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.
The title of the play, Twelfth Night, is the reference to the 12 days of Christmas which is the festive and fun season. It begins on the 25th of December and ends on the 5th of January. During these twelve days, people during Shakespeare’s time, spent them drinking, and partying, which often led to folly and excessive behaviour. The title then suggests a night of human folly, the biggest night of them all, the Twelfth night. Shakespeare also explores human folly, by using the characters, all characters have an excessive behaviour, all except Viola and her brother and of course Feste, whom is supposed to be the fool.
Shakespeare, W (1999) Twelfth Night, Harlow Longman Jemma Sigee Word Count (without cover page) 1,876 To what extent does the final scene of Twelfth Night muddle our expectations of how a dramatic comedy should be resolved? Twelfth night is based upon the twelfth night of the Christmas holiday. In Shakespearean times, this holiday was celebrated as a festival in which everything was turned upside down – much like the upside – down, chaotic world of Illyria in the play. In Twelfth night we witness the typical conventions of a dramatic comedy where natural order is disturbed as the characters journey to discover themselves amongst all the chaos and confusion. As the play unfolds the audience do not gain any in depth knowledge of the characters, conclusions are made by the characters choices and attitudes.
This is a musical where all the trials are trivial and less than life threatening, putting you in a place where you have only the most meager of worries , such as who will take you to prom, and how will you snag that handsome boy who just doesn’t seem to notice you. The musical also portrays a dream that many people have, going from a nerd that hardly anyone looks at to a total bombshell with members of the desired sex absolutely slobbering at your feet. Also, the musical is colorful with music that vibrates through your bones and absolutely insists that your body get up and dance. Grease appeals to so many people because it makes them feel as though they are a part of it, with characters, situations and dreams that near everyone can relate to. Grease is a musical set in 1959, a time when everyone seemed quite carefree.
“Comedy exhibits the external or internal deception of the Individual who, however, must not proceed in his delusion to a serious ethical violation, nor transgress the limits of sanity.” In the light of this statement, how does Shakespeare present the deception (and treatment) of Malvolio within the comic subplot of Twelfth Night? Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ gains its name from the days commencing the christmas period which are famous for their fun and festivities. Pompous, puritanical Malvolio is so antagonistically against all varieties of ‘fun’ that, naturally, his deception and mockery provide the make-up for a hilarious sub plot. At face value, this provides some welcome light relief from the turbulent main story; however, under analysis it can be questioned whether the joke delves too deeply into the uncomfortable and in doing so destroys the comedy in the deception. Early on in the play (Act 2 Scene 3) the audience enjoys the jovial atmosphere alongside the characters until Malvolio abruptly ruins the mood.
JadeCheng The author of “An Inspector Calls” is J.B Priestly. This play was written in 1945 however set in 1912, before the two world wars and the sinking of the Titanic. The author explores the different views of responsibilties through each character. J.B Priestly begins the play around a dinner table, celebrating Shiela and Gerald’s engagement party, while Mr Birling is talking about how “It’s every man for himself”. Imediantly showing Mr Birling’s personality, which is selfish.
The first impression most have of the Fool is that his presence serves as form of comic relief, in order to set a lighter tone to the play; however, because of this, his death is crucial to the bleak ending of the play. The Fool uses wit, rhyme and music and criticises Lear in an entertaining way, alleviating some of the tension particularly when Lear has been cast out in the cold night by his daughters. The fool remarks ‘naughty night to swim in’, in which the alliteration bring rhythm to his words, and the verb ‘swim’ highlights the rainy weather and the danger it poses for Lear’s health. ‘Naughty’ also suggests disobedience, which has been demonstrated by Lear’s daughters, however by using it instead to refer to the ‘night’, the Fool deflects the blame and attempts to draw Lear into the present in order to reach clarity. His comedy is so great that he is able to transcend normal societal rules; Elizabethan England was an incredibly hierarchal society in which absolute respect ought to be shown to those in power, and yet although he is a servant, the Fool’s humorous nature seems to exempt him from the expectation of respectfulness.
Manipulation At It’s Best Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a play about love and manipulation. It is a clever comedy that has people fighting and celebrating over the misconception of love within a kingdom. I think this is a classic Shakespeare piece that was sure to bring out a smile in everybody reading and watching the play. The play begins with the return of two soldiers, Claudio and Benedick, from a war that they have been fighting in. Claudio soon after confesses his love to the Governor’s daughter, Hero, during a masked party.
Sarah Marriott Professor Lavatori French 100 15 April 2014 Tartuffe I saw the comedic play Tartuffe on April 10, 2014 with a small group of my classmates for a field trip. The play was originally called The Impostor, or The Hypocrite, because it is about a con artist named Tartuffe that manipulates Orgon by making him think he is a religious saint. Tartuffe tries to take over all of Orgon’s possessions, and it almost works because all but Orgon knows that Tartuffe is a scoundrel. It was written by Molière and first performed in 1664 at the Versailles fêtes. After its first performance, King Louis XIV censored it because it was thought to slander religion.
The storm is emphatic of Prospero’s hatred for his enemies, his anger and vengeance of being usurped from the dukedom of Milan. A tragedy according to Andrew Cecil Bradley is essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death and no play at the end of which the hero remains alive is, in the full Shakespearean sense a tragedy. Therefore The Tempest is not a tragedy, as Prospero does not die at the end. During the storm the way the higher characters speak like King Alonso when compared to the Boatswain is different, they speak in verse while the lower characters speak in pose but in the storm the king speaks in prose “Good boatswain, have care.” Showing he has lost control. The plotting and scheming between Antonio and Sebastian to kill the king is similar to that of other Shakespearean tragedies such as Macbeth, Hamlet and Othello “My strong imagination sees a crown” this foreseeing imagination of Sebastian being king is parallel to the witches in Macbeth who predict his rise to being king.