Theatre

Characters in stories are made immortal by their creators. The more skillfully an author presents his story, the more retaining power it the story has over its readers. In plays though, aside from the talented playwrights who fathered the scripts, the ones that help emboss the characters in the minds of the audience are the actors themselves. We are able to maintain in our memories not only the play itself but each individual character portrayed by very talented actors. We are able to remember, if not the actor himself, the character that has deeply touched us in the course of a play.

In theater, the most effective way for an actor to convey his character to the audience is to really get into the persona of the one he is impersonating. He must see himself as that person, and he must be able to feel, to see, to move the same way that person does. It does not do well to just act out the part for the crowd may not be able to grasp the feelings and the intentions of that fictional character. Sometimes, the best actor suited for a certain role is the one who has somewhat really experienced the same things as the character to be played. This is because what he has experienced would help him understand his part even more. He would be able to easily sink into his characters mind and would then be able to perform as if he were really that character. If he could effectively pull this off, then the audience will not see him as just some actor on stage. He would be seen as that character and that character would be embedded in the minds of the people for a long time.

One of the greatest playwrights to have walked the face of the earth is Shakespeare. He bestowed upon us magnificent works such as Hamlet, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice and many more. To have been able to portray a character from Shakespeare would have required such talent in order to do justice to that particular character. Such talent was found in Edmund Kean, one of the greatest tragic actors to have graced the stage in the 19th century.
This essay would briefly discuss the life of Edmund Kean. Also, this paper aims to present the most notable roles he had played, how he became one of the greatest tragic actors of the 19th Century and how his legacy continued to inspire others.

Brief Biography
Edmund Kean was born on March 17, 1789 in London. He was the son of Edmund Kean and Ann Carey. He was able to have some formal education when he was young, but somewhere in his formative years, he decided run away. He found refuge among seafarers. But after finding that he did not belong there, he returned to England and chose to stay with his uncle Moses Kean. With him the young Kean continued his pantomime studies and  also began his study of Shakespeare. Also, Moses Keans alleged mistress Miss Charlotte Tidswell began to teach Edmund the basics of acting. When Edmunds uncle died, Miss Tidswell took upon herself the task of watching over the budding actor.  In 1808, he married a certain Mary Chambers. She bore him two sons. In 1825 though, she left him due to the scandal he was involved in.

Later on in life, Edmund was chosen to portray certain characters from some of Shakespeares works. These characters usually are the antagonists of the play. But due to an involvement in an affair with a city aldermans wife (the husband was also a Drury Lane administrator), his popularity began to tumble down. Even when he went to America, he was only met by insults and disapproval. Dejected, he returned to England. He was able to regain his former glory, but due to his dependency on stimulants, his body began to weaken. He died while he was performing Othello, uttering there the last lines he would ever say in a play. He passed away on May 15, 1833 at the age of 44.

Notable Roles
Edmund Kean was an actor at a very young age. When he was four years old, he appeared as Cupid in Cymon, a ballet by Jean-Georges Noverre. At fourteen, he was given a contract in York Theater. He performed there for 20 nights. Such characters he portrayed there were Hamlet, Hastings and Cato. In 1814, while he was in Drury Lane, he was given the roles of Richard III, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear.

Aside from Shakespearean characters, he also performed as Sir Giles Overreach from A New Way to Pay Old Debts by Philip Massinger and as Barabas in the Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe.

A Romantic or A Classic
At the time when Edmund Kean was struggling with his career, a notable actor named John Philip Kemble was already sweeping the audience with his classical approach in portraying the characters assigned to him. But Edmund Kean was anything but Classical. In his portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, he did not don the traditional costume worn by the other actors. He did not wear the red beard and wig of the merchant he wore a black one. Another is that instead of the scruffy, dirty look Shylock possessed, Kean made him look more decent in cleaner clothes. But even though he had made Shylock appear that way, how he had acted out the role made him feel otherwise. He acted out the role in a more frenzied manner and Shylock was then seen as a somewhat mad moneylender wielding his knife. This was a bit different form the usual way other actors would have and have had portrayed Shylock. He did not perform to better Kemble in the theater he performed to present a new angle in the way one should execute a role. He was being seen as a change in the traditional method of acting. He did not act just to present Othello or Iago or Richard III. He acted to let the audience feel what his character felt. He may not have been subtle in his approach but his somewhat wayward attitude in the stage helped him send to the audience a clear message-that
he was what he wanted the audience to see. It was not Edmund Kean who set foot on the stage. Rather, it was Shylock, or Richard III, or Othello. Due to his revolutionizing behavior and uptake on acting, he was deemed as part of the Romantic Movement.

What distinguished Edmund Kean from other actors of his time
As what was aforementioned, Edmund Kean was anything but classical. He was short in height, but he was a force to be reckoned with on the stage. He did not have the usual melodius voice other actors possessed. What he had was a commanding vocal prowess that truly made an impact on his audience. He was able to move the audience with his voice alone. His powerful voice enabled him to take the crowd one step further into the mind of the character he was playing. It might have been terrifying for some in his audience but nonetheless, he was able to reach out to them in the guise of his character and make them feel that it was not Edmund Kean but rather someone else who was there on the stage.

Another strong point of Edmund Kean was the way he handled his facial expressions and tone of voice. He was said to have a good mastery of pauses and stops that could render the crowd speechless with awe. But he never improvised anything on stage. It is said that the way he performed was carefully planned, carefully practiced. This was particularly evident in his performance as Othello, wherein one might conclude that the lines of the actor might have come from a musical score.
Though he was a very good tragic actor, he was never one for noble, virtuous, tender or comic roles. That maybe the reason why, if we take a look at the lists of characters he had portrayed, we would notice that majority of them if not all were tragic personas. This might be because of the fact that his own character was not suitable for such roles. He would have astounded the audience if he were Othello or Hamlet, but would have been not that quite effective if he were Romeo.

How he became one of the best tragic actors
Starting from a very young age, Edmund Kean had already endured a troubled life. His father had died at the age of 22, leaving him in the care of his mother, Ann Carey. He was able to attend school through the help of a few good men, but because he saw school as somewhat restricting, he ran away. He decided to become a seafarer, but upon realising that life at sea was just as prohibiting as it was back home, Edmund returned to England where he began a new life with his uncle and his mistress. Another tragic event in his life was the death of his eldest son. Due to his poverty, he was unable to send his sick son to a doctor for a given time. The boy died right before he accepted the contract with Drury Lane.

He might have found life a bit troublesome and bitter at a very young age. This factor might have helped him in acting out the roles of villains. He might have unconsciously developed a character that would be suitable in impersonating Richard III or Shylock or Othello, for what better man could portray such tragic characters Indeed it would be someone who had somehow seen the tragedies of life earlier on.

Another factor that has helped Kean in his performances was the fact that he studied his characters well. He would practice and practice until he had mastered the role given to him. He was indeed devoted to acting that he would literally put himself in his characters shoes and become one with it. He was able to meld with his tragic person and in effect give a very convincing act.

On his performane
When he started, we might assume that he was not that confident in himself. He was, afterall, not that a professional to begin with and his past performances, although already recognized, might not have that much great an effect on him. Maybe that is why, when he was asked to perform at Drury Lane, he said that might go mad if he succeeds in his task. The pressure was getting to him, and it was evident in his words. He might have thought that the audience would not like the amateur that he was. Would they approve of his acting style Would he be able to perform to their standards But he did succeed and soon enough he was asked to perform many other great roles. Later on, after his success with the villains of Shakespeare, he would comment that he felt like the stage was no longer under his feet. We might see this as his way of saying that he feels so ecstatic that it was like he was flying through the clouds. His triumphs had really helped him soar the sky of fame. But eventually, the fame he received got to his head. Soon enough, he began to get ambitious. He was said to have become so ambitious afterwards that his jealousy of other aspiring and potential rivals could be seen.

When he finally succumbed to his deteriorating health in 1833, his alleged words were dying is eay comedy is hard. This might be a reflection of what he could and could not do while he was alive and well. As what was mentioned before, he was a great actor for tragic characters, but a poor one at noble, tender, and comedic ones. Dying is, afterall, a tragic ending for someone. He might have seen death as a tragedy for him, which might be the reason behind his words. Between comedy and tragedy, it would have been indeed easier for him to perform the tragedy  his death.

Edmund Keans Legacy
He is remembered in his roles as the villains in Shakespeares works. Nobody could have played Richard III, Shylock or King Lear better than him. His forceful attitude towards acting has But his role as Sir Giles Overreach truly marks him as the greatest tragic actor for in this play, he was able to move the crowd so powerfully that he was able to get a loud standing ovation. He was also applauded by his fellow actors for his magnificent act. It is even said that the great poet Lord Byron, who was present during the performance, was so convinced of Keans acting that he was sent into fits of convulsions.

His life was of great renown that several writers have made him subject of their plays. Alexander Dumas, Jean-Paul Sartre, Grigoriy Gorin and Peter Stone with Robert Wright and George Forrest all wrote plays focusing on Edmund Kean.

From the beginning of theater acting, many actors have gone in and out of the theater, each one providing us their own portrayals of the characters of known plays. When Shakespeare came, the characters of his tragedies, romances, comedies, satires, et cetera were so magnificent that one must be equally good to be able to perform such roles. And we have been blessed by one Edmund Kean, for he was able to portray tragic roles very well and very effectively. Through him the characters of Shylock, Richard III, Othello, Iago and many more have been given justice because of his superb acting. He might have sparked a radical change in the world of theater, what with his almost reckless yet bold impersonation of many great tragic characters. And due to this attitude of his, he was able to bring to life the fictional characters of Shakespeare. Even though he was just a short person, he was able to astound his audience by his powerful voice and very convincing facial expressions and gestures. Indeed, he was a force to be reckoned with in the theater.

Writers can make immortal their characters through their stories. In the world of theater acting, the playwright and the actors work hand in hand to imprint into the minds of the audience the characters of their play. Good actors are very helpful in setting into the minds of the people the characters of a play. And one such actor is Edmund Kean. No one in his time was able to achieve what he was able to achieve. No other person can be called the greatest Shalespearean tragic actor. No other than Edmund Kean.