Like such an instrument, that speaks merry things sadly.
[IV, ii, 22-29. My italics]
The change of tongue to which Hippolito refers is not a vocal or dialect change, but as the context clearly shows, a change of temperament or manner.
Occasionally, but rarely, a dialect aids a disguise. Generally, Shakespeare seems to call upon the actor to change his voice somewhat more than his fellow dramatists seem to have done. There are four examples of change excluding the instance of Kent examined above. In the non-Shakespearean plays only one instance occurs. However, it is equally necessary to note that in the disguises of Rosalind and Viola, particularly that of the latter, Shakespeare is careful to show that the voices do not change.
A change in face is rarely employed in disguise. Only one case certainly occurs in Shakespeare, that of Feste in Twelfth Night, though two others probably occur. In the non-Shakespearean plays there is only one case of facial disguise. Where facial disguise is introduced, it is always in highly simplified form. Of the four certain and possible examples, two require beards, one depends upon a smirched face, and one introduces a false scar.
In all disguises simplicity is the keynote. Several discoveries of the disguised character’s identity require speed in changing costume. The friars remove their hoods to identify themselves. Others may remove a hat or some other part of clothing. Often recognition of the true person comes only when the character names himself. Generally the surprise and wonderment of the other characters at the revelation of the disguise is out of proportion to the device of revelation or the means of disguise. That disproportion emphasizes the conventional element in disguise.
Disguise staging is simple, nominal, and somewhat standardized. At the same time the authors take some pains to make the disguise credible to the other characters. Several scenes occur where the disguised figure is not known in his true person to the other character or characters. In those situations mere assertion of the disguise is sometimes sufficient. In the disguise of Old Flowerdale in The London Prodigal a false scar, removed at the end, is a symbol of disguise. Yet in the same play Luce assumes a maidservant’s dress and a Dutch accent in order to parade as a Dutch “vrow.” Here again the conventional scene is tempered by efforts to account plausibly for the disguise. By and large, symbolic methods play little part in effecting disguise. That is why I have introduced the adjective “nominal.” Through uncomplicated means, such as a change of dress, disguise is signified to the audience. But the completeness of the disguise is insufficient to convince an audience that the character would pass undetected. In that sense it is nominal, a token of disguise, without becoming a sign of a deeper disguise, that is, without becoming symbolic. Shakespeare is slightly more realistic in his treatment of disguise than are his colleagues. But the differences are too minute to count. The most complete disguises in Shakespeare, involving all four means examined above, are those of Feste and Edgar. In each case the completeness, as Maria says of Feste,[17] is not to ensure disguise but to elicit for Feste richer comedy and for Edgar deeper pathos and sharper contrast with the mad Lear. Disguise scenes are usually staged according to recurrent principles which are varied no more than the narrative or dramatic purpose demands.
To draw a detailed picture of staging at the Globe, it would be desirable to consider all the recurrent scenes minutely. But this is not feasible in a study of this length. Instead, I must depend upon the dissection of several types of scenes which can best reflect Globe conditions. The remaining scenes which I shall describe, because of the nature of the material or the preciseness of the evidence, complement the scenes already examined. These include the appearances of ghosts, the delivery of greetings and farewells, and the reports of messengers.
There are eight ghost sequences in the Globe plays, six in Shakespeare’s plays,[18] two in The Devil’s Charter. The prologue of A Warning for Fair Women, a pre-Globe play, contains evidence that the ghosts were physically represented by being shrouded in a sheet or leather pilch (Sig. A2r). However, Hamlet’s father is specifically described as “Arm’d at all points” (I, ii, 200). In the First Quarto a stage direction specifies that the Ghost wears “a night gown” in Act III, scene iv (Sig. G2v), although Hamlet describes him as being in his habit as he lived (III, iv, 135). These contradictions would indicate that there was no regular practice for costuming a ghost.