عبارت های سوماتیک از داغداری و اندوه و بیماری های روان تنی در آثار ویلیام شکسپیر

Abstract Objective To find out if Shakespeare, famed for his insights into human nature, is exceptional in how much his characters express grief through somatic symptoms and signs, and by physical illness. Methods The texts of all large-scale works currently attributed to Shakespeare (39 plays, 3 long narrative poems) were systematically searched for bodily changes and for evidence of grief as dominating the character's emotional state at the time. The findings were compared with those from a search of 46 works, similar in genre, by 15 prominent playwrights active at the same time as Shakespeare. Results In Shakespeare 31 different grief-associated symptoms or signs were found, in 140 instances. They are present in all but two of his plays and long poems and involve most systems of the body. With non-Shakespearean writers there were 26 kinds, 132 instances. Twenty-two changes are common to both groups, including fainting, death (sudden or after a decline), and wrinkled face, and symptoms such as malaise, fatigue, awareness of the heart-beat, and anorexia. Ten somatic expressions of grief were found only in Shakespeare, including hyperventilation, hair turning white and premature childbirth. Four were found only in his contemporaries but were trivial or unconvincing. Deaths and non-fatal illnesses are prevalent in Shakespeare. Conclusions Grieving Shakespearean characters exhibit many somatic symptoms and signs and a wide range of psychosomatic illnesses. This panoply of psychosomatic phenomena may be an artistic artefact but it also confirms that Shakespeare's empathy with grieving humanity was unrivalled.

Introduction Among the many claims to fame of William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is what the 18th century poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge called his ‘myriad-mindedness’ [1], meaning his ability to inhabit the psyche of every possible kind of human being. This has long been seen to include the ability to express every kind of human emotion. In 1664, in the first published criticism of Shakespeare's works, the Duchess of Newcastle, a respected playwright herself, asserted that “he presents passions so naturally … as pierces the souls of his readers … [and] forces tears through their eyes” [2] while, in our own day, the cognitive scientist Steven Pinker has called him “that great intuitive psychologist” [3]. To playgoers and readers he is the great exposer of human frailty but, heretofore, this has not been seen to include a tendency to express emotions through bodily changes, nor a proneness to psychosomatic illness. Nor have these tendencies been noticed by doctors who have written about medical aspects of Shakespeare [4], [5], [6] and [7], one of whom counted no fewer than 712 medical references in his work. The present author's research over several years has shown that Shakespeare's characters are indeed prone to show their emotions through bodily changes and that these changes involve all systems of the body, ranging from sudden death to subtle change in the appearance of the eyes [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15] and [16]. Some of these changes are found in the works of Shakespeare's contemporaries but most occur less often [13], [14], [15] and [16]. For example, Shakespeare uses sensory disturbances like vertigo, fatigue and dyspnoea as markers of emotion much more than his contemporaries [16]. An early finding was that characters who die as a result of strong emotion are all deeply grieving or sorrowful [9]. This raises questions, one of which is ‘Does Shakespeare portray grief through bodily changes more frequently or more variously than his contemporaries?’ Of course, death is the most extreme way in which a body can react to emotion. Therefore, a second question is ‘Do the characters of Shakespeare and his contemporaries experience psychosomatic illnesses, short of fatal ones?’ This paper seeks to answer these questions.

Results In Shakespeare 31 different grief-associated symptoms or signs were found, in 140 instances. They are present in all but two of his plays and long poems and involve most systems of the body. With non-Shakespearean writers there were 26 kinds, 132 instances. Of these, 22 are common to Shakespeare and his contemporaries and their frequency is similar, with only one statistically significant difference (Table 1). Facial pallor is just significantly commoner in Shakespeare but, as one among so many comparisons, the reality of the difference is questionable. Ten symptoms or signs of grief were found only in Shakespeare: trembling, panting (hyperventilation), pouting mouth, eyes reddened, eyes rolling, blunting of the senses, hair turning white (the King's beard on hearing news of the rebellion, according to Falstaff — 1 Henry IV 2.5.328), vomiting, premature childbirth (Hermione in The Winter's Tale-2.2.28) and toothache. These are all credible as psychosomatic phenomena by modern criteria, at least to a retired general physician like the author. Table 1. Somatic symptoms and signs associated with grief (n = 36) in the works of Shakespeare and those of his contemporaries, in descending order of their frequency in Shakespeare's works. The p values refer to the significance of the chi square test statistic comparing the number (%) of works mentioning the symptom in Shakespeare's works and in those of his contemporaries. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant Symptom/sign Shakespeare Contemporaries No. works Total instances Instances/work No. works Total instances Instances/work p 1 Facial pallor 20 28 1.4 11 15 1.4 0.036 2 Death, actual 10 16 1.6 5 7 1.4 0.18 3 Speech blocked or altered 8 14 1.8 12 12 1.0 0.59 4 Fainting 7 8 1.1 8 10 1.3 0.85 5 Frowning, furrowed brow 7 7 1.0 4 4 1.0 0.42 6 Wrinkled face 6 8 1.3 4 5 1.3 0.62 7 Eyes downcast 6 7 1.2 2 3 1.5 0.15 8 Malaise, illness 5 6 1.2 2 2 1.0 0.25 9 Fatigue 4 6 1.5 3 3 1.0 0.71 10 Insomnia 4 5 1.3 10 18 1.8 0.15 11 Drooping 4 4 1.0 8 16 2.0 0.36 12 Muscular weakness 4 4 1.0 1 1 1.0 0.19 13 Heart-consciousness 3 4 1.3 3 3 1.0 > 0.99 14 Trembling 3 3 1.0 0 0 0.11 15 Arrested movement 3 3 1.0 3 3 1.0 0.99 16 Anorexia 2 2 1.0 6 6 1.0 0.27 17 Faint feeling or faint spoken of 2 2 1.0 4 4 1.0 0.68 18 Panting, dyspnoea 2 2 1.0 0 0 0.23 19 Eyes dull 2 2 1.0 2 2 1.0 0.99 20 Bitter taste 2 2 1.0 1 1 1.0 0.60 21 Pouting mouth 2 2 1.0 0 0 0.23 22 Eyes buried, sunken, hollow 1 1 > 0.99 23 Eyes red 1 0 0.48 24 Eyes rolling 1 0 0.48 25 Senses blunted 1 0 0.48 26 Hair turning white 1 0 0.48 27 Vision disturbed 1 2 > 0.99 28 Vomiting, retching 1 0 0.48 29 Jerk or start 1 2 0.99 30 Premature childbirth 1 0 0.48 31 Toothache 1 0 0.48 32 Eyes elevated 1 2 > 0.99 33 Eyes staring 0 1 > 0.99 34 Diarrhoea 0 1 > 0.99 35 Abdominal discomfort 0 1 > 0.99 36 Headache 0 1 > 0.99 Table options Four symptoms or signs were found only in Shakespeare's coevals, but were rare. One, eyes staring, is unconvincing, suggesting surprise rather than grief, two are gastrointestinal – diarrhoea and abdominal distress – and the fourth is headache. In Shakespeare's works, illness caused by grief is of two very different kinds: a transitory malaise, and serious illness leading to death. Transient malaise is complained of by six acutely distressed characters: Shylock, Mowbray, Beatrice, Brutus, Timon and Cleopatra (Table 2). Table 2. The six Shakespearean characters who experience subjective illness at a time of grief. The plays are in chronological order of composition Character Their illness The circumstances Play and line reference Shylock “I am not well” He has just been publicly outwitted, impoverished and humiliated The Merchant of Venice 4.1.391 Mowbray “I am on the sudden something ill” A rebel, he has a premonition of his arrest for treason Henry the Fourth Part Two 4.1.306 Beatrice “I am exceeding ill” She is lovelorn for Benedick and cannot express it Much Ado About Nothing 3.4.44 Beatrice “I am sick” As above Much Ado About Nothing 3.4.61 Brutus “I am not well” He is in turmoil about the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar Julius Caesar 2.1.256 Timon “He's much out of health” He is facing financial ruin and desertion by his friends Timon of Athens 3.4.71 Cleopatra “I am sick” The imminent departure of Antony, her lover Antony and Cleopatra 1.3.13 Cleopatra “I am quickly ill and well” Depending on Antony's comings and goings Antony and Cleopatra 1.3.72 Table options Illness leading to death, or capable of doing so, occurs in a further seven characters (two of which are hypothetical): a hen-pecked husband, the Duchess of Gloucester, a lovelorn lady, Cardinal Beaufort, the boy Mamillius, Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon (Table 3). To the five actual deaths can be added the 9 grieving characters who die suddenly or with no details of a preceding illness, as listed elsewhere [9], plus an omission from that list, the jilted maid Barbary (Othello 4.3.25), making a grand total of 15 grief-related deaths in 10 works of the Shakespeare canon, against seven in five works of his coevals (p = 0.18) ( Table 4). Table 3. The seven Shakespearean characters who develop a fatal or potentially fatal illness at a time of grief. The plays are in chronological order of composition Character His/her illness Apparent cause of their sorrow Play and line reference Cardinal Beauforta Bed-ridden, raving Guilt at conspiring in Gloucester's murder Henry VI Part Two 3.3.28 A henpecked husband (says the Abbess) “a huge infectious troop of pale distemperatures and foes to life” “Sweet recreation barred” The Comedy of Errors 5.1.79 Duchess of Gloucestera Unspecified, but she dies four scenes after predicting her death She is “desolate” at husband's murder, no justice in sight Richard II 1.2.73 and 2.2.97 Lovelorn ladies (jests Portia, in male disguise) “they fell sick and died” Their supposed love rejected (by Balthasar = Portia) The Merchant of Venice 3.4.71 Mamillius, young son of Leontesa Anorexic and insomniac, he “languished” and died Unwarranted disgrace and imprisonment of his mother, Hermione The Winter's Tale 2.3.13 and 3.2.142 Cardinal Wolseya Falls sick and dies within a few days His disgrace and impending trial Henry VIII 4.2.12 Queen Katherine (of Aragon)a Gradually goes off her legs and dies Her unwarranted disgrace and rejection by the King Henry VIII 4.2.2 and 4.2.165 a Actual deaths. Table options Table 4. Non-Shakespearean characters who become ill and/or die at a time of mental distress. The works are in alphabetical order of authors Character His/her illness Context of their sorrow Work and line reference Author Bellaria, Queen of Bohemiaa “she fell down presently dead” News that her son had died Pandosto 32.7 (source for The Winter's Tale) Robert Greene Egistus, King of Sicily “a quartan fever” His son's “reckless folly” in wooing a shepherdess Pandosto 93.1 Robert Greene King Edward IV “I am not well”, “sudden sickness” Utterly smitten by married Jane Shore King Edward IV Part 1 16.164, 190 Thomas Heywood Jane Shorea “I feel cold death doth seize my heart” Guilt at having deceived her husband King Edward IV Part 2 22.85 Thomas Heywood Master Shorea “inconstant world, farewell” His wife's having caved in to the King King Edward IV Part 2 22.114 Thomas Heywood Hero's wooersa “pined as they went … and died” Rejected by Hero Hero and Leander line 130 Christopher Marlowe Mellidaa Faints and dies At (false) news of husband Antonio's death Antonio's Revenge 4.3.97, 166 John Marston Duke Pietro “I am not well” About to witness his wife's infidelity The Malcontent 2.3.67 John Marston Father of Vindice and Hippolitoa “He fell sick … and died in sadness” The Duke's displeasure (“the infection of thy frowns”) The Revenger's Tragedy 1.1.126, 3.5.171 Thomas Middleton Dukea “I cannot endure [SD Dies]”b Finding his wife in flagrante The Revenger's Tragedy 3.5.223 Thomas Middleton Footnote: The “I am not well” of Frankford in Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness is excluded because it refers to a headache (“megrim”) (8.187, 196). a Character dies. b SD stage direction. Table options There are no identifiable instances in the Shakespeare canon of psychosomatic illness being chronic and non-fatal. However, there are characters who throw off illness when under high emotion. In Henry the Fourth Part Two, Northumberland excuses himself from joining the rebellion through being sick but, when he hears that his son has been killed in action, he says “these news, / Having been well, that would have made me sick, / Being sick, have in some measure made me well” (1.1.137). There was anger behind this remark, more perhaps than grief. Then there is the case of the conspirator Caius Ligarius who comes to see Brutus with a handkerchief on his head (a customary sign of sickness) and, on hearing that the plot is going ahead, declares with delight “I here discard my sickness”, throwing down the kerchief. (Julius Caesar 2.1.319). I found nothing equivalent in Shakespeare's coevals. In the works of Shakespeare's coevals there are only two transient psychosomatic illnesses (King Edward IV and Duke Pietro, see Table 4), versus the six in Shakespeare. The “quartan fever” of Egistus is an obscure entity with no equivalent in Shakespeare except perhaps the “quotidian” (fever) jokingly equated with unrequited love by Rosalind in As You Like It (3.2.330).