Another quick post, this time after perusing Gildon’s Miscellaneous Letters and Essays (1694). I spotted two things here. First, that this text contains an early hypothesis about Shakespeare being influenced by the theatrical conditions of his time, with the idea that “the Person that Acted Iago was in much esteem for a Comedian”, so “Shakespeare put several words, and expressions into this part (perhaps not so agreeable to the Character) to make the Audience laugh, who had not yet learnt to endure to be serious a whole Play.” The phrase is useful for its disapproval of both audience and actor.

Still in Gildon’s discussion of Othello, there’s an interesting attempt at a biography for Othello, well before Richardson or Morgann attempted the same thing.

Supposing him therefore, the son or Nephew of the Emperor of Monomotopa, Aethiopia or Congo, forc’d to leave his Country for Religion, or any other occasion, coming to Europe by the convenience of the Portuguese Ships, might after several Fortunes, serve first as a Volunteer till he had signalised himself, and proved himself worthy of Command; part of this may very reasonably be drawn from what the Poet makes him say. [i.e. “I fetch my Life and Being from Men of Royal Siege” – quoted later]

As with other biographies of dramatis personae the normal argument is to suggest that this detaches such characters from the play they are in. Again, however, I would point out that this passage actually arises as a way of defending Shakespeare’s Othello from Rhymer’s criticism that Venice’s employment of a Moor as general is improbable and therefore breaks all dramatic illusion. By positing an extra-textual life story for Othello, Gildon is interested in showing the coherence of the stage performance, the fact that it is possible to get lost within it, whatever Rhymer says.

This little piece will make a useful addition to the analysis of Shakespeare and dramatic illusion. Although such a pairing might be a bit odd (aren’t all plays engaged in dramatic illusion), it certainly seems that Shakespeare’s works are the only one to provoke such anxiety so regularly: I can’t think of any hypothetical biographies of Jaffeir, for example…