1999-Upper Level
Third Place
Moth and Love's Labor's Lost
By David Seckinger
Like much of Love's Labor's Lost, the young character Moth is full of paradox. When Shakespeare has little Moth play great Hercules in the "Nine Worthies," the playwright offers humor in contrasting the physiques of the actor with his role, or as Armado puts it, Moth "is not quantity enough" (5.2.130) to play the Greek god. However, Shakespeare may also be using this contradiction to compare physical strength with mental. Although physical ability doesn't carry significance in Love's Labor's Lost, mental ability does, and Moth (mentally superior to his contemporaries) proves himself worthy of a high status. Using Moth as a Herculean figure is one of the most obvious paradoxes in the play, but there are others. Moth relies on rhetoric and integrity to show how true intellect comes from understanding people and not through scholarly displays.
Moth, for the most part, gets the better of his fellow characters, especially the educated ones. In the initial conversation between Moth and his boss, Armado, the page's first reply to Armado's question shows common sense. Moth responds that a "great sign" (1.2.3) of melancholy is sadness. This statement, too simple for Armado to understand, both mocks and uses rhetoric. Moth defines a sad face as a great sign, implying that the greatness of the sign lies in its obviousness. By claiming that something as common as a sad face is "great," Moth treats rhetoric like a joke by giving an overly simplistic answer to a difficult and eloquent question. But at the same time, Moth uses rhetoric by shifting the definitions of words to make his point. Because a sad face is so visible, it is great in its degree. Like any rhetorician, Moth has an obvious way with words. In a later scene, Moth's "[s]weet smoke of rhetoric" (3.3.63) proves that the boy can turn an antithesis to his advantage. First, Moth delivers a contrasting image-- "swift lead"-- and then defends his oxymoron by completing the image: lead bullets. This example demonstrates the page's cleverness, but his rhetoric always refers to the real world and not to the one in books. Unlike Armado, who relies too heavily on literary figures like Hercules and Sampson for self-validation, Moth claims his intellect comes from "[m]y father's wit and my mother's tongue" (1.2.95). Moth's roots are firmly grounded in reality.
Since Moth lives in the real world, he hasn't pursued academic interests; instead, he has studied and understands people, and this perspective often gives him an advantage over the scholarly characters. Most of the play's characters try using language in order to impress others. Some do this effectively, but most do not. Moth succeeds with rhetoric where many fail because he knows that words are tools, not toys. In other words, Moth knows how to use words to serve his purpose, and he also knows when to keep his mouth shut. When the boy first encounters Holofernes and Nathaniel, he calls the men's versions of Latin "scraps" (5.1.37). And if that isn't insulting enough, Moth claims the two learned men have "stol'n" such crumbs. In the face of pretentiousness, words come easily to the boy. The page ridicules helpless Holofernes, calling the old man a cuckold in various clever and humorous ways. Here, Moth appears to play with words, using them as toys. Granted, the boy spins his words like a "gig" (5.1.67), but in reality he has a serious purpose. Moth proves that true intellect cannot be learned. Holofernes, who is Armado's mental superior, cannot match wits with a child. In fact, he can barely defend himself against the boy's attack. Only the simple clown, Costard, has any effect on the boy. His cliched threat: "thou wert but my bastard" (5.1.67) seems to quiet Moth. Costard doesn't challenge the boy mentally, but instead, the clown alludes that a corporal punishment would silence the "pigeon-egg of discretion" (5.1.74). Still, Costard cannot act because the boy belongs to Armado. But more importantly to the play, Moth's interaction with Costard shows how the boy acts around common folk.
Moth's behavior becomes even more respectful when he confronts the ladies. When the disguised lords attempt to trick the ladies, Moth is supposed to introduce the fakers, but his tongue fails him. There are two reasons why Moth blunders his speech. One reason stems from the women's reaction. They quickly turn their backs on him, and his conceits immediately begin to fall apart. Moth's rhetorical device falters because the audience ignores his flattery. Moth humorously confuses "backs" with "eyes" (5.2.162). By this point, the boy is obviously paying more attention to the ladies than his lines. The boy complains to Boyet: "They do not mark me, and that brings me out." (5.2.172). Moth knows that without a willing audience, his words become empty, and he loses effectiveness. The other reason behind Moth's blunder is his integrity. He knowingly helps the lords with their dishonest plan, but his poor performance might suggest that his conscience hinders him. Even Berowne, angered by Moth's fumbled delivery, questions the boy. "Is this your perfectness?" he asks in amazement and then commands Moth, "Begone, you rogue!" (5.2.181). The page's usual "perfectness" with language makes his errors even more outrageous, and when Berowne calls him a "rogue," the insult implies the lord feels betrayed. However, Moth's betrayal may not have been intentional but subconscious. Moth loses his quick wit against the ladies because, unlike the men, they are not pretentious fools, so they won't be tricked by fancy displays and words. Moth leaves quickly after speaking, and the only people he harms are the lords, who deserve misfortune because of their dishonesty. Despite this mishap, though, Moth maintains his dignity throughout the play.
Moth comes off better than his fellow actors during the "Nine Worthies." Holofernes, Nathaniel, and Costard are all heckled, but Moth escapes the crowd's gibes by remaining silent. In fact, Holofernes introduces and speaks for Moth, who plays an infant Hercules strangling snakes. When devising this performance, Moth delights that "if any of the audience hiss" (5.2.137) Holofernes can say it is a snake. When Moth's part comes off without reproof, Holofernes tells the boy: "Keep some state in thy exit, and vanish" (5.2.166). The difference between Moth's Hercules and the other actors' roles is in the delivery. Unlike all the rest, Moth's character never brags on himself. In paradoxical fashion, his performance succeeds because, as far as boasting is concerned, less is more. Moth, with integrity intact, passes through the "Nine Worthies" unscathed. The same can also be said for his role in Love's Labor's Lost.
Moth successfully gets though the play without looking like a fool. He does this by relying on two things: integrity and common sense. Moth has learned to balance these two qualities, not through studying books, but through social interaction. Shakespeare uses Moth as an example of how true intellect works. True intellect is not the ability to speak Latin or write stylized poetry, but as Moth states, true intellect "is the way to make an offense gracious" (5.1.140). And whenever Moth deals with offensive characters, he always maintains his grace.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Love's Labor's Lost. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 208-46.
(David Seckinger was an Upper Level English student at Armstrong Atlantic State University the time this essay was submitted)