The characters’ likings change in the play is troubling, where Lysander is intensely in love with Hermia at first and with Helena at another point. “Transparent Helena! Nature shows art that through thy bosom makes me see thy heart” (Shakespeare and Foakes Act II). The aim of the play is not to observe the nature of true love but reasonably to mock misunderstandings that love brings. Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena are destined not to be romantic classics, but somewhat sympathetic figures thrown into perplexing situations of romantic farce.
Characters such as Malvolio, Olivia, and Orsino all display foolish behaviour as a reaction of their love, although it could be argued that some of the characters grow mad and act foolishly as a response to their own individual ideas of love rather than true love itself. Orsino is one of the characters in Twelfth Night who does not appear to be overcome by madness in reaction to his love; it could be argued however that Orsino does act foolishly when perusing Olivia. The opening Scene of ‘Twelfth Night’ introduces Orsino; through the use of hyperbole in his monologue he presents his ‘fantastical’ idea of love as something that could be considered humorous, although it could be argued that these descriptions of love echo ideas of courtly romance that were common in the Elizabethan times. “If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it”. It could be interpreted that Orsino is considering that an excess of music might cure his obsession with love, in the same way that eating too much might result in a loss of appetite.
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. INTRO: The opening scene of the play, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, is significant as Shakespeare introduces the genre of the play as a romantic comedy through the comic names given to Benedick and Beatrice by each other. Beatrice nicknames Benedick as “Signor Mountanto”, which uses sexual innuendo expressing their love hate relationship, created by the definition of the word ‘montanto’ (technical term for an upward thrust in fencing). This insulting, but hilarious comment would have only been understood by the Shakespearean audience. Opposing this, Benedick personifies disdain in the form of Beatrice, by calling her “Lady Disdain”, suggesting that she is in fact, the epitome of disdain or contempt.
Explore how Much Ado draws on and challenges comic conventions. Much Ado About is a play largely based on romantic comedy. Many aspects of the play are funny because of the desire and need shared by characters, to be together, although they each express it in different ways. Although the young lovers Hero and Claudio provide the main storyline through their excelling relationship, the tension between the older, lovers Benedick and Beatrice is what makes Much Ado About Nothing so memorable. Benedick and Beatrice argue with delightful wit, and Shakespeare develops their journey from antagonism to sincere love and affection with a rich sense of humour and compassion.
This play is about love and suggests the effects of love on a person. On the other hand it can be argued that love is not the sole motivation for all the comedic behaviour. Power is a powerful source which can change a person entirely which is displayed in the play. In act one, scene one Orsino, the ‘Duke of Illyria’ is vainly expressing his love for a Countess Olivia. “If music be the food of love, play on”.
Malvolio’s adoption of the behaviour “strange, stout and dressed in yellow stockings cross-gartered” creates comedy through the use of satire of humiliating him. However, although satire is usually perceived as humorous, this could be interpreted as rather cynical towards the end of the play due to prolonging the revenge just to watch Malvolio suffer, creating entertainment for Sir Toby and Feste. At the beginning of the play Shakespeare reveal’s that Viola wants to disguise herself as a man in order to achieve a higher status in Illyria after she is
When looking at the play Romeo and Juliet, it is made apparent that this love the characters speak of is just simply an illusion they have of love. Nonetheless, this illusionary love has a major effect on their character. Some characters jump quickly into what they believe is love and let it become a huge force of their life to the point where they change who they are and eventually let it take force of their life. Romeo and Juliet is known for its theme of love all around the world. It has a powerful focus on the intense passion between the character of Romeo and Juliet first sight of each other.
How love is presented in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and a selection of poetry by Philip Larkin Many people consider Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a stereotypical romantic love story. In some ways, it does meet these expectations. The archetypal lovers are brought up in ‘fair Verona’ by grand families ‘alike in dignity’. Because of the families' on-going conflict, the two 'star-crossed lovers' find themselves hurtling towards an ill-fated end. 'Violent passions lead to violent ends', therefore the romance becomes a tragedy.
Is it the character in the play he is mocking, or is he attacking the society and expected norms of his era? The Character of Benedick is well known for being one of the more humorous characters in the play, and the way in which he makes the audience laugh is by mocking the norms of the society. CLAUDIO: Can the world buy such a jewel? BENEDICK: Yea, and a case to put it in. This is an example of the mocking of Petrarchan language that is a constant feature throughout the play, and possibly even a hint towards Shakespeare’s attitude towards the Petrarchan language that was a norm of the time.
This relates to Morreall’s concept of complexity and the sudden switch form heterosexual to homosexual love is comedic, due to its quick and somewhat impulsive nature. An alternative interpretation is that this could be seen as being more sad than funny, this is because this part of the play represents the failure of Orsino’s advances towards Olivia, and now he wants to take Cesario away from