The theatrical plot also progresses with the comedic relief inserted in the play. Shakespeare brilliantly develops his characters in a comedic way that continues the plot and eases his spectators. If writers chose not to offset tragedy with comedy, the story would simply be too depressing to entertain the vast audiences. Therefore, it is fair to surmise that without comedic relief, Hamlet may not have been the iconic story it has become.
The Humor in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Comedy should entertain a general audience. It is usually a dramatic work that is light, and often satirical in tone. Horace Walpole once said that "life is like a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel." This can be said to be true in as we tend to laugh at comic characters, particularly comic double acts, but "feel" with tragic heroes. The audience at a comedy is likely to feel itself to be slightly superior to, and therefore distant from, the comic figures, even the romantic leads, if it is to laugh at their follies.
Maria and Feste are like a comedy duo participating in quick fire exchanges, scoring points off each other and in act 1 scene 5 he hints at her relationship with sir Toby Belch. Shakespeare’s characters love to disguise themselves, this theme is often illustrated and important to the plot of his comedies, but in this case, the disguise takes an ironic turn. Feste, in dressing as a wise man reveals his true nature instead of concealing it. This scene is meant to be played for comedic value; the audience gets a glimpse of the true nature of the clown. This is a key element in the play as other people are in disguise for example viola masks as Cesario.
To fully appreciate Hamlet as a tragedy it must be understood as a comedy. Throughout this paper I will demonstrate the comedic moments of Hamlet, provide a brief analysis of the humor, and finally comment on the purpose of the comedic elements. The humor in Hamlet can most easily be broken up into Hamlet’s wit and acts of minor characters. Much of this play’s humor comes from the intelligent quips Hamlet so often delivers. Hamlet’s first line in the play offers much insight into his clever character and into his family problems: KING.
Comedy and tragedy are two totally opposing genres but both have been very successful during the Elizabethan period. Several plays were written to help people to be instructed in a general way and to purge their emotions through the laughing in comedy or the crying in the tragedy. Among the writers of tragic plays, there was Shakespeare with one of his most famous play The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Regarding comedy, John Lyly takes the myth of Endymion in his courtly comedy Endymion, the Man in the Moon. Starting from these two plays this essay will look at the boundaries that allow defining and distinguishing between tragedy and comedy as well as their importance at the time.
Writers at the time such as Aristophanes and Menander wrote comedy similarly to how we do today, mocking politicians, fellow writers, and Greek philosophers (Mark Cartwright). The word ‘comedy’ is derived from Middle English, from Medieval Latin comoedia, from Latin, ‘drama with a happy ending’ (Merriam-Webster). This joyful type of performance may be why we commonly use the word ‘comedy’ to talk about jokes, humor, and hilarious performers. Comedy is meant to bring us joy and relief from reality’s negativity. Mary O’Hara wrote about comedy for a BBC article titled “How Comedy Makes us Better People”: “Comedy is more than just a pleasant way to pass an evening, humour more than something to amuse.
The contrast between Volpone and the comical satire is immediately apparent. Gone are the static spokesman, the conveniently formulated ideal, and the easy dispensation of comic justice from a lofty vantagepoin... ... middle of paper ... ...te of others. It is this combination of the moral and satirical that makes this play so unique for its time. The use of the fable lets the reader treat the subject of moral action in a detached way while the comical action entertains the audience. In Volpone Jonson was successful in combining three genres in order to create a new form of comedy.
Buffoon comedy defines itself as comedy which evokes a laugh because of the degree of absurdity. It is utilized to convey dense ideas while keeping the audience from feeling burnt out. It is important to keep a captive audience and thus buffoon comedy allows for a light airiness while getting across difficult ideas. MELUS, a theatrical magazine which is issues bi-annually, published an article dealing with Neil Simon which focused on his religion and how it played a part in his writing. Walden stated it best, “To Simon the ideal play is where the audience laughs all night but in the last few minutes is touched by a sense of tragedy” (MELUS 81).
In conclusion, Samuel Beckett is a realistic dramatist with both a pessimistic and an optimistic point of view, able to write comedies and tragedies as well. He remains an example for many writers when talking about “the theatre of the absurd”.
Different Forms of Disguise and Deception in Twelfth Night Twelfth Night is said to be Shakespeare's most complete comedy. As in most comedies, Twelfth Night celebrates different forms of disguise and deception in order to make the play more entertaining. ”There's something in it that is deceivable”(ActIV, ScIII), indeed the crux of the play is based on disguise and deception. The most significant deception would definitely be Viola’s disguise as Orsino’s page, Cesario, which makes the story remarkably intriguing. In addition to Viola’s disguise, the deceptions of some characters further intensify the amusement of the play.