Shakespeare Used Music in His Works William

¶ … Shakespeare used Music in his Works

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright and poet, is recognized all over the world as the greatest dramatist of all times. His plays have been performed more times than those of any other dramatist and have been translated in almost every major language. (Kastan) While many aspects of Shakespeare's plays have been discussed and analyzed, it is perhaps not so widely known that music has also played an important role in many of his plays. In this paper we shall review the historical background of music in the Shakespearian era and discuss how and why music was used in Shakespeare's works. The type of music used by the playwright as well as some examples of music in specific plays shall also be described.

Historical Background of Music in the Shakespearian Era

The 16th century in which Shakespeare was born was a period when England was emerging as a strong Protestant nation. The arts and literature were flourishing and Queen Elizabeth was a great patron of music in particular. Street musicians playing the bass violist or tabor and the pipe or ballads and traditional folk songs were a common sight in the busy markets of the time. ("Music of the Streets & fairs") Sophisticated madrigals and instrumental music was played in the Court and in the houses of the educated. Shakespeare must have been exposed to both types of music, which he later used in his plays. ("Shakespeare and Music") It was customary in Tudor and Stuart drama to include at least one song in every play. Only in the most profound tragedies, no music was used except for the sounds of trumpets and drums. In his later tragedies, Shakespeare defied even this practice as he used songs to moving effect in Othello, King Lear, and Hamlet. (Springfels)

There were different ways in which music was incorporated in the plays of the period. A special musicians' gallery above the stage was common; sometimes music was played directly on the stage, and occasionally even from under the stage to achieve special effects. ("Shakespeare and Music") In general, dramas produced at court were much more lavish than those staged by the professional companies in public theaters; hence the music of both differed. While large instrumental ensembles provided incidental music accompanying songs in the plays staged at the court, the ones produced in public theaters had to make do with much-reduced musical resources. In such plays it was common for one boy-actor to sing and play an instrument or, sometimes, for adult actors, especially those specializing in clown roles, to sing as well. (Springfels)

Music in Shakespeare's Plays

Shakespeare recognized the ability of both instrumental and vocal music to adapt to the stage. Although he sometimes used new compositions (i.e., by writing his own lyrics) most of the songs used in his dramatic works were previously written songs (often popular music such as ballads that were familiar to the audience) adapted to fit the work. (Lackey)

Vocal Songs

Shakespeare also adopted the prevalent practice of assigning mainly boy-actors to sing the vocal songs in his plays. The characters assigned to sing the songs in his plays are usually the servants, clowns, fools, rogues, and minor personalities. Major characters are rarely made to sing. Examples of boy-musicians singing are the drinking song, "Come, thou monarch of the vine" in Anthony and Cleopatra and "Sigh no more, ladies" in Much Ado About Nothing.

Shakespeare often used vocal music to evoke a particular kind of mood, as in "Come, thou monarch." He also uses the songs to provide ironic commentary on plot or character. The incantatory, magical, and ritual uses of song are particularly also central to the themes of plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and Macbeth. Shakespeare also used songs to establish the character or mental state of the singer. For example, in King Lear Edgar feigns madness by singing snatches of folk song, while Ophelia's singing of folk song in Hamlet demonstrate the regressive breakdown of her personality. (Springfels)

Ballads

Shakespeare has used ballads extensively in his works. The ballads were usually cut short to three or four stanzas and used only in part. The reasons for this could be that most of the popular ballads of the time were too lengthy to be used in a play, and perhaps the lyric of a ballad as a whole might not have been complementary to the plotline of the play. (Lackey)