The Elizabethan Concept of Children in Shakespeare’s Plays
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This paper begins with the assumption that children are described in various works of the Shakespeare canon as “miniature adults,” in which they possess upon birth all the attributes which would be potentially manifested in their adulthood. Roles given to children lend themselves to this interpretation, and many line references to children further substantiate such a view, as Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing says, “[T]herein do men from children nothing differ.” This is an approach to Shakespeare based on the premise that blood was a chief reason since high aristocratic blood which endowed its possessor with many unlabored advantages was supposed to invest its container with an air of distinction that would manifest itself even in unlikely circumstances. So, Shakespeare's concern of the Elizabethan concept of children comes from the notion of order which was a very significant part of Elizabethan thought. For example, in The Merry Wives of Windsor, William Page pictures the Elizabethan idea of children as expressed by Shakespeare. The son of a gentleman, William is able to answer those questions which the servant, Quick, does not even understand. William is bewildered, yet very articulate and clever in his replies. Arthur in King John is another case of the Elizabethan idea of children, showing natural intellectuality or intuitive knowledge upon birth, which can not be explained by the Elizabethan aristocratic education. Arthur is represented as reflecting his gentle birthright, as much as Joan of Arc in Henry IV, Part 1 reflects her base heritage. This paper also deals with Lucius in Titus Andronicus, Clarence’s children of Richard III, the Macduff child in Macbeth, young Marcius in Coriolanus, and Mamillius in The Winter’s Tale.
Abstract
This paper begins with the assumption that children are described in various works of the Shakespeare canon as “miniature adults,” in which they possess upon birth all the attributes which would be potentially manifested in their adulthood. Roles given to children lend themselves to this interpretation, and many line references to children further substantiate such a view, as Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing says, “[T]herein do men from children nothing differ.” This is an approach to Shakespeare based on the premise that blood was a chief reason since high aristocratic blood which endowed its possessor with many unlabored advantages was supposed to invest its container with an air of distinction that would manifest itself even in unlikely circumstances. So, Shakespeare's concern of the Elizabethan concept of children comes from the notion of order which was a very significant part of Elizabethan thought. For example, in The Merry Wives of Windsor, William Page pictures the Elizabethan idea of children as expressed by Shakespeare. The son of a gentleman, William is able to answer those questions which the servant, Quick, does not even understand. William is bewildered, yet very articulate and clever in his replies. Arthur in King John is another case of the Elizabethan idea of children, showing natural intellectuality or intuitive knowledge upon birth, which can not be explained by the Elizabethan aristocratic education. Arthur is represented as reflecting his gentle birthright, as much as Joan of Arc in Henry IV, Part 1 reflects her base heritage. This paper also deals with Lucius in Titus Andronicus, Clarence’s children of Richard III, the Macduff child in Macbeth, young Marcius in Coriolanus, and Mamillius in The Winter’s Tale.
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