Compare Lane, Merriman and Miss Prism as employees and as comic characters. What do they bring to the play that would otherwise be missing? Lane, Merriam and Miss Prism are the minor characters of Importance of Being Earnest. Although at first they don't appear to bring a lot to the play, in the end they have a big impact on how it is viewed as a comedy. They bring in a lot of content which fits into to comedy criteria as well as enable the plot to develop fully.
‘Comedy involves men of middling estate; its perils are small scale, its outcomes peaceful’. To what extent do you agree with this definition of comedy in relation to Much Ado about Nothing*? Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing is one of the most popular comedies in history, selling out Shakespearean theatres until their closure in 1642. The comedy is thought to be written in 1598 and is often described as a ‘problem play’ meaning it shares tendencies with that of a tragedy. 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.
To what extent is ‘The History Boys’ a comedy of Tragicomedy? Comedy is a subjective genre, one which can be light and humorous or satirical in tone, and usually contains a happy resolution in an attempt to uplift the audience. Due to being subjective, comedy can be split into many different types; black comedy, tragicomedy, spoof comedy or arguably found in this play, satirical comedy. Comedy is created by Bennett throughout The History Boys through several techniques including the contrasting of characters, clever juxtapositions and intelligent metaphors. Although I am convinced about this play fitting to the genre of Satire, tragicomedy is my main focus of which The History Boys fits in as it contains a lot of it, maybe to appeal to a wider audience.
Homesh Krishnamoorthy Mrs. Nelson English 9E 10/04/2012 Comparison Paragraph between Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann In Act 3 scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann portray a differing interpretation of the scene. Based on my opinion of the play I believe Zeffirelli portrays a stronger interpretation of the themes and deeper ideas of the play based on characterization, setting, and the interpretation of the lines. To begin with, Zeffirelli accurately portrays the characters Mercuito, Benvolio and Tybalt by showing the audience how Mercutio is always making jokes and laughing around, and Benvolio being cautious of a fight. This leaves us with Tybalt, who is fierce and short-tempered, always looking to bring up a battle. In the beginning of the scene, Benvolio says to Mercutio, “I pray thee, Good Mercutio, let’s retire” (Benvolio 3.1.1), Mercutio abruptly interrupts him while saying “Blah, Blah, Blah” (Mercutio 3.1.2).
Alan Bennett centers the comedy in the play ‘The History Boys’ by revolving the plot on the opposition of two main characters, Hector and Irwin. Hector and Irwin are both teachers of the sixth form boys. Alan Bennett intentionally creates this opposition from physical appearance to teaching methods and the moral rights of life. Alan Bennett structures the plot so that the audience are able to constantly see the comparisons between the two characters actions when it comes to dilemmas and morality. Alan Bennett focuses on making differences in characteristics and physical appearance clearly visible throughout the play.
Hamlet was trying to be clever with Polonius as he kept asking him questions that he already knew the answers to such as “…have you a daughter” pretending that he does not know that Ophelia is his daughter. Hamlet was trying to confuse Polonius, making him think he was mad and trying to make Polonius look like a fool in front of the audience. Polonius then asks “…what do you read my lord?” and Hamlets response was “words, words, words.” Then he completes later on saying “Slanders sir, for the satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging think amber and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit…for yourself sir should be old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward”, here we see Hamlets cleverness in insulting Polonius as he calls him old and he has a lack of understanding. Hamlet seems to be scaring the Polonius as Polonius starts stepping back as Hamlets steps near him. Then at the end, Hamlets says “These tedious old fools” which is calling Polonius directly an old fool without trying to hide it as he did before.
At the same time to increase, and emphasize the tragic plot. Shakespeare was the first to mix comedy and tragedy together, but borrowed the ideas of tragedy from Aristotle. The two words come from Middle English, also back from Middle French, and originally the Old French used ‘relever’, meaning ‘to relieve.’ Hamlet seems to be the only one of Shakespeare's tragic protagonists who possesses and demonstrates a sense of humour in this play. Like the amusing characters of comedies, he likes to play games with language, to disorient other characters' verbal styles, and he has a taste for puns. In this presentation, I am mainly going to talk about Hamlet taking on the role of a fool towards Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric, and the Gravedigger.
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson – A puzzling tale with a puzzling title An appropriate novel for this seminar? A tragedy? Mark Twain’s tale Pudd’nhead Wilson, first published as The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson, is a puzzling story that gives rise to many questions: Why did Twain call the story The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson, when the story ends happily for him and he is a minor character? Which literary genre does the novel belong to? Is it really a tragedy, as Twain calls it, or rather a comedy?
As the play “King Lear” is a well-known play to the reader, adjustments to its normality gives the reader a joyful experience. The “get ready man”, whose name himself is already funny, interrupts the play and presents himself as a lunatic. His hyperbole of “the world is coming to an end” is of course absurd and incredulous to the reader, but it arouses the reader’s unexpectedness, which is relieved through the form of humor. Furthermore, his ridiculous shouting fits well in the dialogue and special effects of the performance, which adds dramatic effects to the story. All of this adds to the humor of the play.
Twelfth Night – a festive comedy: In spite of certain minor defects, Twelfth Night includes the main elements of good comedy. ‘It is the comedy of comedies’ – not only are the elements of the comic drama and comic satire from Plautus to Rabela is herein represented as fully and as perfectly as may be, for the comedy of Twelfth Night is both relieved and highlighened by an interwoven exquisite romance, whole strains of the finest poetry make perfect harmony with the comic undertone. Further, the play is splendidly wrought, plot, under-plot incident, character, movement, dialogue, diction – each is excellent and our interest is sustained throughout at the highest dramatic level. Finally, a gay good humour is the ail-pervading spirit of the dramatist’s gentle satire is wholesome, not bitter. All critics agree in considering Twelfth Night as one of the most delightful of Shakespeare’s comedies.