The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 27.358 Thursday, 27 October 2016
From: William Blanton <
Date: October 24, 2016 at 1:34:28 PM EDT
Subject: MV Dialog
Bassanio as Essex [cont. 3]
8. Bassanio/Essex connects to Alcides/Hercules
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
PORTIA: Now he goes
With no lesse presence, but with much more love
Then yong Alcides, when he did redeeme
The virgine tribute, paid by howling Troy
To the Sea-monster: I stand for sacrifice,
The rest aloofe are the Dardanian wives:
With bleared visages come forth to view
The issue of h’exploit: Goe Hercules,
Live thou, I live with much more dismay
I view the fight, then thou that mak’st the fray.
(3.2.53-62)
Jew: If I can catch him once upon the hip
(1.3.42)
Gratiano: … Now, infidel, I have you on the hip.
(4.1.330)
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE:
Hesione was a princess of Troy, daughter of King Laomedon. One of Laomedon’s uncles was Ganymede, whom Zeus abducted and took to Mount Olympus to be the cupbearer of the gods. Ganymede was a very lovely youth, and Zeus made him his lover. (Ganymede appears as a character at the beginning of Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage.) As recompense for the abduction of Ganymede, Zeus gave his father some special horses, which Laomedon inherited.
When Laomedon began building the walls of Troy, Apollo and Neptune saw that the work was not going well. They assumed the shapes of mortals and arranged with Laomedon to build the walls in exchange for gold. After they had built the walls Laomedon refused to pay.
Neptune punished Laomedon by flooding the entire area around Troy. In addition, he required that Laomedon sacrifice Hesione to a sea monster. Laomedon then bound Hesione to some rocks in the waters and awaited the sea monster.
Hercules came along and saw Hesione’s predicament. He offered to free her in exchange for the special horses. Laomedon agreed, but refused to pay up.
Hercules attacked Troy and killed Laomedon and almost all of his sons. However, Hercules let Hesione ransom one of her brothers and then gave her to Telamon. That brother was Priam, who married Hecuba. The two of them had a son named Paris, who absconded with Helen and caused the Trojan War.
SPECULATION:
Shakespeare had fun comparing Bassanio/Essex with Hercules. To most people, such a comparison would be a compliment. To the educated elite in the Essex/Southampton crowd, however, the comparison would have had two edges. While Hercules was a great hero, he had a number of faults, which the friends of Essex would have delighted in associating with him.
The symbol for Hercules was a wooden club. In most of his exploits, Hercules resorted to physical violence — much like the man whose only tool is a hammer [club] sees all his problems as nails. Essex was proud of his physical prowess and his ability as a leader of soldiers. He was constantly advocating for war, primarily with Spain. The Cecils, on the other hand, opposed full-scale war with Spain.
Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmena — a mortal woman — both of whom were married to others: Alcmena to Amphitryon; Zeus to Hera. When Hera found out, she developed a hatred for Hercules and decided to persecute him throughout his life, beginning in early childhood. Hera placed two poisonous snakes in his crib, but he killed both of them.
Elizabeth hated Lettice Knollys, mother of Essex. She was a grandniece of Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, and had known Elizabeth since childhood. After Lettice’s husband Walter died, Elizabeth refused to excuse a £10,000 debt (which Walter had incurred in connection with his military mission to Ireland), leaving Lettice and her family in dire straits.
Elizabeth was very close to Robert Duncan, Earl of Leicester. Leicester began an affair with Lettice while she was still married to Walter, much like Zeus had sort of an affair with Alcmena.
Leicester later married Lettice without Elizabeth’s knowledge and to her great exasperation. Leicester became stepfather to Essex — sort of like Zeus fathered Hercules — and introduced Essex to Elizabeth’s court.
Although Essex became Elizabeth’s favorite after Leicester died, she always kept Essex on a tight leash, knowing that he was totally dependent on her for financial support. She would occasionally do things that humiliated Essex, not quite driving him mad but at least driving him away from court to sulk for a time in private.
After the abortive Essex Rebellion, she had him beheaded, somewhat like Deianira killed Hercules with The Shirt of Nessus.
As a Roman hero, Hercules was quite virile. A certain King Thespius wanted Hercules to impregnate each of his 50 daughters, and Hercules obliged. The 51 sons that resulted colonized Sardinia.
Essex, too, was virile, cutting a wide swath through Elizabeth’s Ladies-in-Waiting.
As a Greek hero, Hercules (Alcides) was also a pederast. He took his boy Hylas along with him on the voyage with Jason. The Argonauts stopped at the port of Kios. Hylas went off with a pitcher to find a sacred stream so that he could get the right water for Hercules. A water-nymph fell in love with him at first sight and dragged him into the stream. Hercules was distraught, and let the rest of the Argonauts continue the quest while he remained behind to search for Hylas.
Essex, too, had a gay side.
Hera caused Hercules to go mad and to kill his family. As punishment, Hercules had to serve King Eurystheus for twelve years, and to perform twelve labors, some of which were:
Kill the Hydra, which eventually resulted in the Shirt of Nessus.
The Hind of Ceryneia. This was a female deer with hoofs of bronze and horns of gold. (The Golden Hind was the name of Drake’s ship.) This hind was sacred to Diana (Elizabeth).
The Erymanthean Boar. On the hunt for the Boar, Hercules shot Chiron (the centaur who raised Jason) with an arrow dipped in the blood of the Hydra. (Chiron gave his immortality to Prometheus.)
In various of his Labors, Hercules won a number of wrestling matches, with gods, men, and dangerous creatures. This reference probably applies more to Shylock/Jacob than it does to Bassanio/Essex.
The Duke of Alençon — whom Elizabeth almost married — was originally christened Hercules. However, he was so short and puny that the name became an embarrassment and was changed to Francis. This may have nothing to do with Bassanio/Essex; however, I figure that if I have made such an association with Hercules at this remove in time, then Shakespeare would certainly have been aware of it.
BASSANIO: How many cowards, whose hearts are all as false
As stayers of sand, weare yet upon their chins
The beards of Hercules and frowning Mars,
Who inward search, have lyvers white as milk,
And these assume but valors excrement,
To render them redoubted.
(3.2.83-88)
SPECULATION:
Like Bassanio, Essex was contemptuous of those courtiers who were not real soldiers, which he considered himself to be.
Respectfully
Bill