How does Shakespeares use of disguise and misinterpretation of human nature link to comedy? In Much Ado about Nothing; Shakespeare uses disguise and misinterpretation through comedy to present human nature in different aspects. Shakespeare’s use of misinterpretations shapes the play and makes it pleasurable for the audience as well as entertaining. There is perplexity between lovers, the encounter of sexes, and the restoration of love and marriage. Shakespeare uses incessant word play, and constant mockery between key characters to portray the comedic effect.
In effect this makes a true friend, however some believe it was the Fool's constant remarks that drove Lear to madness. Some critics argue that The Fool actually is Cordelia or a representative of her. Others consider him to be an aspect of Lear's alter ego. Technically Shakespeare seems to use the Fool as a vehicle for pity or as a dramatic chorus. The Fools songs, riddles and jokes are a source of comic relief, used to break up the intensity of scenes.
From the very beginning of the play, Benedick and Beatrice’s attitude toward each other is a superb representation of this theme of deceit. The two menacingly fight with each other; both determined to better the other. In this “merry war” of witty insults, they are both deceiving themselves into believing they feel nothing for one another. This self-deception becomes even more obvious in masked ball scene, Act 2, Scene 1, in which Shakespeare uses physical deception by having Benedick disguise himself at the party. Benedick’s desire to know what Beatrice truly thinks of him is a sign of the love he feels for her, yet has chosen to not yet acknowledge it, even to himself.
tExplore how Love and Hate are used in Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is debatably the world’s most play. It is the love story between two people who are supposed to hate each other, already the title has been linked to the theme, but this is not all that can link the story to a Love and Hate theme and so we delve deeper… The first implication of Love and hate is in the prologue however in Line 166 of Act 1, scene 1 Romeo says “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love”. He is talking about loving hate and is referring to his love of Juliet but his hate towards Capulets. Another interesting point about love and hate is that the two themes come in pairs and when love is mentioned so his hate (and vice versa). A good example of this is when Romeo is alone with Juliet in the orchard and they talk of their passionate and soppy love for one another, Romeo throughout this scene is reminded of how much danger he is and how he could be killed if he was caught.
Parents are stupid and do not know what it best for their children or themselves . . . [Romeo and Juliet] begins with the materials for a comedy - the stupid parental generation, the instant attraction of the young lovers, the quick surface life of street fights, masked balls and comic servants" (Wain, p. 107). Indeed, one could view Romeo and Juliet as a transitional play in which Shakespeare merges the comedic elements perfected in his earlier work with tragic elements he would later perfect in the great tragedies -- Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear.
The mechanicals are important in a midsummer night’s dream as they introduce the comedy of the piece. Scene one is extremely dramatic “Full of vexation" and this is juxtaposed by the humour of the mechanicals in scene two "let me not play a woman; I have a beard coming". Until there entrance it seems a romantic tragedy on a par with Romeo and Juliet, in a way the introduction of the mechanicals reassures the audience that it is in fact a comedy and allows them to laugh. The mechinals are Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Tom Snout, Robin Starvelling and Snug. Peter quince is one of the illustrious Mechanicals who puts on the play, Pyramus and Thisbe.
The play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, highlights Oscar Wilde’s characters’ satiric, noticeable point of views and reveals not only the values of the characters, but also the nature of the play itself. Each character’s personalities lack honesty and each one expresses their common “to good” attitude of the upper class, as in talking behind the backs of other characters. Although one may not fully understand the time period in which the characters lived, the characters exhibit their obvious reflection and enhance the plays eternal theme. For example, the irony and attitudes of the characters expresses the value of being “wicked” and it gains much importance. However this sense of wickedness contributed an exciting role to society and the values of the characters as well.
"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.
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 conspirators Sir Toby, Mary, Sir Andrew, Feste, and to an extent Fabien, are the characters who are the creators of the gulling of Malvolio. Whether or not the joke is thought to go too far is, in my opinion, dependent on the audience. For example, an Elizabethan audience could potentially find the play more humorous than a modern 21st Century audience. In the late 1600s, individuals to be considered 'mad' were thought to have been possessed by the devil or some other evil spirit, and so were mocked and considered dangerous and unapproachable (as suggested by Sir Toby in Act 3 Scene 4 “defy the devil”).
Through his use of verbal language techniques and devices, Shakespeare develops loving as an unwanted, painful, disease throughout his play Twelfth Night that ultimately can turn men into monsters. He both conveys this warning to the audience and makes the play interesting and attention grabbing for them by skilfully using metaphors, comparison, emotional language, rhyme and allusion. Twelfth Night is a timeless piece of literature thanks to the intricate verbal techniques that Shakespeare weaves with a purpose into the play. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare portrays love as a “hunger” to show that we are pained by it when we cannot satisfy it, drawing similarities between the ache of loving someone to “hunger pains”. He also uses a metaphor to convey his opinion that the need for love is as great as the need for food.