The cultivation of pity on the Elizabethan stage

Toria Anne Johnson

As a term, "pity" carries a huge load and seemingly innumerable definitions. Do we use it to indicate contempt and superiority? Compassion and mercy? Is it a good thing to be pitied, or something to be avoided at all costs? This piece begins with a consideration of the term itself - seeking to illuminate how we understand pity in common parlance and how the term has evolved since through language and literature. Though most would agree that being pitiful is an unappealing prospect in the real world, the emotion takes on a different significance and value when used on the stage. I argue that William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe use pity to highlight certain characters and render them more compelling to the audience. This distinction is made particularly interesting by the disparity: often the characters that are crafted to inspire audience sympathy are somehow fundamentally unappealing. By distinguishing certain characters through pity, both Shakespeare and Marlowe take advantage of the benefits of theater - using the audience's distance from the onstage action to render appealing what might otherwise be repugnant or contemptible. In the first chapter, I consider the application of pity in comedy, focusing particularly on the villains or irritants of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest. This section investigates the existence of pity in comedy, and considers the ways in which the application of pity onstage differs from our experience with it offstage In the second chapter I consider the cultivation of pity for the fallen kings in the history plays of Shakespeare and Marlowe, focusing specifically on the title characters in Edward II and Richard II. The depiction of a king as pitiful provides a unique contrast, given the king's elevated social position. In presenting the image of a weak and pitiful king, the playwright effectively highlights the humanity of kingship, allowing the audience to consider the problems of kingship and the nuance of historical figures.

The cultivation of pity on the Elizabethan stage

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