‘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.
Beckett challenged the traditional structure of comedy developed by the Greeks which was order, disorder, new restored order. Living in a post war generation and a time where modernism was evolving literature he utilised certain elements to reform traditional comedies. He incorporated elements of Vaudeville and Absurdity to transform the repetitive and comparable nature of the comedies that preceded Waiting for Godot. Waiting for Godot contains two identical acts in which ‘nothing happens...twice’ however the literary devices that Beckett uses often creates drama and excitement within the dialogue and stage directions rather than the action itself. He writes using a long stream of consciousness causing the language to lack any real sense of coherent structure when it is first read.
However, the most incredible of all these passages is found in Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 164-177, where Macbeth contemplates his inner thoughts to himself. Here, Macbeth speaks to time, providing the audience with a more in depth image of its importance. Also, Macbeth’s diction is short and fierce, further pushing the play’s theme of insanity slowly taking over Macbeth’s mind. Lastly, the passage faultlessly illustrates Macbeth’s fatal flaw of ambition slowly ruining his inner being. With these things taken into account, it will be effortless for one to show just how lovely this passage is
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.
So therefore all the tragic elements of the comic ending (on the surface) must be taken into account to be able to truly consider whether this play achieves the classic comic ending associated with the genre. Before addressing the larger connotations and underlying themes of the ending, one must first consider whether in fact the ending is comic. The physical humour of the pirate attack and barrel sequence cannot be questioned - the farce sequences would most definitely render comedy for an audience: they reiterate the strong theme of miscommunication that is present throughout the play, which creates a cyclic and satisfying feature to the ending, a long with the similarities of the beginning and the ending, where they are “alone in the dark” - revolution and closure being key elements of the comic genre. Though both slapstick sequences show an undoubtably comic occurrence, most other comic events readily presented by Stoppard can be viewed with a more macabre interpretation, drawing on the wider and more metonymic images. For example the stabbing of the player is a shocking opsis as we see Guildenstern desire to show the Player
Jews in Shakespeare’s England would have been familiar with portrayals of Jews as villains and main source of mockery. The comedy plot which allows the audience pity and compassion rather than concern. In Macbeth tells a story of a brave Scottish general who receives a prophecy from the witches that he will one day become the king the Scotland. Macbeth was most likely written in 1606 in the reign of James 1. James was a patron of Shakespeare acting company and he wrote under James reign.
The seriousness of their love results from the lovers’ disrepudance (?) of artificial language of ‘love’ and superficial code they had tired by at the beginning of the play. This is seen through the development of language form beginning with rhyme (Levin- “Comedy set the pattern of courtship embodied in dance (rhyme)) heavily used in the first act to its replacement of Blank verse which representative of a for more logical and realistic tone. This also reflects a common Shakespearean comment on Appearance versus Reality which is often a deeper theme discussed in tragedy. Tragedy is said to be further represented in Shakespeare’s use of opposites or antithesis.
Many parts of the English language derived from the writings of Shakespeare. Although told in much different context that is often nearly impossible to understand, Shakespeare provided us with many insightful life lessons in his literature. The phrase, “kill them with kindness” was originally published in The Taming of the Shrew. This phrase teaches us to treat our enemies and those who try to bring us down with kindness in order to show them that their cruel words do not hold a candle to our confidence and demeanor. The phrase, “all that glitters isn’t gold” also came from another Shakespearean text, The Merchant of Venice.
Also, Laertes, like his father, has the same spontaneity as Hamlet. Throughout this tragic play, we see there are many foils, whether they are noticeable or hard to see. Foils add to the plot of the play by introducing the audience or reader to the characters personality, which aids us in understanding each character’s decisions. Literary techniques such as these foils greatly enrich a play and make them into final masterpieces, as
Othello Study Questions PLOT 1. Despite his cleverness and luck, Iago eventually suffers a downfall. Discuss three reasons why Iago meets his doom. 2. Othello is often seen as a play that represents a struggle between good and evil.