Shakespeare is exacting during rehearsals but disconnected and melancholy at other times.
One thing Widge mentions is practicing while Shakespeare and Mr. Phillips watch and criticize the performance. It doesn't seem like they're being unfair; rather, it seems like they're trying to create a better performance. It's clear that when Shakespeare is watching the play, he's paying enough attention to notice how the actors are performing their parts and working to improve the play.
However, outside rehearsals, Shakespeare is a self-contained person who seems sad to Widge. He walks by Widge, Sander, Julian, and Nick without noticing them. They decide they don't want to interrupt him because he might be working out issues in the play. However, Julian also speculates that he could be heartbroken over a woman; Sander says that, no, he's married with children.
The boys debate over whether it's a love affair, the memory of his son who died, or simply depression.
In these chapters, we get a glimpse of how Widge views Shakespeare.
Widge comments on Shakespeare's proverbial gloominess in chapter 20. He is surprised that the Bard fails to notice the boys, despite walking past them. To Widge, Shakespeare is a mysterious figure. Meanwhile, Julian slyly suggests that Shakespeare's persistent despondency is actually caused by a thwarted love affair.
Sander counters by saying that Shakespeare is currently married and has two daughters. This prompts Julian to retort that being married has never prevented any man from indulging in an extramarital liaison. As for Widge, he concludes that Shakespeare merely has a melancholic disposition. He then explains to the other boys that everyone is ruled by one of the four "humors." Widge suggests that Nick is choleric, while Julian is sanguine in temperament.
In Widge's eyes, Shakespeare's sustained melancholy is the result of a biological disposition toward that temperament.
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