It is usually done for the purpose of entertainment. Throughout the whole play, Shakespeare creates comic effects to amuse his audience. In this essay, I will discuss the use of pun, comic characters, sub-plot, misunderstood conversations and dramatic irony. Many characters in Twelfth Night love playing with words. Wordplay can create comic effect and give a sense of chaos.
The Fools songs, riddles and jokes are a source of comic relief, used to break up the intensity of scenes. The Fool appears to have a deceptively simple part in the play when in actual fact his role is of key significance. The Fool and Lear have a fascinating relationship throughout the play. Lear seems to depend on his Fool increasingly to be his voice of reason or his conscience, because he reminds Lear of all his mistakes and manipulates his feelings into realising them. This is a great irony as the King who is supposed to be wise is in-fact a fool, yet the Fool himself is full of
“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness” To what extent does this view of comedy apply to The Importance of Being Earnest People have always found humour in others misfortune, since the first comedy’s in ancient Greece, although in the twentieth century theatre a more became more serious production than in the past, throughout the importance of being earnest, I believe the characters troubles which they often cause for themselves are central to the comedic drama of the play. Jack and Algernon’s unhappiness with their lives leads to them both to come up with personas to escape the harsh constricts of Victorian life and expectations. They see their separate identity’s as normal Algernon says that “A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.” This suggests that Algernon believes that all husbands in Victorian society lead double lives it also continues the long-running marriage gag, which makes a joke out of the Victorian notion of “married bliss”. The use of the false identity is the main cause of all the issues within the play. Lady Bracknell is arrogant, conservative, ruthless, and proper; she represents the Victorian upper-class and therefore is the key to the satire comedy seen within the play.
A Midsummer’s Night Dream: Comedy or Corrupt? Although most believe A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare is a light, romantic comedy, many well renowned experts such as Jan Katt argue the play encompasses the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe and should therefore be considered sinister and violent. In your eyes, is A Midsummer’s Night Dream a violent, erotic play or a lighthearted comedy? Without a doubt, the play is a sweet, light, comedy, intended to entertain the reader as evident in the mistaken identities, the character development of Bottom along the various forms of comedy. All these elements contrast the violent, sinister play many perceive it as.
In many of William Shakespeare’s plays, moments of tragedy and tension are lightened by the interruption of comical characters. These characters are referred to as the “Shakespearean fool”. The reoccurring presence of such personalities captivated the audience of the Elizabethan era as it made them laugh. Shakespeare employed the use of humor as means to avoid a dismal atmosphere. This was most effective when the storyline became too serious, as it provided comic relief.
"Modern comedy is cruel and cynical” Barry Cryer. To what extent do you agree that cruelty and cynicism are at the heart of the comedy in ‘Educating Rita’? Cruelty and cynicism play a vital role in creating comedy in ‘Educating Rita’. Both of the characters have aspects of their lives that the audience can laugh at, however for a majority, it can be perceived as cruel due to the fact that most of the circumstances we laugh at negatively impact the lives of the characters. Willy Russell uses superiority theory to engage the audience by creating comedy through the misfortune of others.
This conflict between them causes comedy as there are misunderstandings, which are amusing and the audience feel superiority over the characters who do not understand some of each other’s references. At the start of the play when Rita refers to a poem about “fightin’ death an’ disease”, Frank automatically assumes its “Dylan Thomas” as Thomas’s poem about death is a part of the literary canon. However Rita replies it’s “Roger McGough’s” poem that she’s describing. This misunderstanding conveys to the audience that these characters would not conventionally associate with each other. It could be amusing to the audience as it highlights the absurdity of the situation.
How could anyone in a clear state of mind desire marriage after being exposed to such a brilliantly devised sequence of bitter-sweet remarks on the institution of marriage? In essence, when the bubble fireworks are out, Wilde’s play reveals its thorns, and they are aimed directly at the institution of marriage. Despite the happy ending, The Importance of Being Earnest takes a perfectly satirical stance in regards to the institution of marriage. Oscar Wilde takes pleasure in deconstructing the pristine facade built around the concept of marriage by Victorian society, and he is fearless in attacking its conventions. Wilde’s play does not celebrate marriage as the ultimate alliance by love, instead preferring to expose its “unstylish” side stained by hypocrisy and shallowness.
“The gulling of Malvolio is a joke that goes too far”. To what extent does Shakespeare blur the boundaries of comedy in his depiction of the gulling of Malvolio? The boundaries of comedy can sometimes be blurred as they range between light and dark comedy. Dark comedy is often used to dismember the potential discomfort an audience may feel should heavy moral subjects arise in pieces of art such as psychological impairment in Twelfth Night. Malvolio is used in Twelfth Night to personify the notion of Lent and order in the text and is the butt of the comedy in the sub-plot.
The entire work of The Importance of Being Earnest is founded upon seeing the humor beneath the surface. Although it certainly does have its number of moments intended to induce laughter, the underlying humor and hypocrisy are the most enjoyable parts to the observant reader or listener. The biggest sources of this “thoughtful” humor are the puns, the satirizing of modern living, and the hypocrisy of every character’s actions. Puns are often thought to be a very low form of humor – a literary sucker punch thrown to get a few cheap laughs. These type of puns are certainly found in the play in lines such as “As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte” and “It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist.