Special Post - Memory

In my discussion of memory, I have chosen to reference Lina Perkins Wilder's essay "Toward a Shakespearean 'Memory Theater': Romeo, the Apothecary, and the Performance of Memory." Wilder's essay was published in Shakespeare Quarterly in 2005.

Wilder frames her essay with a passage from Act V Scene I of Romeo and Juliet--right after Romeo learns of Juliet's supposed death. In this scene, Romeo transitions rather quickly from a declaration of grief, "Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight," to a seemingly random mention of an apothecary, "I do remember an apothecary..." (34, 37). To many critics, this reaction seems inappropriate for the circumstances Romeo is in during the scene. This, like many other Shakespearean acts of remembrance, is a moment in which "one character's seemingly digressive recollection momentarily displaces the dramatic action" (157). The body of Wilder's essay seeks to address this claim. While not necessarily refuting the argument entirely, Wilder's objective is to showcase how instances of recollection actually heighten dramaturgy by inspiring the characters (and audience members) to make certain narrative connections.

To support her argument, Wilder first takes up the lofty task of explaining the "memory arts" that were popular in the period--and how Shakespeare's performance of memory both draws on and upends that tradition. According to her explanation, the memory arts aimed to create tangible, physical constructs for the representation of memory. She offers an example regarding the way in which a memory artist would order their memories: "Johannes Romberch recommends constructing in one's mind a town composed of a series of memory loci...In many cases, the memory locus is not an imaginary space: some memory artists advise their readers to memorize a real room, preferably empty, in which they can then imagine arranging memory objects" (160). Shakespeare, in turn, builds on this orderly tradition by conceptualizing memory as a product of the disorderly--it is "no longer a tool for retaining information, but a means by which forgotten or overlooked information is unexpectedly recovered or even 'discovered'" (159). For Wilder, Shakespeare is still drawing on elements of memory theater, but also pushing its boundaries with experimentation through his work.

After the rather lengthy historical description of memory theater, Wilder returns to the opening passage for a close reading. Wilder claims that the clearest examples of memory theater occur in the apothecary scene (5.1) and the Nurse's remembrance of Juliet's weaning (1.3). In both instances, the character disrupts dramatic action to recall objects or experiences unseen by the audience. Each is an extended performance of memory. The Nurse's scene introduces performed remembering as a device. The concrete images she remembers--the earthquake, shaking dovehouse, pratfall, etc--gesture to the memory artists' methodology for remembering. Wilder also finds these similarities in the apothecary scene. Romeo remembers the apothecary who is always surrounded by the objects in his shop. Romeo cites these objects ("And in his needy shop a tortoise hung, / An alligator stuff'd, and other skins / Of ill-shap'd fishes..." 42-44) and uses them to place himself in the scene once again. The argument continues in this manner, with more historical background also thrown in.

The article discusses memory in an interesting and unpredictable way. I was expecting this to be mostly close reading of certain passages in Romeo and Juliet. Situating Shakespeare's use of memory in the conventions of the period is extremely useful. It helps me to understand that memory has been understood as a construct for much longer than I thought previously. However, I think Wilder fails to support the first claim she makes, that the performance of memory adds drama rather than diminishing it. The article loses focus in many areas and I was unsure of what to take away from it by the time I finished.