Shakespeare ’s comedies

Shakespeare’s comedies Liceo Laura Bassi 4° formers – scienze umane

The plays of William Shakespeare were grouped into: • Comedies • Histories • Tragedies

Shakespeare’s 17 comedies are the most difficult to classify because they overlap in style with other genres. Critics often describe some plays as tragi-comedies because they mix equal measures of tragedy and comedy (see Much Ado about Nothing).

All's Well That Ends Well • As You Like It • The Comedy of Errors(is believed to be Shakespeare’s earliest comedy, written around 1592) • Cymbeline • Love's Labour's Lost • Measure for Measure • The Merchant of Venice • The Merry Wives of Windsor • A Midsummer Night's Dream • Much Ado About Nothing • Pericles Prince of Tyre • Taming of the Shrew • The Tempest • Twelfth Night • The Two Gentlemen of Verona • The Winter's Tale

Legacy • Because of his humanist education, Shakespeare was familiar with classical (Greek and Latin) comedy • The Latin comedies of Terence and another Roman poet, Plautus (ca. 258?-184 B.C.), were studied in Elizabethan schools

Structure From Terence and Plautus, Shakespeare learned how to organize a plot in a way modern editors may represent as a five-act structure: 1- A situation with tensions or implicit conflict (Exposition) 2- Implicit conflict is developed (Rising Action) 3- Conflict reaches height; frequently an impasse (Turning Point) 4- Things begin to clear up (Falling Action) 5- Problem is resolved, knots untied (Conclusion)

Structure conflict obstacles obstacles solution of conflict

Characters From the works of Plautus and Terence, Shakespeare learned to use certain stock characters such as - the prodigal youth and his female love interest; - "blocking figures" who provide the obstacle to be overcome (ex.the senex), a parent or guardian of the hero or heroine - the shrewish wife, the pedant, the braggart soldier (the miles gloriosus), the parasite, clowns, outlaws, clever servants, female confidantes.

Comedy: • Is often set in an imaginary country (ex.Illyria) • Is similar to a fairy-tale • Characters are true to life

In Shakespeare’s comedies female heroines are usually more important than male heroes • But in Shakespearian time men played all the roles even female ones • In characters we can see many mistakes and faults

The two most important motives in comedy: • Right of an individual to free choice of love • Contrast between the appearance and reality

Shakespeare’s comedies are accompanied by music and sometimes actors play music instruments by themselves • Songs are often sung by a jester or a fool; parallel the events of the plot.

The main themes in Shakespeare’s comedies are: • Romantic love • Friendship

Main features • A struggle of old haters to overcome difficulty, often presented by young people • Separation and re-unification • Mistaken identities • A clever servant • Heightened tensions, often within a couple • Complex, intertwining plot • Use of puns

Twelfth Night • Twelfth Night is a wonderful romantic comedy which was named after the Twelfth Night Christmas holiday. • First performed between 1599 and 1601 • It contains basic themes like: divided twins, mistaken identity, true love conquering, gender-crossing and love madness.

Orsino is a strong nobleman who lives in the country of Illyria. He is madly in love with the gorgeous lady Olivia.

Viola is a young upper-class woman and the main character of the play. She represents herself as a man ‘Cesario’ and goes to work for Orsino and falls in love with him. • Olivia is a good looking, wealthy and noble woman who lived in Illyria . Orsino was in love with her.

The Taming of the Shrew http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY5GVqLKm5Q

HAPPY END Thank you for your attention!

Shakespeare ’s comedies