A Short Note on Shakespeare’s Characters from Preface to Shakespeare

 According to the Preface to Shakespeare, the celebrated criticism of Samuel Johnson on the works of the greatest dramatists of all times, Shakespearean characters were 'faithful mirror' of nature. They are not 'modified by the customs of particular places' which are 'unpractised by the rest of the world'. Also, these characters are not the representative of certain profession or temporary fashion which has application only to a small number of audience. According to Johnson, "they are the genuine progeny of common humanity." He opines that Shakespearean characters are eternal, available in all times and all places of common people's lives.

The emotions upon which they act and talk are also found in every human mind. Shakespeare's characters are 'commonly a species'. And, yet, all of them are clearly 'distinct from each other'. "Shakespeare has no heroes; his scenes are occupied only by men, who act and speak as the reader thinks that he should himself have spoken or acted on the same occasion." In his play, a senator of Rome can play a buffoon. It's because "his story requires Romans or kings, but he thinks only on men. He knew that Rome, like every other city, had men of all dispositions; and wanting a buffoon, he went into the senate-house for that which the senate-house would certainly have afforded him." Thus, he overlooked "the casual distinction of country and condition" while drawing up his characters.

I personally support the arguments of Johnson in this regard. I think when a drama represents human life in a natural way, it should not discriminate between class, race and nation to project positive or negative sides of it. King Lear is as much a father as Shylock the Jewish usurper. Edmund the bastard is as much a policy maker as the wise duke Prospero. At the same time, I agree with Johnson that a character wins the heart of the most number of people when it's emotions are relatable to them and felt by them. Thus, friendship, love and honesty should be counter balanced by follies like ambition, fear and pride in equal proportions in dramatic characters. Othello and Macbeth are great examples of this balance.