The Merchant of Venice: Comedy or Tragedy? Many would agree that William Shakespeare is one of the world’s greatest playwrights. He is known for his ability to entertain audiences and capture their affections through his beloved characters. Many of his plays contain themes that are everlasting and able to move audiences through several generations. One play in particular, though, leaves many critics asking questions about how to classify the drama. Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, is the piece that seems to trouble audiences everywhere. The drama contains several elements that can be classified as either a comedy or a tragedy. While there is great debate about how to classify the play; upon consideration of the play’s humor, plot…
When we think of Shakespeare, “whimsical” and “goofy” aren’t typically the words that come to mind. Yet, when asked to describe their show in one word, the cast and crew of Aeneid Theatre Company’s Much Ado About Nothing found themselves breaking out into laughter. “You find that there is a lot of comedy, but that’s not something you get when you first read it,” said Andrea Moore, who plays the Sexton. “This show does such a good job of bringing that [comedy] out.” For those of you who are…
Shakespearean Character Comedy Think of one character in a movie, but not just any character. Think of a character that is hilarious, such as Homer Simpson, or Sheldon Cooper. These characters channel a comedic experience through their language and actions. Like these characters, Shakespeare connects Character comedy in A Midsummer Night's Dream by making one character more exaggerated to provide comedic relief. This adds comedy to Shakespearean writing. Character comedy is in A Midsummer…
In the modern movie White Chicks, it demonstrates characteristics of a Shakespearean comedy, which include attributes such as mistaken identities, complex plots, use of puns, and happy endings for everyone involved in the work. The story of two brothers, Kevin and Marcus Copeland fulfilling their job as FBI agents easily demonstrate all of these qualities in the movie. Shakespeare’s hard work and dedication is shown throughout numerous books and movies, and will continue to live on for many…
and comedies are polar opposites on stage. Tragedies are consumed by suffering, and death, while comedies include excitement and joyful scenes. Brutal scenes of violent combat, as well as internal combat, compete against the scenes of singing and dancing in a comedy. A tragedy focuses on the main character and their despair/pain, while a comedy is created the story of two lovers. By comparing Shakespeare’s plays, King Lear and Much Ado, the structural differences between comedies and tragedies…
Sashini Dematampitiya Dr. Anastasia Easterday ART 2313.003 11 October, 2015 The Comedy of Errors On Friday October 9th, I went to see The Comedy of Errors by the great playwright William Shakespeare at the Scottish Rite theater in downtown Austin. The two hour comedy directed by Susan Gayle- Todd featured a cast of very talented local artists. Many of the actors were hailing from the Shakespeare at Winedale program from University of Texas. This was the next to final performance as the play was…
play, Feste points fun at everyone no matter the class or social rank an individual is and even sings songs pertaining to the mood of the play. The tone of play especially changes once everyone mistook Sebastian as Cesario From “Nothing that is so, is so': Twelfth Night.” author Ryan Kiernan states, “Festevents his irritation in a sarcastic tirade, ironically unaware, for once, that he speaks more truly than he knows...'Nothing that is so, is so': therein lies the distilled wisdom not just of…
The Comedy of Errors In William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors a question that is raised throughout the whole play is weather the play is considered farce or romance. Which brings up another question for me in what ways can a reader be deeply impacted by the use of farce and romance. While in Shakespearean times farce was comical and used a lot of physical contact, usually viewer friendly romance mostly revolved around tragedy and families reuniting. Throughout the play both farce the genre…
Emily Fox ENG 2750 5/26/16 Exam: A Midsummer Night's Dream 1. Comedy is a very complex genre because many people react to humor differently - and what one person might find funny, another might not. Most often, comedy is about something that is considered universally funny, or about something related to our present day culture. For example, many people find TV Shows that talk about current events in a comic way hilarious, but for someone not aware of the current events they are making fun of,…
This is easy to comprehend as no one knows Katherina 's reluctant character more than her father. This may contradict the idea that the control over Katherina 's life lacks comedic value. The idea of feminism didn 't exist in Shakespearean times and the way Katherina is treated is significantly better than most ' shrews ' in this time. This may indicate a true sense of passion between the pair from the beginning. Petruchio refers to Kate as " O, the kindest Kate!" when she is clearly far from…