Shakespeare’s Comedy Plays
In the First Folio, William Shakespeare's plays were categorized as comedies, histories, and tragedies. Scholars recognize a fourth category, romance, which characterizes specific types of comedy in his later works. Included as Comedies were Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice, although modern audiences find them less comedic. Also listed were late plays like The Tempest and The Winter's Tale, now often considered 'Romances.' These four plays share a common element with comedies like As You Like It or Twelfth Night: they conclude with marriage or betrothal. This aspect offers insight into the notion of 'comedy' during Shakespeare's time.
During Shakespeare's era, comedy held a lesser status than tragedy or history. His contemporaries, aiming to elevate comedy, embraced satire for moral improvement. City comedies targeted contemporary flaws and vices. Shakespeare veered from topical satire, yet comedy's rules seemed flexible. The quarto editions' titles exemplify this variability: Love's Labour's Lost is termed 'A Pleasant Conceited Comedy,' Taming of the Shrew a 'wittie and pleasant comedie,' and The Merchant of Venice a 'most excellent Historie.'
Common features
Marriage: Comedies culminate in marriage, reflecting happiness and renewal. Marriage's symbolic significance to Shakespeare is evident; some plays conclude with multiple marriages, as seen in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night, each featuring three unions.
Misconception: Shakespearean comedies often derive humor from lovers' misunderstandings. In Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick's friends arrange for him to eavesdrop on their discussion about Beatrice's supposed affection for him, a comedic twist on his earlier mockery of love. A prime illustration occurs in A Midsummer Night's Dream, as Puck's misapplied love potion leads to Lysander's affectionate declarations to Helena, delightfully juxtaposed with her confusion.
Disguise and Gender: Shakespeare employs dramatic irony through disguise in comedy, particularly by having women masquerade as young men. In As You Like It, Orlando's charming courtship of Rosalind unfolds as she, in the guise of a young man, encourages his unrestrained expressions of love. Twelfth Night similarly showcases Olivia, initially in mourning seclusion, captivated by Cesario, who is actually Viola in disguise, sent by Duke Orsino.
Settings
Twelfth Night unfolds in the fictional realm of Illyria, where the Italian-style court of Orsino coexists with Olivia's English abode. Shakespeare often employs such imaginative locales, like the enchanted Athenian forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the idyllic Forest of Arden in As You Like It. The Merry Wives of Windsor stands as a unique instance set in England, driven by the character Falstaff's popularity.
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