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The Sun-Baked Speculator
Tom Ryan
03-Feb-2006
To Be Long or Not To Be Long, That Is The Question, by Tom Ryan
Inspired by Dr. Castaldo's excellent post, I thought I would write a bit about Elizabethan theater. In 2004 and 2005 I undertook in the spirit of self improvement a renewed study of Shakespeare which culminated in a part in the Arizona Theater Company's production of Macbeth. To prepare, I re-read most of the plays, read Norwich's Shakespeare's Kings, rented and viewed 11 of the film productions, and listened to 36 hours of lecture by Dr. Peter Saccio of Dartmouth. I highly recommend the lectures on CD/tape by Saccio; not only are they highly informative and insightful but are engaging and easy to listen to as well. My favorite screen adaptations are the 1935 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the 1953 version of Julius Caesar, the 1965 film of Othello starring Olivier, the 1966 version of the Taming of the Shrew with Richard Burton, the 1979 version of Macbeth with Ian McClellan and Judi Dench, and all three of the 1990's films by Kenneth Branagh, in particular his Henry V.
While refraining from praise, criticism, or analysis, I would like to point out that there are some interesting structural parallels between speculating and the plots of Shakespeare's plays. Although the plays have traditionally been characterized as "Comedies", "Histories", and "Tragedies", these distinctions are quite arbitrary in many respects as the comedies can have humorous (Taming of the Shrew) and tragic (12th night) endings, the histories can end in calamity (Richard III) or victory (Henry V), and the tragedies can be resolved heroically (Malcolm regaining the throne in Macbeth) or terribly (Othello's suicide). The much better description of most of Shakespeare's plays is that they are "test of character plays"; even where the plot involves mainly farce there are usually several important underlying issues that are examined thru the actions of a few main characters. All of the plays occur in five acts, and in each play the first act introduces us to the problem which must be resolved before the end of the play. Much like Beethoven's first movements often set the stage for the remainder of the symphony, Shakespeare does likewise in all his plays. The themes involve desire and one's ability or inability to fulfill that desire whether the desire is for a lover, political power, or money. Obstacles to fulfillment are placed within the plot, sometimes these are external, but mostly they are internal as hard choices are forced upon the main characters as events unfold. How the characters respond to situations and what choices they make is what makes all of the plays interesting and relevant to us 400 years after their first production.
One of the principal techniques that causes us to come back to these plays time and time again is that Shakespeare simultaneously uses both private and public dialogue. Shakespeare explores in nearly every play the dichotomy between public and private behavior (Romeo and his secret love for Juliet, Angelo publicly punishing people for the same sins he conducts in private in Measure for Measure). This allows the audience to see into the inner workings of the characters minds while following the overall external action as it unfolds (for a notable example we have Hamlet). Technically, Shakespeare invented the individual soliloquy which really does not play a role in classical Greek theater, and often he intermingles within the same scene private conversation on one part of the stage with public dialogue on another.
The reason why this technique is so important and should be of interest to speculators is that it facilitates the main theme in all of the plays no matter what category they might be placed, which is an awakening, or self realization (anagnorisis) by one or more of the main characters during the course of the play. It is also a reason why the metaphysical references (ghosts) to heaven and hell exist in many of the plays, as the changes and self realizations are presented literally as soul defining moments. One of the distinguishing characteristics between the tragic endings and the heroic endings in the plays is often the timing when this sudden anagnorisis occurs, usually too late in the tragic cases. To emphasize the importance of the anagnorisis, Shakespeare also uses other contrasting characters who make no progress at all in their personal growth, including some of his more famous supporting characters such as Iago in Othello, Malvolio in 12th night, Shylock in the Merchant of Venice, and Falstaff in Henry IV.
The captivating feature with these plays is that the audience also undergoes a type of anagnorisis in parallel with the plot and develops a clearer picture of the true nature of the main characters as the plays unfold. More importantly, this understanding always occurs for the audience before the characters actually come to the see it in themselves. Hence this tension is what creates the buildup and drama no matter what category the play might be in. By the end of Act V some version of this self realization finally occurs on stage resolving the plot one way or another, with one of the more famous being King Lear on his death bed after havoc has claimed his kingdom, "Oh I am a very foolish fond old man".
I find the parallels with speculating almost too numerous to mention, what with the daily themes generally presented at the open, the numerous obstacles that accost us at each turn during the course of the day or week and then the final moment of truth at the close. The key note here being that in speculating, there is also both a public and private dialogue going on between the speculators, the news, and the market price, and the process of price discovery is not unlike the process of self realization presented in the plays. As speculators and traders we are always on a journey of self realization as to whether we are correct or false in our positions, whether we are deluding ourselves with false beliefs or if our compass is properly aligned, and whether we can be remain humble in our few victories and resilient from our many mistakes. All the traders are indeed on a big stage yet trading is a very personal business, and we feel the same arrows of fortune as people in Elizabethan times felt.