Prompt #6--The Glass of Water

I would say that Bolingbroke has the most time onstage, and his aspirations seem to be much higher and nobler than anyone else’s.  While the audience can undoubtedly respect Anne’s desires to be a free queen and Abigail and Masham’s desires to wed, I believe that Bolingbroke’s complicated plot to shut down the Duchess’ needless and destructive war is the most important thread of the story.  Unfortunately, it is also pretty difficult to follow—it was always very easy for me to see where any of the lovers were coming from, even the Duchess.  However, I still don’t really understand the intricacies of Bolingbroke’s plot, and I’m sure I didn’t while I was reading the play.  Of course, the audience would note that Bolingbroke is scheming throughout the entire play and that he always seems to be a few steps ahead of the Duchess, so even if he cannot be played as a true protagonist, he would probably at least look like the scheming mastermind—and, let’s face it, in a well-made play, the character who plots and gossips the most is the most important character.

Ultimately, though, I can see how it wouldn’t be too productive to think of this play in terms of a singular protagonist.  After all, the audience certainly doesn’t see anything from one character’s perspective.  While there is one distinct villain to dislike, the rest of the cast is almost an ensemble, and forcing Bolingbroke to be the main character is a bit of an unnecessary stretch.  After all, this is a play about the relationships and secrets shared by many people, not about one person, specifically.