Johnson claims that with
Shakespeare's histories, the unites of time, place, and action are largely
irrelevant since, in his plays, "the changes of action be so prepared
as to be understood, that the incidents be various and affecting, and the
characters consistent, natural and distinct. No other unity is intended, and
therefore none is to be sought."
With his other works (comedies and
tragedies), Johnson adds that Shakespeare sustains the unity of action; even
when the events are out of order or superfluous, Shakespeare does stick to
Aristotle's linear progression of having a discernible beginning, middle, and
end.
In terms of time and place, the law
of the unities states that for a play to be credible (believable), the events
of the play should be limited to a particular place and the time limited to 24
hours. Otherwise, the audience will have trouble suspending disbelief
(believing the events could happen) which is to say the audience will have
trouble forgetting that they are watching a play. Johnson counters this by
saying that all plays are plays:
The
truth is, that the spectators are always in their senses, and know, from the
first act to the last, that the stage is only a stage, and that the players are
only players.
Therefore, these limitations based on
being credible to the audience cannot be applied. Johnson also adds that the
pleasure of watching theater is that it is fictional; it is not necessary that
they have to believe it could happen: "The delight of tragedy proceeds
from our consciousness of fiction; if we thought murders and treasons real, they
would please no more."
Johnson adds that "the unities
of time and place are not essential to a just drama . . . " and that
simply sticking to the rules does not make a drama good. That which makes
Shakespeare's plays "just" is how deeply they apply to human nature.
This is perhaps the most significant praise in the essay. For Johnson, there is
something true and universal about Shakespeare's appreciation of human nature
and this is what makes him timeless. Johnson notes that: "This therefore
is the praise of Shakespeare, that his drama is the mirror of life . . . "
Johnson
does fault Shakespeare for focusing too much on the convenience of the
storyline, therefore ignoring the use of his plays as instruction (showing how
good could/should triumph over evil). But overall, it is Shakespeare's ability
to copy nature (art imitating life), being believable or
unbelievable, that makes any of Shakespeare's so called faults irrelevant.
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