In the world of Shakespeare, not all words spoken by his characters are directed toward other characters. You are probably familiar with the soliloquy; familiar enough to be distressed by it, in fact. A soliloquy is a longish interior monologue heard by no other characters and usually spoken when a character is completely alone on stage. There is another technique that Shakespeare uses in which the words spoken by a character are not heard by anyone else on stage, however, and it is known as the “aside.” The aside allows Shakespeare to let a character make a comment that is heard by the audience, but none of the other players on the stage. The point of the aside is to allow one character to make a quick off-hand commentary about what is taking place during the scene. Actors very often used to telegraph an aside by actually placing their hand to the side of their mouth in such a way as to indicate that nobody could hear what they were saying but the audience. Today, however, such a gaudy display is typically eschewed, the result sometimes being that it is difficult for some to realize what has just been said was not heard by anyone else on stage.
One of the most ambiguous asides in the entire Shakespearean oeuvre occurs early in the comedy Twelfth Night. Act II opens with the disclosure that Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola, is not actually dead as she believes, but has instead survived the shipwreck just as she. Also like Viola, Sebastian grieves over the belief that he is now unaccompanied in the world and his beloved sister was sent to a watery grave. However, in addition to introducing a vital plot element in the person of Sebastian, this little scene also serves to counterpoint the royalty of Act One as well as commence the comical subplot involving Sebastian and Antonio. Antonio is a sea captain who saved Sebastian’s life and is deeply moved by Sebastian’s predicament.At one point Sebastian strangely depicts his sister not only as being beautiful, but as being close in appearance to himself, thus setting the stage for the comedy of mistaken identity that takes place when Sebastian is easily mistaken for Cesario/Viola and Viola/Cesario is mistaken for Sebastian by Antonio. (Confused yet?) Sebastian produces a speech that is striking in its metaphoric association of the tears he sheds over his mistaken belief that his sister has died with the depths of water that makes up the sea in which he believes she drowned. Both Sebastian’s tears and the ocean are made of salty water and this connection serves to illuminate that the mundane aspects of language are not really adequate to the ability for one human being to fully express that tremendously overpowering emotion known as grief.
In addition the moving the plot along, this scene is also notable for an aside from Antonio that has been at the center of critical debate. The relationship that exists between Antonio and Sebastian, though it is a minor part of the play, offers fertile ground for critical attention. Antonio and Sebastian are clearly close, dear friends. Yet the language Antonio uses, along with his behavior, suggests something more intense than mere friendship. Antonio emerges as a character that is more than eager to surrender all selfish interests for the benefit of Sebastian. Antonio practically beseeches Sebastian to grant him the singular honor of becoming his servant, voyaging into any dangerous waters that may yet await his friend. So committed is Antonio to watching out for Sebastian that he is willing to enter into a snake pit where he knows his enemies are waiting for him. Incredibly profound friendships between two men were, of course, far more common when Shakespeare actually wrote this scene (before homophobia made every guy afraid of being called a fruit) and Antonio’s heartfelt compassion and desire to protect Sebastian probably was intended as an expression of purely platonic feelings. Except that Antonio’s language carries implications of a love that extends somewhat beyond the limitations of mere platonic interest as in “If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant” (II.i.30-31). When this sentiment is placed alongside Antonio’s small aside upon Sebastian’s exit-“But come what may, I do adore thee so” (II.i.41)-the depth of Antonio’s love for Sebastian certainly lend themselves to a dispute over whether there might, in fact, be some element of homoeroticism. The easiest way for an actor to approach this particular reading of the subtext would be to simply replace in one’s mind Sebastian with a female character and then read the text again. Clearly, if Antonio’s words were addressed to a woman, or spoken in the mini-soliloquy, there would be no argument that the emotional complexity of the scene should be imbued with sexuality.
