THE WEST BENGAL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

JURIDICAL SCIENCES

ENGLISH- I

(2019-2020)

SHAKESPEARE AND LAW

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Ms. Ankita Mookherjee Shrijaya Singh

Assistant Professor I Semester

English- I Roll no. 219095

In his judgement in the Navtej Singh Johar case, the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra
quoted Shakespeare “What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet.” This is not the first time that the works of William Shakespeare were
referred in a court. In 2012, High Court of Britain mentioned King Lear in a court with regard
to a ‘menacing’ joke that went viral on Twitter about how the users of social media “are free
to speak not what they ought to say, but what they feel”. In a boundary case, the court
recounted a dialogue from Hamlet "a little patch of ground that hath no profit in it but the
name”. When Dzokhar Tsarnaev was condemned, an orchestrator of the 2013 Boston
Marathon bombings, was quoted lines from the play Julius Caesar: “the evil that men do
lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” These references by judges
showcase the influence that Shakespeare holds in the legal system even after so many
centuries. They serve as a constant reminder to the legal fraternity about the kind of impact
that law has on the common man. It makes the lawyers and the judges conscious of the
emotional aspects along with the legal and rational aspects of it. On a frivolous note, it may
even be used to show that the judge is an avid reader of classical literature. Only this can
explain why in 1978, Judge Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice felt the need for a footnote explaining that
his use of the phrase “a very positive reply” was lifted from act two, scene two, line 43 of
Romeo and Juliet.

Literature has the potential to stimulate humanistic decision making in the legal fraternity. It
shows people the influence that law has on human beings and their relationships. A literary
sensibility enables lawyers to present clear, structured opinions and briefs. Moreover, the
legal community may become oblivious to the impact that harsh decisions of the court may
have on human beings. Judges and lawyers often fall into the trap of approaching the law in
an objective, rigid and technical manner. Shakespeare’s plays arouse passion and sympathy in
the insensitive world of the law. It makes the readers appreciate the law from different
perspectives- that of the oppressor, the oppressed and most importantly the outsider. Each
character in his play is sketched out lucidly and gives us an insight into the motivations and
insecurities of that character. We understand why those characters or people, in general, act
and behave the way they do. This makes people conscious of their inherent prejudices and
subconscious biases. It encourages them to evaluate whether they hold a parochial view about
certain issues. Shakespearean literature exposes the prevailing injustice in society that tends
to get overlooked on a daily basis. His plays hold such relevance in our lives that, even,
centuries later we look back to his work with great admiration.
In one of his most famous plays, The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare explored a multitude
of legal principles ranging from enforceability of bond, unlawful consideration, free trade
versus equity, amicus curiae etc. To begin with, the bond deed agreed upon between Shylock
and Antonio is void due to illegality of consideration. To extract a pound of flesh as collateral
constitutes an unlawful consideration. Shylock felt that this illegality issue must be left alone
in the interest of free trade. This was contended on account of principles of equity. Normally,
the equity principle would dictate that it is unfair to grievously injure a party for lack of
timely payment of loan. This was a literary portrayal of the equity v. free trade debate.

All of these are the issues that are directly dealt with. The audience and lawyers particularly,
must also analyze the problem of conflict of interest. Acting as an amicus curiae in a case
concerning him gives rise to a conflict of interest as she has clear vested interests in it. The
‘outsider’ treatment meted out to Shylock gives us an idea about how the Jewish community
was perceived and treated unfairly in sixteenth century Europe. This prejudice was present in
the courtroom also. From the point of view of justice, the judgement during the climax is
preposterous. The fact that Shylock is decreed to convert to Christianity at the end is evidence
of gross miscarriage of justice. This would be considered unacceptable by the lealld today.
With all its legal allusions, Merchant of Venice makes for a scintillating read for law and
non-law people alike.

In Measure for Measure, Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, hands the reigns of the city to
Angelo, a stringent and harsh judge. This leads to a very rigid and insensitive application of
law. This was demonstrated through punishing Claudio with death penalty on charges of
fornication without being considerate about the circumstances of Claudio. The play also
throws light on the hypocrisy of Vincentio, the administrator of law, who attempted to
commit the crime of fornication himself. One of the characters is seen slandering the friar but
this is meant merely for comic relief. Through this play, the readers observe how an
extremely inflexible administration of law can create room for injustice in our society. They
realise that judges must be empathetic and reasonable while penalising people rather than
harshly administering the law with an absolute lack of mercy.

The Winter’s Tale is a work that deliberates over the issue of throne succession, infidelity and
legitimate exercise of power. The trial of Hermoine and Peredita shows the problems of
circumstantial evidence. In response, Hermoine rebuts using demonstrative evidence.
Lawyers and judges observe the applicability of different forms of evidence. It also shows
how litigation as a process only enhances the differences in a family matter and inevitably
results in an adversarial solution. Both parties are in a worse off state in the aftermath of the
trial. This could make the legal fraternity of the present day contemplate the viability of
litigation in many cases wherein alternative dispute resolution may also be an option.

In many other plays, we see legal references. In Juliet Caesar, the will which is essentially a
legal document is used as a tool for the storyline to take an amusing shape. Lawyers learn to
appreciate how profound an effect rhetorical speaking could have in swaying the jury or the
bench to their favour. The gravediggers in Hamlet also deliberate over the subject of the legal
system and help us view the same in a different light. While Othello showcases the treatment
of women in adultery cases, King Lear showcases the role of women in disputes of
inheritance and succession. Noting all these instances, it does not come as a surprise that
nearly two-thirds of Shakespearean plays deal with some element of law.

It is only fair to discuss the hotly debated controversial question about how Shakespeare
could envisage such vivid and debatably apt depiction of courtroom proceedings and legal
principles without having studied law formally. There is a theory that he may have studied
the law during his lost years which spans from the age of 21 years to 31 years of age. This is
accompanied by a parallel, scandalous theory about how the legendary essayist Francis
Bacon may have assisted him in the same. We may never be able to ascertain the legitimacy
of any of the theories but we can continue to enjoy and learn from the works.

There is an intriguing irony at the bottom of this subject. Shakespeare’s plays are riddles with
legal inaccuracies. Yet, as legal literature, it is accorded a stature that no other literary work
does. The argument about granting artistic liberty helps us in making sense of a part of this
dilemma. Reading the brilliantly worded, highly engrossing plays contributes in igniting the
interest of people in the field of law. The amusement felt by people while reading a piece of
legal fiction gets associated with the real legal world as a whole. Thus, law students and legal
practitioners get an opportunity to appreciate the various nuances of law in quite a fun
manner, especially considering how the law can be a very dull and boring subject at times.
This is the reason for the evergreen charm of Shakespearean literature.