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Catalog
of the Shakespeare Art Collection -- Shakespeare
Rummy Deck
Index of Plays
- Index of Suits
- Alphabetic Index of
Characters
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Lady Montague: 
"Romeo & Juliet"
Of all the grown-ups in the play, she is the most decent. (Her age must be about 31-32) When her son Romeo is
banished, she dies of a broken heart. Her head is veiled as if in mourning, as she holds the wilted flower of her womb. The
blue-green ground shows her intense pride tho her skirt is modest. Her red bodice is full and maternal, collared in goodness and pinned with
constancy. The wide sleeves specify her aristocratic rank but they are lined with sympathy and devotion. Her merit is indicated in the sash
and girdle but it too is stitched denoting compromise to conformity, perhaps pressured by a domineering, status-seeking husband. The emblem
on her lower left is the wheel of fortune but the good Lady M has lost her turn...and we only go around ONCE!
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Malvolio:
 "Twelfth Night"
A status-seeker, definitely Olivia's steward, he is dull, drab and tedious like his obscure background and robe trimmed in lowly brown. His fantasizing and illusions of grandeur shown by the prominent crest over his arm) make him vulnerable to the jibes and jests of the fun-makers. His sleeve like the shield
bears the status symbol of the household to which he is loyal, as his purple gown testifies The two-way stripes reveal his distraction and embarrassment, hinted in his face. He wears a conspicuous pendant of administrative authority but it does not conceal his servility. A conceited prude, he got the starch knocked out of him in the closet.
I know it's not nice to laugh at the wretchedness of others, but Mal is something else again. |
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Mercutio:  "Romeo
& Juliet"
Truly a Fated-One. Restless and excitable, he got involved in a quarrel that was not his and paid with his life. His loyalty to Romeo is shown by the blue mantle which bears the fate star. The red sash and hat show his ardor, and the light blue tunic, his decency, (Tho his comments were often brash and bawdy.) The browns on his yoke and sleeve and the sienna ground indicate his earthiness. The light yellow-green of youth on his full sleeve is Imprisoned in black bars, his untimely death, also shown in the black behind him and under his mantle. His tongue was as sharp as his sword. He was passionate and poetic, with a mordant wit.
Piteous, piteous
"A plague on both your houses".
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Mistress Overdone:  "Measure
for Measure"
A real human being and truth-teller, The full, red bosom implies emotion and strong maternal feelings, also seen in her warm, kind face crowned in a high hat with veils and striped ribbons to mark her profession; the Madam in a bawdy
house, yet her background shows morality. Her apron, in the yellows of honesty cover a vertically striped skirt, showing she is upright. Her wide open sleeve of friendship, banded in loyalty offers the wine of life, with more to come from the pitcher held in a hand cuffed in generosity, passion, truth, sympathy and simplicity. The butterfly necklace is a symbol of the soul. She is both tender and tough.. considering nine husbands!
O.K. fans, let's hear it for the Madam! |