So, what would Shakespeare make of the dramatis personae of the 2008 election? Perhaps the best way to try to answer the question is to examine Shakespeare's leaders and their parallels to our candidates.
Leaving aside too-easy comparisons to the aged King Lear, it's tempting to imagine patriotic war hero John McCain as Shakespeare's type of politician. But in Shakespeare, former military men -- Othello, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, Henry Bolingbroke -- tend not to fare well. They are usually too hardened to make effective leaders. Perhaps the closest Shakespearean character to the former POW McCain is Coriolanus. A triumphant Roman soldier, gravely battle-scarred, he "hath deserved worthily of his country" and is appointed consul.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, March 23, 2008 Home Edition Opinion Part M Page 3 Editorial pages Desk 1 inches; 42 words Type of Material: Correction
Shakespeare: An article in the March 16 Opinion section about how William Shakespeare might view the 2008 presidential race stated that Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and Thomas Kyd were murdered. It should have stated that the three were either tortured or murdered.
But Coriolanus has no respect for the "mutable, rank-scented many." Of Greek democracy, he says: "Though there the people had more absolute power, I say, they nourish'd disobedience, fed the ruin of the state." Like McCain, Coriolanus is prone to fits of snarkiness. Coriolanus calls the plebs "dissentious rogues" and "scabs" to their faces. The commoners are shocked: "He used us scornfully: He should have show'd us his marks of merit, wounds received for his country." When the Hydra-headed mob turns against him, Coriolanus vengefully allies with the enemy's army and ends up murdered as a traitor. A war hero, to be sure. But like so many of Shakespeare's soldier-kings, unfit for civilian leadership.
Barack Obama brings to mind several Shakespearean leaders. Is he Richard II? A regal, well-spoken, graceful monarch, Richard is unquestionably the greatest orator of the Shakespearean kings. But he's a hapless ruler who indulges in excessive spending to support a corrupt court and ill-advised foreign wars. His reign ends in a shambles. No, on second thought, there are other American leaders more analogous to Richard.
What of young Prince Hal? His youthful carousing in the taverns of London is certainly reminiscent of Obama's self-described teenage years as a pot-smoking "goof-off." But after ascending the throne as Henry V, a brash, vigorous Hal becomes the "mirror of all Christian kings," using his passionate oratory to inspire his troops to victory at Agincourt and his personal charm to sweep the French princess Katherine off her feet, and thus France itself under British dominion. If that is to be Obama's career arc, Shakespeare would surely approve.
