Shakespearean+Comedy

Shakespearean Comedies

From 1400 to 1600 A.D., there was a burst of innovative technology, extraordinary pieces of artwork, exploration and trading, and beautiful music. This period was referred to as “The Renaissance.” Coincidentally, the word “Renaissance” means rebirth. During this period, there was a great playwright by the name of William Shakespeare. He wrote most of the very famous plays, such as //Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing,// and //All’s Well that Ends Well//. Shakespeare wrote some of the greatest comedies of his time, and when reflected upon, one must realize that a Shakespearean comedy is made up of many components.

During the Renaissance, comedies meant something different from what they currently mean today. People think of modern comedies as funny, but comedies in the Renaissance meant a play having a happy ending. //The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare// states “In most comedies the happy ending involves a marriage or at least some kind of union or reunion that resolves the conflict and brings the characters into a state of harmony” (McDonald 81). It also states “Comedy moves from confusion to order, from ignorance to understanding, from law to liberty, from unhappiness to satisfaction, from separation to union, from barrenness to fertility, from singleness to n marriage, from two to one” (McDonald 81). These elements are common in nearly all comedies of Shakespeare's time.

Many comedies include some type of irony. In Shakespeare’s plays, “[The Comic Individual] is, in one form or another, the victim of deception” (Denton). For instance, in //Twelfth Night,// the main character believes that her brother had drowned; yet he was actually safe. Then, disguised as her brother, she gets a job on the island on which her boat had crashed. Everyone gets to know her as her brother so well, that when she takes off the disguise, everyone is shocked and confused. Nearly all of the characters in the play were, in a way, deceived. Similarly, in //The Tempest//, King Alonso of Naples believes that his son had drowned, when in reality, it alive and with Prosero and Miranda.

Though comedies do not have to be funny, all have the potential to be. Characters in Shakespeare’s comedies sometimes embarrass themselves during the play. As stated in //The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare//, “The emphasis of comedy is positive, but the human being is shown to be a small and silly creature” (McDonald 82). Something that might make part of a play funny is a misunderstanding. A common type of misunderstanding in Shakespeare is when one character is mistaken for another. This could be caused by one of two ways; one character might look very similar to another, or may disguise him/herself as that character (Denton). “… The misunderstandings still evoke laughter and derision, but the playwright complicates the tone by exploring the pleasures of romantic love and offering large doses of melancholy and music” (McDonald 83).

Not all comedies have perfect endings. In fact, “Several Shakespearean comedies have problematic endings” (McDonald 83). However, it seems that nature will help to solve the problems in the play, to ensure that there will be a happy ending (McDonald 83). Life is not great all the time, “… the cloud will obscure the sun, but the sun will illumine the cloud, at least around the edges” (Denton). “No comedy is purely farcical or purely romantic, and Shakespeare is the master of the combined response. All his comedies are hybrids, complicated mixtures of farce and romance, sunshine and shadow, absurdity and profundity” (McDonald 83). A comedy from the Renaissance would usually be about lovers kept apart in some way, such as a rule put in place by their parents (Ciccarelli). However, most of these comedies ended happily as usual (Ciccarelli). There were also tragicomedies; these would be a mixture of tragedy and comedy (Ciccarelli).

Shakespearean comedies would usually be made up by a conflict, which would be solved at the end (Ciccarelli). These could be funny, but were more about being resolved with a happy ending (McDonald 81). Shakespeare’s eighteen comedies included //Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, The Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, Measure for Measure, All’s Well That Ends Well, Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest,// and //The Two Noble Kinsmen// (Ciccarelli).

Shakespearean comedies are made of many characteristics. They aided the process of the rebirth of entertainment during the Renaissance. Some modern comedies are based upon Shakespeare's brilliant plays. Even today, his works are still popular. Shakespeare truly was a great playwright of his time, and his comedies live on to tell the tale.

Works Cited Ciccarelli, Jon. "Comedies." // Hudson Shakespeare Company //. Hudson Shakespeare Company. Web. 15 Mar 2012. 

Denton, Jaques. "Exploring the Nature of Shakespearean Comedy." // Shakespeare-Online //. N.p., 02/06/2010. Web. 15 Mar 2012. []

McDonald, Russ. // The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare //. 2nd Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 81-5. Print.