Shakespeare uses sport metaphors and the incorporation of leisure in his works—in his comedies, histories, romances, and tragedies—more frequently than his predecessors and contemporaries. The appearance of these leisurely activities in different genres varies. In most comedies, leisure motivates the plot, whereas characters in many tragedies weaponize pastimes to manipulate people. The majority of histories use recreation as a political statement, while romances incorporate the language rather than the action of pastimes. As a whole, Shakespeare’s works offer a conflation of “sport,” as he uses the term to indicate a broad range of pastimes, not just athletic activities. The “sportive tricks” that Richard III rejects include courtship and listening to music, while, when Rosalind asks Celia “What shall be our sport, then?”, the cousins discuss falling in love (Richard III 1.1.14; As You Like It 2.2.30). So, along with the games that today we would define as athletic activities, “sport” in the plays includes peacetime fighting, watching performances and public spectacles, telling jokes, playing tricks, gambling, drinking, and courting. The absence or existence of a pastime determines how likeable a character appears, the differing and loveless types of courting suggest requirement rather than romance, and the presence of spectators causes gruesome scenes to become leisureful.
Shakespeare relates leisure to ideas of excess and deprivation. Generally, leisure in the plays forms an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, but too much leisure proves destructive. As Hal puts it in Henry IV Pt. 1, “If all the year were playing holidays / To sport would be as tedious as to work” (1.2.211-212). While audiences love to watch Falstaff, a creature of moral and physical excess, we witness his ultimate punishment for his wasteful and cowardly ways in both the Henriad and Merry Wives of Windsor. Hal must performatively reject Falstaff to reach his full potential as a wartime king. On the other hand, characters who fail to modify their warlike behavior to match peacetime pleasure often cause chaos and incur punishment. Because the future Richard III, an accomplished former soldier, has no use for sport and merriment, comparing them unfavorably with the “arms,” “alarums,” and “marches” of war and dismissing them as “idle pleasures,” he becomes “determined to prove a villain” to fill the time (Richard III 1.1.6-8, 30-31). In his quest to disrupt England’s “idleness” and satisfy his own aggressive, ambitious nature, he kills ally and enemy alike, ultimately destabilizing the kingdom. By making examples of characters like Falstaff and Richard III, Shakespeare communicates the importance of finding an acceptable balance between leisure and work to his audience.
Further examining the characters’ relationship to leisure, we noticed that the degree of romance in courting must be determined by how the lover approaches the exchange. Characters like Romeo, Henry V, Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor, and Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice illustrate the prevalence of courting in Shakespeare. Romeo depicts the element of fixation in youthful infatuation, Henry the need for conquest, Falstaff the role of deceit in sex, Bassanio the desire for money gained from marriage. The fact that none of these characters marry purely for love suggests that Shakespeare views lust and promised loyalty through marriage as commonplace, but love itself as rare, while simultaneously suggesting a fixation on marriage and sex as a pastime. The suggestion of courting as a sport becomes more concrete when considering the homographs of “court,” especially apparent in Henry V when the young king receives a box of tennis balls from the French dauphin. The balls must be used in a tennis court. Henry receives them in his throne room, his royal and political court. They have been delivered to the king by a courtier. Once these balls instigate a war, the conflict can only be resolved by Katherine’s acceptance of Henry’s courtship. These different uses of “court” emphasize the competitive, even game-like underpinnings shared by love, war, and politics in the plays.
In his canon, Shakespeare emphasizes the role of spectators to suggest that the presence of an audience makes sports truly leisureful. Spectators’ reactions add nuance to announcements, physical competitions, and plays, while otherwise serious activities like arguments, duels, and executions become “spectator sports” when characters watch them for fun. Furthermore, by emphasizing the enjoyment crowds receive when spectating, Shakespeare complements his own position as a provider of leisure. By depicting audiences enjoying plays, Shakespeare implies that playgoers should enjoy his as well. Thus, Shakespeare includes leisure in his works to encourage audiences to enjoy the leisurely experience they receive from attending the productions.
Overall, Shakespeare’s usage of sport metaphors illustrates the competitive nature of leisure–not everyone can win fair Portia, have a clear view of a public spectacle, or partake in pastimes with a sense of propriety. Shakespeare uses references to leisure to depict a character’s ability to love, morality in viewing other’s pain, and respectability in society. As we watch Shakespeare complicate the denotations of “sport” and “leisure,” we realize that today’s definition of “sports” as acts of competitive physical exertion can encompass realms of our lives outside the gymnasium.
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