Studying Shakespearean plays means exploring the playwright’s matchless craftsmanship in character portrayal. Yes, Shakespeare’s vivid characterization to date successfully retains its unrivaled excellence of dramatic artistry.
Undoubtedly, possessing the skill of producing lifelike portraiture through words is a rare trait. And William Shakespeare is perhaps the most outstanding pioneer in this field.
The famous playwright achieved this excellence by producing plays in different yet captivating contexts. And readers could taste that magnificent superiority in lucid yet striking characterization through comparative and contrasting studies of characters in these plays.
Brutus and Cassius in Julius Caesar and Prince Hamlet and Laertes in Hamlet are two great examples of pairs signifying the said contrast.
According to experts, Shakespeare uniquely unites or merges two or more stories in one play to deliver this contrast. Also, this feature of combining more than one story boosts the required atmosphere in a drama. The famous play King Lear perfectly shows how the combination intensifies the required tragic atmosphere in it.
Nearly all Shakespearean works reveal how different human figures from different walks of life shape the central theme of every play. And this accession of various human characters shows the English dramatist’s profound knowledge of a variety of things. The beginning part of The Tempest and the trial scene in The Merchant of Venice suggest this matchless quality of Shakespeare.
The introductory part of The Tempest portrays how delicately effective and proper steering of a ship in a severe storm takes place. This portraiture of the situation is impossible without accurate knowledge of the appropriate shipping method in the storm. Also, the error-free trial scene in The Merchant of Venice suggests Shakespeare’s deep understanding of the law and legal terms.
The unique mastery of understanding various situations in different contexts is an unmatchable quality of William Shakespeare. Neither the contemporary authors of his time nor the playwrights of later periods showed that artistry in their works. Shakespeare’s vivid characterization still gets identified as exceptional brilliance. For readers, it is a captivating mystery.
