The Shakespeare Code

Disclaimer: I am going on a Shakespeare rant. I give this warning because most people go a bit glassy-eyed when I start discussing Shakespeare; so please, bear with me. 

I have this concept that has been growing in my mind for a long time; I will refer to it as "The Shakespeare Code" simply because it makes me feel like I'm on National Treasure. Shakespeare wrote so many interesting works, but what I find most interesting are the similarities between his works. Each play is so interconnected with all the rest. What is intriguing is that Shakespeare did not simply create his stories- he researched histories, borrowed some ideas, used classic tales, and invented his own. But all these stories have such common elements, despite how varied his sources were. In fact, many of the plays have seemingly identical story lines. The simple answer to the question "why?" would be this: Shakespeare was a businessman and knew how to write to an audience. If they liked Romeo and Juliet, why not write in the same elements of Romeo and Juliet into a new play? While this seems logical and is more than probably true, I wonder if there is another reason for this connection between plays. I am not sure what this reason is, but I have this crazy feeling that if you strung all his plays together in chronological order, highlighted all the similarities, took away the rest, pieced together all the common themes, you would understand the "hidden messages" of Shakespeare's "code". Consciously or unconsciously, writers write what they feel is important. If we could look at what Shakespeare really was writing, we might have a clue as to who Shakespeare really was. 

Whatever this "code" is, it would seem to me that the play Cymbeline is the key. The play combines the elements of nearly every storyline of every other Shakespeare play- for instance, Cymbeline's relationship to his daughter Imogen is very similar to King Lear's treatment of Cordelia- with practically the same results, until it is discovered that Imogen is not really dead. Posthumous IS Othello, with the same jealous, vengeful nature. His main evil influence is, coincidentally, the character Iachimo (perhaps "Giachimo"?), a name very similar to Iago. Posthumous attempts Imogen's murder just as Othello kills Desdemona. But again, Imogen, unlike Desdemona, does not really die. Imogen, like Viola from Twelfth Night and Rosalind from As You Like It, must disguise herself as a man to survive. Posthumous is visited by his dead family in a very Hamlet-like fashion, also right before a major battle, as Henry IV is in Richard III. The evil queen suggests both Gertrude from Hamlet and Lady Macbeth from Macbeth. As in Romeo and Juliet, Winter's Tale and Much Ado About Nothing, Imogen is believed dead by most of the characters at some point or another. The ending is very reminiscent of The Tempest, as Cymbeline forgives those that did him wrong and repents of his own weakness. Why did Shakespeare write a play that combined so many elements of his other works? It's hard to believe it was simply accidental. This makes me wonder if perhaps Cymbeline provides the clue for unlocking the mystery. Certainly it sparks the imagination!

 Soon I will be researching the chronology of Shakespeare's plays. I'm thinking that a timeline will give me insight into the thought process behind his works.
And so begins my quest to break the "Shakespeare Code". I will keep you updated on my discoveries!