Find us in All's Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing and HamletWho are we? Paul Simon said, “I am a rock.” John Lennon said, “I am the Walrus.” Steve Miller said: "I'm a prankster, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight smoker." Richard Nixon said, “I am not a crook. » Basically, it comes down to this: people naturally don't really know who they are, or who they really are. These metaphorical song lyrics (excluding Tricky Dick) appear to be a search for self-explanation. People have always tried to secure their identity. This search seemed at first synonymous with the search for an origin. Religious doctrines were designed to explain who people are and, if not, how they should be. However, a person's identity, soul, or true self is not a stagnant or secure identity. Character or self is always likely to evolve with age and experience, or more quickly, depending on situations like if one is drunk (Cassio), etc. The ambiguity of people's character is a theme that Shakespeare explores in most of his works. He does this through many means: use of costumes, magic, dishonesty, and most often through confusion. Shakespeare's characters are never what they seem. Hamlet says, “I don’t know, it seems.” » Iago says: “I am not what I am. » Henry V said: “Do not assume that I am what I was. » What Shakespeare seems to be doing is breaking down identities. We develop a discourse of model-based predictions about who people are and how they will behave. When people act differently or outside of our perception of their character, we assume something is wrong. We all have a natural tendency to look for black and white or at least to know where people stand. Trust and honesty, declared and respected virtues, are based on this inherent need. Shakespeare repeatedly shatters these beliefs by basing all meaningful action in his plays on people acting according to their perceived characters. Examples include the love quadrangle in A Midsummer Night's Dream; the rejection of Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2; Othello's struggle against Desdemona's potential promiscuity; Claudio and Prince John's assumption about Hero's whore; the belief of the Archbishop, Mowbray and Hastings in the honor of Lancaster's inferred intentions; etc. Very often in Shakespeare's plays, characters disguise themselves and wear masks to hide who they really are for one purpose or another. Much of its story depends on cases where people's assumptions are false perceptions of who someone really is..