Character Analysis
A captain and a noble guy, Alcibiades seems to have a lot of qualities that Timon would like in a friend. It's too bad the two of them only really hang out once before Timon's become a disgruntled and angry were-Timon. Otherwise, maybe they would have hit it off.
Doth Protest Too Much
When one of his buddies has been sentenced to death, Alcibiades steps up: he goes to the Senate and protests on his friend's behalf. While he's arguing for the spirit (rather than the letter) of the law, he's also showing us something many characters in the play seem to forget: that's right, he knows how to be a true friend. He stands up for his comrade when he needs help, even when the consequence is that Alcibiades himself is banished from the city.
As it turns out, the Senators think he protests too much. When they tell him to quit it, though, Alcibiades doesn't give up. He reminds them what he has done for them, and he begs: "My lords, I do beseech you know me" (3.5.91). If he's using that as a bargaining tool, it sounds like he's known around town to be an honorable guy. He also lets us in on the fact that he has served as a soldier (a captain no less) for Athens.
It's all in vain. The Senators banish him for arguing with them. Woops.
There's a little more going on in this scene, by the way. Based on Alcibiades's arguments, we can tell that his friend is being punished unjustly: it may be legal to put him to the death sentence, but it isn't right. The fact that the Senate is only concerned with the letter of the law makes us think that this whole society cares more about appearance than substance.
How's that, you ask? Well, these guys don't care about real justice; they just care about looking good and passing a legal verdict. Timon's friends are like that, too: they don't really care about Timon and his friendship; they just care about Timon's money and all the trappings of friendship (translation: feasts and gifts). Nobody seems to be totally aware of this, but there it is.
What's the result? Well, in a society like this, life is cheap. The Senators seem a lot more interested in getting moolah from Timon than they care about Alcibiades's friend's life. Messed up priorities? Sure sounds like it to us.
O Captain! My Captain!
Alcibiades's banishment should essentially be a death sentence: he has to leave the city and everything he knows, and he has to fend for himself in the wilderness outside the city.
Actually, things turn out pretty well for him, since he uses his time outside the city to plan an attack on the city. Timon thinks Alcibiades was "born to conquer my country" (4.3.107), and even though Timon is sick of all mankind, he trusts Alcibiades enough to be able to imagine him ruling Athens. It sounds like he's a born leader.
So, what makes Alcibiades so different from the other characters in this play? Well, he's quick to form his own opinions about matters; he's his own man, through and through. He's not afraid to stand up to the Senate, and he's not afraid to tell it like it is to Timon when they meet in the wilderness. He stands out in this play's crowd, which is full of people who are just after gold and physical pleasure.
Alcibiades, on the other hand, seems to want to lead the way to a new tomorrow, where men are trustworthy, honest, and honorable.
Last Words?
It's Alcibiades who gets the final words in the play. Shakespeare loves to restore order at the end of his tragedies, so it's fitting that Alcibiades closes this one out. He makes sure everyone knows what is to come as he takes over the city:
Till now, myself, and such
As slept within the shadow of your power,
Have wander'd with our traversed arms, and breathed
Our sufferance vainly. Now the time is flush,
When crouching marrow in the bearer strong
Cries of itself "No more." (5.4.5-10)
Alcibiades talks of justice and fairness for all. Okay, we're on board with his plan—but we can't help but wonder whether things will actually change in Athens. Sure, Alcibiades is a decent guy, but what about everyone else? Will they really change their deceitful and greedy ways, or will the pattern repeat with a new leader?
Some scholars wonder whether Alcibiades and his storyline are really complete. We see him briefly in the beginning of the play, and then the next thing we know, he's ready to take over Athens. What happened?
The truth is, nobody's really sure: Shakespeare leaves it a mystery. Now, Shakespeare likes to dish up mysteries, but they're usually the kind where it's up to us to decide how to respond to some big question. In Timon of Athens, the mystery is why Alcibiades is even in the play at all. We don't really get to know him as his own guy, as we do with other Shakespearean characters. Is he incomplete, or are his reasons just simple?
Maybe he wants to take over Athens because he was banished, plain and simple. Perhaps we're really supposed to focus on Timon and his troubles, and just accept Alcibiades as a foil who adds thematic depth to the play. Maybe we're not supposed to know what exactly will happen in Athens after Alcibiades takes over—that would be a fairly standard Shakespearean ending.
It's an open question, folks: see what you think when you've turned the last page.
Timeline