negro's response to the Dancer's amorous gesture  is like this: " For a second his nostrils  dilate - he draws in his breath with a hissing sound - his body grows tense and it seems as if he is about to sweep her into his arms. Then his expression grows apathetic again. He turns to the sharks." So, thirst for life gets the first place and it overpowers the thirst for wealth and sex  . Actually, non-availability of water and the least chance for rescue ship excruciate them most, beyond measure.

Thirst of nonhuman beings in sea : The nonhuman beings in sea, the voracious sharks, are led by their thirst for food and  are moving round the life raft, projecting their sharp fins.These animals somehow understand that something on the raft, may quench their appetite. Led by instinct, not by the order of preference and importance, the sharks move round the raft and ultimately, getting  the dead body of the Dancer and later that of the Gentleman and the Sailor quench their thirst and leave the place.

Thirst of human beings off-stage : The thirst of human beings off-stage is not directly attached with the action of the play but definitely affined to the catastrophe of the three passengers on the raft . They are no other than the readers or the audience having an acute thirst in their minds yearning for the rescue of the three passengers .They seem to visualise a God-sent rescue ship or a suddenly discovered island full of sustenance. Undeniably, every reader is empathetic enough to pray God for the survival of these three helpless. This type of thirst is quite common in human beings.

Only the thirst of the sharks, the nonhuman beings in sea, is fulfilled because of its very nature. There is no impropriety in this type of thirst as food is the basic need of living beings. Impropriety and improbability are there  in the expectation of these shipwrecked passengers as well as the readers for the very catastrophic situation of the life raft on the vast sea beyond the human territory which is, as if, beyond the notice of God. 

    

A Brief Summary Of Eugene O' Neill's Famous Play Thirst

                            

The Dramatist

Eugene O' Neill ( 1888 - 1953 ) was an American Dramatist who wrote about 50 plays . ‘Thirst’ , a one act tragedy that bears the testimony of Neill’s efficiency and potentiality was published in 1914 . O’ Neill’s forte is tragedy and his tragedies are more concerned with the deeper psychologic matters of human life . Some social issues like racial biasness , capitalist exploitation , oppression etc. are manifested in his literary creation . A sense of insecurity is resonated in some of his plays . It is likely for the instability in his boyhood when Neill had to accompany his father James O’ Neill on  long acting tours . The tragic vision of life of Eugene O' Neill was shaped as he had to undergo a number of shocking experience in his early life . This prolific dramatist Eugene O' Neill was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936 . 

Brief Summary 

After a shipwreck  three passengers: A Gentleman, A Dancer and A West Indian Mulatto Sailor somehow manage a steamer's life raft. The raft is floating on the tropic sea in extremely hot , writhing atmosphere, far out of the beaten track of steamers. The Dancer and the gentleman are extremely tired and thirsty, but the Sailor  is a little better of them. On the still surface of the sea some fins of sharks are seen surrounding the life raft. The Dancer who is in the middle and the Gentleman are engaged in talking while the West Indian Mulatto in blue uniform of a sailor croons a  monotonous negro song which the Sailor says a charm to control the sharks. The Sailor's round eyes follow the sharks' fins cutting circles around the raft. They are extremely thirsty: "How my throat burns!" says the Gentleman. Gradually they  lose their physical strength, mental power and hope for rescue. Though the Mulatto Sailor is the companion of same misfortune, the other two suspect that the former had stolen some water and kept it  hidden under his jersey and for occasional drinking the Sailor is stronger than them. They call him name with severe dirty terms like thief, pig, murderer etc. establishing the instance of dominating behaviour of the White over the Black. 

The Gentleman and the Dancer  are desperate to have some water from the Sailor. The Dancer offers the Sailor her diamond necklace of five thousand dollars for a little water. Being a failure she offers her beautiful body as the cost of a draught of water, but of no avail. The  scorching heat, terrible thirst and horrible pelagic atmosphere gradually snatch their sanity. The Dancer, almost in a frantic way starts dancing on the raft, tears  down her dress and the Gentleman plays the role of orchestra by clapping hands. The Dancer  dies and her almost naked body lies on the raft. Seeing the dead body the silent Sailor with all anthropophagous nature sharpen his knife and says:  "We  shall eat. We shall drink." The Gentleman makes out that the sailor is going to be a cannibal very soon  but he does not allow it and pushes the dead body into the sea. The Sailor stabs the Gentleman who falls backward in the sea, but somehow clutches the jersey of the Sailor who also plunges headlong after the Gentleman. All the three who were on the raft are now in the water and at the mercy of the sharks. This gluttonous creatures which were waiting for such a long period quench their thirst and leave the place. The raft is floating in the silent sea with the diamond necklace on it sparkling. 

  The flashback of the play provides us with some information  
about the wrecked ship  and about  the  getting of these three 
passengers on the raft. They were in the salon of the ship and 
a concert  was going on.The   Gentleman says that the Dancer 
was singing a song. A woman beside the Gentleman was prais- ing the unparalleled beauty of the Dancer :"How pretty she is ! I wonder if she is married ?" Everybody of the assemblage was in a gay mood and suddenly the tragedy happened. All present there were thrown forward on the floor of the salon due to the massive jerking of the crash. Screams. oaths and fainting started following a stampede. The Gentleman says that he was on the deck fighting in the midst of the crowd for a place on the life-boat. He somehow managed a place on a boat but it was swamped because of being overloaded. He swam to another but the passengers on that boat hit him with the oars and he failed to get on it. That boat was also swamped. Something huge rushed by the Gentleman who understood that it was a shark. He became livid with terror and swam desperately beating the cold water with hands. He suddenly found a white thing before him, he clutched it and climbed on this raft. No, not in normal position ,he fainted then, moaning ... The Gentleman says : " It is strange that you and he should be on a raft alone when so many died for lack of a place." The 
Dancer could not say anything about her rescue on this life-boat :"Everything in my memory is blurred."She only provides the information that  the Second Officer of the ship, the tall handsome young Englishman, loved the dancer and he kissed her. The Gentleman becomes certain that it was the Second Officer who tried to save the life of the Dancer and placed her on this raft.