Arden of Faversham

These scenes introduce the rest of the play’s key conspirators, add further complexity to the botched attempts on Arden’s life, and introduce Mosby and Michael’s increasing doubt and paranoia.

The most notable characters introduced in these scenes are the ruffians Black Will and Shakebag. Describing the pair of criminals, Michael says that “two rougher ruffians never lived in Kent” (4.70). Bradshaw introduces them to Greene in the form of a warning. He says that it is widely known that Will “bears so bad a mind / That for a crown he’ll murder any man” (2.11-12). As such, Will and Shakebag’s characters illustrate the theme of Immorality for Individual Gain. They are chiefly motivated by money, and in fact, take pride in their work. They see themselves as professional murderers and criminals.

Despite this professionalism, Will and Shakebag introduce an element of slapstick comedy into the play, based on their interactions with one another and their failed attempts on Arden’s life. Will and Shakebag sometimes fight with one another in a way that detracts from their mission. When Will expresses drowsiness and a desire for the murder to be over with, Shakebag teases him mercilessly: “Nay then, let’s go to sleep when bugs and fears / Shall kill our courages with their fancy’s work” (5.19-20). He mockingly attributes Will’s professed drowsiness to fear. Will is offended by this insinuation and threatens to fight Shakebag once their task is done. In preparing to enter Arden’s house, Will says, “show me to this house, / Where thou shalt see I’ll do as much as Shakebag” (5.32-33). Committing the murder now becomes not only a job but an opportunity to one-up his companion.

This slapstick element persists through their attempts on Arden’s life. When they first prepare to kill him, a shop window closes on Will’s head. Will’s cries to “draw, Shakebag, draw” (3.49) cause a brawl among the tradesman that allows Arden to escape. Physical stage comedy such as this was often used to characterize ruffians as both comic and complex. Will and Shakebag call to mind Shakespeare’s infamously braggadocious and bumbling Falstaff.

In these scenes, it appears that providence somehow dictates Arden’s life and death. At every attempt on his life, Arden slips away none the wiser. And yet, unseen forces are always propelling him toward doom. Will claims that he has been divinely sanctioned since birth to take Arden’s life: “I am the very man / Marked in my birth-hour by the Destinies / To give an end to Arden’s life on earth” (3.152-154). He alludes to the Greek Fates, personifications of destiny who preside over mortals and their actions from birth to death.

Arden also feels providence affecting the course of his life, at least subconsciously. In Scene 6, he recounts a dream in which he is being hunted like a deer. The dream is so vivid, he says, that when he woke he “stood in doubt whether [he] waked or no” (6.29). Early modern English thought about dreams followed largely from classical sources, especially Plato, who held that people were given dreams so they could apprehend the truth. Franklin dismisses the dream, but the irony is that this dream is a providential warning: Arden is being hunted.

Finally, these scenes delve into the increasing doubt and paranoia felt by Michael and Mosby. Arden of Faversham is notable for its three-dimensional characters and their complexity of feeling. Characters experience a range of emotions rather than unflinching dedication to their cause. In Scene 4, Michael says that he feels “[c]onflicting thoughts emcampèd in my breast” (4.59). He feels guilt for promising to help kill Arden when Arden has been nothing but kind to him. However, he knows that Will and Shakebag “have sworn [his] death if [he] infringe [his] vow” (4.71). Michael’s panic in Scene 4 foreshadows his fatal paranoia in Scene 14.

Mosby, too, begins to develop paranoia in these scenes. In Scene 8, he reveals his “[d]isturbèd thoughts” and the “continual trouble of [his] moody brain” (8.1, 3). Mosby’s paranoia illustrates the theme of Class Tension and Social Mobility: only because he has climbed the social ladder and accumulated some wealth does he fear losing it. To preserve this, he will engage in Immoral Acts for Individual Gain. He plans to kill Greene, Clarke, Michael, and even Alice. He says, “such bees […] must never live to sting” (8.28). Once he takes Arden’s place, he believes these people will prey upon him for social mobility in turn, using their knowledge of the murder as leverage. As Scene 8 ends, characters grow increasingly frustrated with the failure of their plans, but simultaneously pledge their loyalty. Scene 8 ends with Mosby’s foreshadowing words to Alice: “I to the gates of death to follow thee” (8.166).