Clown in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Comedy of Errors

Name Course Instructor Date Clown in the Plays The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Comedy of Errors The use of comedy is one of the common styles of the plays of William Shakespeare. His ability to portray the characters as fools makes them more interesting to the audience and brings out the comic concept in the plays. However, as he advanced in writing plays, Shakespeare changed the manner in which he presented the different characters after learning on how to effectively use clown to present his characters in the plays. One of his earliest plays is The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This is one of the earliest plays of Shakespeare which were written around 1592 and only published in the year 1623, 7 years after the death of Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote the play at the age of 27 years and it shows a conventionally plot construction, poor development of characters and the lack of well-developed philosophical deductive reasoning. This is very much unlike in his later play The Comedy of Errors which records indicate that it was written around 1594 based on the historical contexts of the play. This essay will evaluate the development in the two plays and the portrayals of the characters as fools through a critical analysis of various scenes where characters are portrayed as fools. The Two Gentlemen of Verona In The Two Gentlemen of Verona Launce and Speed are portrayed as some of the most interesting characters in the play not because of their ability to act but because of the way they combine witty in portraying the foolishness of their master. The two characters are portrayed as servants born to serve their masters, travel with their masters and who obey the directions of their masters and attend to Valentine and Proteus at their command. The two characters are portrayed as humorous and who are very observant at the actions of their masters and they always play around with words when talking to their masters. One of the most significant scenes is in the first act in the first scene where Speed communicates with a series of corrupted words which makes it incomprehensible to the other listeners. The corruption of these words such as pound and pinfold, sheep and ship, and the exclamation of “ay” to refer to the word “noddy” is what Porteus refers to as “silly”. These transliterations of words as done by Speed depicts his wit as these words only make it difficult for his listeners like Porteus to comprehend him hence making them appear as fools in the eyes of the audience. Porteus exclaims to Speed with a lot of sarcasm, he notes, “Beshrew me, but you have a quick wit," hearing Porteus comments Speed replies wittily and sarcastically: "And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse." Speed does not easily give in to the fact that Porteus has disapproved his way of communication but instead insists to show Porteus as a fool who cannot grasp meaning from his use of words that he considers simple and easily understood. Another significant incident and portrayal of witty and clown of Speed can be demonstrated in the Scene 1 act 2. The dialogue between Valentine and Speed is concentrated on the theme of love. Speed has travelled and through the travel his wisdom and wit has been sharpened through observance and can express his ideas in a brighter manner than before. On the other hand, Valentine, the master, has been overtaken by the love emotions and rarely can comprehend the words of Speed. In the dialogue, Val wants to know how Speed got to know that he is in love, Speed replies in a witty combination of metaphors which make Valentine a fool who cannot comprehend Speed’s simple combination of words. He says: Marry, by these special marks. First, you have learn'd, like Sir Proteus, to wreath your arms, like a malcontent; to relish a love-song, like a robin redbreast; to walk alone, like one that had the pestilence; to sigh, like a schoolboy that had lost his A B C; to weep, like a young wench that had buried her grandam; to fast, like one that takes diet; to watch, like one that fears robbing; to speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas. You were wont, when you laugh'd, to crow like a cock; when you walk'd, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you look'd sadly, it was for want of money; and now you are metamorphosed with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you are my master (Scene 1, act 2). Valentine does not comprehend all these and he asks Speed if all these (what Speed tells him) have been observed in him to show that he is in love. Speed replies “They are all perceived without ye. ... These follies are within you, and shine through you like the water ... that not an eye that sees you, but is a physician to comment on your malady.” This confuses Valentine further. Speed does not answer the question directly and when he answers, he answers in a manner that makes Valentine not understand what exactly he is talking about. Speed successfully presented Valentine as a fool in this dialogue. Launce is another character who’s witty in expression is similarly challenging to that of Speed. Launce appears in Act 3 scene 2 where the descriptions given by Launce about his love for his family and the Crab cannot be easily comprehended. His confusion on the shoes that he is wearing is one that is all combined with a series of words that make it difficult to comprehend. The misuse of the word “prodigious” and “perplexity” in the scene 3 act 2 is one that portrays him as an imbecile and unsure of what he is communicating. One of his notable communications where he results to confusion to the listener is in the dialogue between him and Panthino where he uses the words “tide” and “tied...