Is Benedick the comic hero of the play? How far do you agree with this statement? Suggesting if Benedick is the comic hero of Much Ado About Nothing is difficult to pin point a precise hero as each character possess a different comical trait. For the reason that each character during the play being a character to laugh at or with for respite after tragic events, for instance Dogberry’s use of malapropism mocks authority and makes fun of those who are in it. Devices that are used by Benedick and Beatrice are Bawdy language, word play and puns, which are very different compared to Dogberry’s According to Aristotle the idea of comedy comes from speculation concerning men dancing, signing and cavorting around the image of a phallus.
who hides and what is hidden? how does deceit function in the world of the play, and how does it help the play comment on life in general? a central motif in the play is trickery or deceit, whether for good or evil purposes. counterfeiting, or concealing one's true feelings, is part of this motif. everyone seems to lie; good characters as well as evil ones engage in deceit as they attempt to conceal their feelings: beatrice and benedick mask their feelings for one another with bitter insults; don john spies on claudio and hero; don pedro and his 'crew' deceive benedick and beatrice.
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. Since the time of the ancient Greeks critics have struggled to define it, Plato described it as a series of events you would ‘blush to practice yourself’. Susan Snyder who writes for the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Company, states that - ‘Comedy involves men of middling estate, its perils are small scale, its outcomes peaceful’. This is an excellent summary for the majority of Shakespeare’s plays; however it is not necessarily accurate in relation to MAAN. It is true to say that a comedy involves ‘men of a middling estate’, in MAAN the protagonists share the company of the Prince Don Pedro, and are socially superior to the watchmen such as Dogberry and Verges.
It is suggested by this then that the play holds no deeper meaning or message of morality; it is simply designed to fulfill a purpose through usage of traditional comedic techniques. However, some have interpretated themes of sexuality and a gentle mocking of Victorian customs ultimately leaving the play open to assumption. The Importance of being Earnest certainly maintains many traits of a great comedy of manners, "A comedy that satirizes behaviour in a particular social group"(dictionary.com). In fact many people have hailed it as "the greatest stage comedy of all time", this triumph supports the viewpoint that Wilde merely succeeded in entertaining his audience rather than channeling a deeper understanding. The use of slapstick by Wilde produces a contrived and absurd plotline that is in every way unrealistic.
Charles Lamb states that Malvolio “becomes comic by accident”. His criticism portrays Malvolio as a tragic character. Lamb describes Malvolio’s dialect as “that of a gentleman, and a man of education.” Predisposed with Malvolio’s dialect and seemingly noble manner is hubris which leads to his downfall in the play. In Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, Malvolio is not a tragic character but, the fool of the play in that he is a scapegoat for mockery and entertainment. Aristotle in ‘Poetics’ defined comedy as “an imitation of inferior people-not, however, with respect to every kind of defect; the laughable species of what is disgraceful.
She uses different numbers and awards to show how devoted the shows fans are and how well the show is actually doing. Peacocke talks about her own struggle with the shows offensive humor but then now she realizes the use of humor in the jokes. The author uses different segments of the show to show how although the jokes are, at first glance, offensive the hidden meaning is simply "pointing out the weaknesses and defects of U.S. society in a mocking and sometimes intolerable way." (263). Antonia Peacocke uses short parts of from different authors to shape her argument, agreeing with some and pointing fun at others.
Ewing Hail LA Comp I T/TH 9-9-14 The chief aim of humorist is not merely to entertain, but to “convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” Society allows humorists to say things that other people cannot or will not say. Humorist are seen as serving a vital function in society. On the comedy scene, humorist use the tough issues that might be too sensitive for some. Add their own light so to speak, to make it easier to understand and swallow. Comedy can break through all the red tape and say what others cannot.
Stoppard uses his play to mock the conventions of cosy crime fiction as some believe theatrical whodunits are inevitably shallow and dull thus Stoppard only delineates the obvious. Stoppard focuses on the melodramatic style of The Mousetrap that involves the audience in clues and suspense with complications and revelations at the end of each act through his notion of absurdist theatre. He exaggerates the conventions of the crime fiction genre through combining elements of British comedy in his play where the audience is aware of such humour. By utilizing the audiences’ knowledge of detective fiction as an iconic British genre he henceforth creates a parody and pastiche in The Real Inspector
Because people are making fun of his nose he is able to provide witty humor that makes the book become a comedy. Valvert says “Ah…your nose…hem!...Your nose is…rather large!” “Rather” “Oh well” “Is that all” “Well of course.”(35-36 Act 1) But Cyrano does not leave it like this he replies by insulting Valvert and ultimately making him angry by telling him all the better insults that he could have had. He threw it right back in his face by making it a joke. Throughout the story comedy like this occurs and that is why I believe it is a
You can tell that nobody takes them seriously, especially when Leonato shows no sign of gratefulness that he has captured two men by simply saying “go drink some wine” (Shakespeare 46) As we look into the theories of comedy for the play, it is clear that an option is Freud’s theory. He believes that the essence of comedy and laughter come at the extent of others. Comedy is often a disguised form of anger or aggression. We find ourselves, as well as some of the characters in the play, laughing at the fact that some of the characters are being manipulated into believing one thing from another. Much Ado About Nothing was a difficult play for me to understand at first, but after watching the play and going back and reading it again it definitely helped my understanding of the sarcasm happening by the characters.