Additionally Shakespeare explores gender roles through a series of ‘lewd jokes’ and ‘cartoonish pratfalls’ which typically follow ‘the basic formula for comedy’ and also support the audience’s ‘expectation of plot’. Simultaneously Shakespeare subverts the audience’s ‘expectation of plot and character’ when exploring gender roles through the characters, as it creates tension and becomes less comedic. Following the ‘basic formula for comedy’ ‘A Midsummer Night Dream’ begins with the preparations for a royal wedding which is portrayed as a joyous occasion, Theseus is looking forward to the wedding and wishes to celebrate “With triumph, and with revelling” (Act 1: Line: 19) Shakespeare then removes the feeling of happiness and replaces it with a sense of tension when Egeus enters furiously with his daughter Hermia. It appears that Shakespeare has chosen to place these two events next to each other in order to sustain the audiences ‘expectation of plot’ as it
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.
Also, Bianca is shown as the virginal, young girl which is another ‘stock character’. In Romantic comedy, this sort of character is very typical and it is typical for a Romantic comedy to have stock characters within them. In addition to this, however it also seems as if Shakespeare is using Lucentio to mock Romantic plays. This would create a ‘parody’, this is when a mocking of a literal piece is made and Shakespeare is mocking Romance. He does this by Lucentio over-complementing Bianca; he praises her “sweet beauty in her face”, “he coral lips”, her breath which smelt like “perfume in the air” and what she surrounded was “sacred and sweet” and that he “laments (or cries) burns, pines and perishes” because of her beauty.
Doubling and use of disguise are the heart of the comedy produced in The Importance of being Earnest. Do you agree that the comedy is mainly created through the use of doubling and disguise? In this essay, I will discuss how Wilde uses doubling and disguise as the heart of the comedy, created through a sense of humour and fun. Wilde introduces disguise and doubling to present to the audience to show that the comedy can be silly and hilarious. The play is a comic play in which doubling and disguise creates confusion to the characters.
Shakespeare’s comedy is based on cruelty and subversion, discuss. Shakespearean comedies always maintain importance in using obvious comedic elements, such as mistaken identity, young lovers overcoming obstacles, and always a happy ending. As Dr Emma Smith suggests; ‘We can be sure if any woman in a Shakespeare comedy asserts that she does not want a husband, the plot will contort itself to make sure she gets one.’ Here Smith encapsulates the main and enduring convention of the romantic comedy: Whatever happens, all is resolved in the end. However, when a great deal of his comedy is based on the idea of a comic individual, such as in the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, a character at whom the audience is always laughing, when do the jokes turn into mocking, and at which point does the comedy turn into cruelty? Is it the character in the play he is mocking, or is he attacking the society and expected norms of his era?
[2] Shakespeare’s gift for words and phrases portray a ‘merry war’ (I.1.50) about ‘the nature of love and the power it has to lead men and women into delusion using comedy that interlinks with tragic factors’[3] as engendered within Branagh/Thompsons’ film adaptation of the play. Elizabethan audiences were especially fond of certain kinds of humour, especially humour that played on words. Comic scenes lighten the play and contain some sexual innuendo and many witty remarks and exchanges between the characters. [4] Indeed some of the characters have their own language devices, the awkward language of the watch and Beatrice and Benedick all have their witty exchanges interwoven with insults and teasing. Dogberry’s outrageous malapropisms and utter stupidity in general provide for some of the most memorable merriment in this play.
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.
“How far would you agree that the characters’ susceptibility to deception is what drives the plot in this dramatic comedy?” Much Ado About Nothing is a dramatic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Its main themes include deception, social grace, honour, marriage and gender- with characters falling in love, falling out of love, being disgraced and being accepted once more; but what really drives the plot in this dramatic comedy? Many would argue that it is the characters’ susceptibility to deception as deceit is one of its main themes. I am going to argue for and against this and come to a conclusion of how far I’d agree that it is what drives the main plot. Much Ado is a play based around the theme of deliberate deception- sometimes this deception is malevolent and sometimes benevolent but much of the play hinges around them and their effect on the characters.
Discuss the relationship between Hal and Falstaff; what are the positive and negative aspects of it and how do these effect events in the play? The relationship between Hal and Falstaff show in Henry IV both demonstrate positive and negative aspects which have an impactful effect on the outcome of the play. Shakespeare utilizes their relationship to breakdown the amount of sophisticated events that occur through comedy to ease the tension. Some other aspects of Hal’s and Falstaff’s relationship are that they happy to live a carefree lifestyle and that there is strong bond of trust and loyalty between them. These aspects help the reader understand the type of characters that are.