Shakespeare’s comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, supports Plato’s argument of comedy being a blend of pain and pleasure, as this essay will proceed to highlight. The play was written during Shakespeare’s England and would have been performed to an Elizabethan audience. This audience has different views to the themes and events of the play compared to a modern audience, which causes a variation in the amount of pain and pleasure the audience feels is included in the play- the audience would be more biased towards or against what they feel personally to be right or wrong – in keeping with cultural norms and expectations of the time. The different aspects of comedy and the structural devices used in this play show how Shakespeare has crafted pain and pleasure together. The language Shakespeare uses in this play allows him to craft and intertwine the two emotions together, along with the form of the play changing from prose to verse in certain scenes to emphasise them.
Situational humour takes place around a plot created by an author. The cynic who stated that "laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone" was possibly a theatre fanatic. In Shakespeare's plays, this distinction has the effect of isolating the characters at the end of his tragedies, and uniting them at the end of the comedies. Byron may have been misogynistic when he stated that "all comedies end in marriage" but the ceremony operates as a mark of unification and social harmony in the closure of a comedy. On first view, the Twelfth Night has all the basic comic elements; clowns, double acts, women dressed as men, men dressed as priests and a "sublimely funny" servant, only funny because of his distinct lack of humour.
Like its classical predecessors, The Comedy of Errors mixes farce and satire and (to a degree) presents us with stock characters. Besides being based on classical models, is it really fair to call The Comedy of Errors a serious play? I'm not sure it is. Three-quarters of the play is a fast-paced comedy based on mistaken identity and wordplay, and often descending to crude physical humor. The framing plot changes the total impression the play makes, mixing pathos, wonder, and joy with the hilarity.
Shakespeare’s works are some of the finest examples of Tragedy and Comedy from the English cannon of literature. The reason that his works are so poignant and reflective is his use of both emotions in order to progress the other. In his interpretation of Troilus and Cressida the traditional story of tragic love and loss are peppered with irony and satire in order to address topical issues of Gender roles, Government action/inaction, and hero worship through juxtaposition and humor. The character of Troilus before Shakespeare’s play can be seen as a perfect archetype for the tragic romantic. His love is fated by the gods from the beginning.
To summarise, comedy was designed to make people laugh and show that a happy ending is possible, it often ends with marriages, while the tragedy shows that even very important persons can find themselves in situations that are beyond them and that lead them to their downfall. By writing The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Den... ... middle of paper ... ... of Revenge. 315 o A Theory of Renaissance Tragedy. pp. 292 • Bolt, Sydney.
But the best of Comedy and the best of Tragedy will produce the same affect: catharsis. Catharsis is the purgation and purifying of the emotions, specifically fear or pity. (“Catharsis”) The plays that manage to produce catharsis in their audience are the ones that we return to time and time again. Although catharsis is one of the main objectives of Greek Tragedy (Jacobus 34), Comedy done well will shape and move its audience in the same way. These two classic genres use characters that are co... ... middle of paper ... ...steful, Works Cited Aristophanes.
The Theme of True Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare The overriding theme of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare deals with the nature of love. Though true love seems to be held up as an ideal, false love is mostly what we are shown. Underneath his frantic comedy, Shakespeare seems to be asking the questions all lovers ask in the midst of their confusion: How do we know when love is real? How can we trust ourselves that love is real when we are so easily swayed by passion and romantic conventions? Some readers may sense bitterness behind the comedy, but will probably also recognize the truth behind Shakespeare's satire.
The Role of Comic Characters in the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare uses Mercutio and the Nurse to explore the relationship between comedy and tragedy in Romeo and Juliet. These characters, in their comic roles, serve as foils for Romeo and Juliet by highlighting the couple's youth and innocence as well as the pure and vulnerable quality of their love. Mercutio, Romeo's quick-tempered, witty friend, links the comic and violent action of the play. He is initially presented as a playful rogue who possesses both a brilliant comic capacity and an opportunistic, galvanized approach to love. Later, Mercutio's death functions as a turning point for the action of the play.
Oscar Wilde uses conventional comic devices such as disorder, caricature, and witty repartee in order to contrive the satirical ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Combined with a prominent use of droll epigrams, maxims and skilfully employed inversions of conservative Victorian morality and disposition, Wilde is able to effectively create a unique blend of classical romantic comedy and humorous social satire. Wilde uses this satire in order to mock many aspects of late nineteenth century society such as, marriage, education and the aristocracy among others. In terms of structure, marriage serves as a prime force of motivation in terms of driving the plot. In conforming to the traditional aspect of dramatic comedy of an end denouement of marriage, Wilde creates adjacent desires for Jack and Algernon whether this is to marry Gwendolyn or Cecily.
A tragicomedy is a play consisting of both tragic and comic elements. Much Ado is of the comedy genre as it contains humorous scenes and ends happily, however the play also includes serious incidents, which contributes to a tragic element in the play. The sixteenth century period and the influence of the Elizabethan era would have affected the way Shakespeare wrote his plays. The technological advance since the sixteenth century is considerable. We believe Shakespeare's theatre relied on theatrical effects as minima, and that play's relied entirely on the language.