"In Shakespeare's world, character is not pre-determined. People become themselves through action, dialogue, the process of thinking. Drama is a basic tool for discovery of the self, achieved through exile, disguise, soliloquy, and scenic counterpoint. For Shakespeare, value is not absolute. It depends upon reflection, as when a person's "virtues shining upon others/Heat them, and they retort that heat again/To the first giver" (Troilus and Cressida). Shakespeare's theory of human relativity is made possible by his dramatic medium, by double plots, contradictions between word and action, and the constant presence of a questioning audience."Jonathan Bate, general editor of a new edition of Shakespeare's Complete Works, in Harper's magazine, April 2007.
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