The seriousness of their love results from the lovers’ disrepudance (?) of artificial language of ‘love’ and superficial code they had tired by at the beginning of the play. This is seen through the development of language form beginning with rhyme (Levin- “Comedy set the pattern of courtship embodied in dance (rhyme)) heavily used in the first act to its replacement of Blank verse which representative of a for more logical and realistic tone. This also reflects a common Shakespearean comment on Appearance versus Reality which is often a deeper theme discussed in tragedy. Tragedy is said to be further represented in Shakespeare’s use of opposites or antithesis.
Compare ways in which Shakespeare presents a character changing in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. Shakespearean romantic comedies such as ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ feature one prominent aspect, complex love relationships amongst different pairs of characters, whereby the audience expects two or more characters to inevitably fall in love. Contrastingly, Shakespearean tragedies, like ‘Macbeth’, indulge in a noble and respected character changing into a tragic Hero, eventually resulting in his death. Similarly, one of the mutual features is the change in characters caused by external influences, whereby Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio influence Benedick to love Beatrice, whilst the witches and Lady Macbeth influence Macbeth to kill the king; as other characters pursue this change, these changes are inevitable. However, Shakespeare presents Benedick’s change in a more positive and light-hearted manner, whilst Macbeth’s change revolves around negativity and wrong-doing as the approach to each individual genre is different, where comedies are humorous and happy, whilst tragedies are gloomy and grief-stricken.
How does Shakespeare successfully create comedy in Act 1 of Twelfth Night? Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night takes place during celebrations when the social hierarchy seems to be nearing towards non-existent and rankings seem to be overrun by excess partying. Tricking each other and speaking in puns was common at this time meaning Shakespeare could easily incorporate humour into the play. Through physical comedy, wit and wordplay and the use of dramatic irony, Shakespeare brings out the elements of comedy to the audience, keeping them entertained throughout. In Act 1 Scene 1 we are introduced to the Duke, Curio and Valentine.
During a tremendous argument between Juliet and her mother, Lady Capulet claims that Juliet must marry Paris, an innocent, charming man who wants to marry her, but she refuses and shouts, “ He shall not make me there a joyful bride…I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo” (3.5.132-137). Even though Juliet was already married to Romeo, she could have accepted her fate because of the hatred between the Montague and Capulet families. Yelling at her parents causes them to be mad at her, and lying makes the situation worse. Eventually, the choices the two “star-crossed lovers” made led to their
ROMEO & JULIET Examine the ending of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. What causes the tragic ending? Is it brought up by the actions or the characteristics of the protagonists or is it caused by ill-fated destiny? Romeo and Juliet, one of the most renowned plays by the immortal playwright, William Shakespeare, is a tragedy about two destined, or “star-crossed” lovers, and of how because of their ill-fated love, things and people around them changed, and in the end, led to disaster. The play begins with the prologue, where the audience is introduced to the situation they are plunged directly into – the feud, and a “pair of star-crossed lovers”, whose deaths “bury their parents’ strife”.
‘Comedy involves men of middling estate; its perils are small scale, its outcomes peaceful’. To what extent do you agree with this definition of comedy in relation to Much Ado about Nothing*? Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing is one of the most popular comedies in history, selling out Shakespearean theatres until their closure in 1642. The comedy is thought to be written in 1598 and is often described as a ‘problem play’ meaning it shares tendencies with that of a tragedy. Of course MAAN follows Shakespeare’s traditional comedy structure but modern critics have their own agenda that a comedy, being such a complex genre, should conform to.
Two of Shakespeare’s most well known plays; ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ are both based on multiple themes of love. Both contain the elements of; love at first sight and love being shallow. Shakespeare’s classic tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’ features two young lovers from feuding families who fall in love and are willing to sacrifice almost anything for their love. Whereas the comedy ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, is about two couples; Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero, these couple’s love follow the trend of a love is declared, then challenged, and then is finally reasserted in the harmony of marriage. Claudio and Hero fall in love, break apart, and then fall in love again, while at the same time, Beatrice and Benedick are being tricked into loving each other.
Love and Marriage Theme in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of a few comedies written by Shakespeare. It is believed that the play was written in order to celebrate someone’s wedding ceremony at the time, even though when exactly remains unclear. Thus love and marriage becomes the main theme of the play. Since Shakespeare was a great tragedy playwright, we can also find a number of tragic love elements as Shakespeare portrays the dark side of love as it is full of difficulties, unreasonable and uncertain throughout the play. Also he portrays problems in marriage life which is caused by mistrust and jealousy.
William Shakespeare produced most of his works between 1589 through 1613. Early in his career, Shakespeare wrote one of his most famous plays, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The play is a mix between comedy and tragedy. The play is about forbidden lovers whose suicides end the battle between the two families. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare portrays Juliet to be obedient but transforms to an independent woman, impulsive, and passionate.
In one’s opinion the plays Macbeth and Death of a Salesman are both tragedies, although many people have different perspectives on what makes a tragic hero actually is. William Shakespeare believes that a tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that makes an error in his or her actions which lead to his or her downfall. This person must be of high importance for example, a King, Queen etc. Miller has argued that tragedy is not only restricted to Kings, Queens and people of more importance, that a common man is also capable of heroism and tragedy. Both Shakespeare and Miller seem to agree on one thing that the person’s actions contribute to his or her own downfall.