We are going to dive deep into Shakespearean comedy and learn about the main features of Shakespeare comic play. But before we do so, let us understand “What is a comedy” and different types of comic plays that exist. It will then become easy for us to distinguish Shakespearean comedy from the rest.
The general perception of a comic play is that it ends happily for the protagonists and also have elements that may produce laughter. This perception is very close to Shakespearean Comedy.
Comic plays can be classified under heads like Comedy of Manners, Comedy of Humour, Sentimental Comedy, Comedy of errors, Farce. But for the sake of keeping ourself within the scope of this article, we may broadly classify comic plays into Classical comedy and Romantic comedy.
Classical comedy
Classical comedy strictly follows the rule laid down by ancient Greek and Roman. The main features of Classical comedies are:
- Unity of time, place and action.
- No mix of the comic and tragic element.
- It aims at everyday life and realism.
- Ridicule and satirize human folly or vices.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy does not follow the rules of classical comedy. It is written according to what suits the fancy of the writer. Shakespearean Comedy is essentially a Romantic Comedy. Shakespeare broke all rules of comic plays and wrote what suited his style and fancy.
Shakespeare mingled happy and sad theme, mixed comic elements with tragic elements. This made his plays appear more convincing because no human life is completely tragic or completely comic. It is a combination of both. He does not aim to correct human follies. Though follies and extravagances are exposed in his plays, it is done in a light-hearted manner.
Shakespeare comic plays are full of creativity and imagination and his concern was just to make his audience laugh and feel good. Light-hearted mood of his audience was his prime target.
Shakespearean Comedy Classification
Shakespeare comic plays can be classified into four different group.
Early Comedies
Shakespeare early comic plays were farcical and immature. It was packed with wits, puns and conceits. Humour appeared as forced and cheap. The style of Shakespeare early comedies matches the Lyly’s style. Plot and character composition were weak. Shakespeare’s comic plays that fall in this category are:
- Love’s Labour’s Lost,
- The Comedy of Errors,
- The two gentlemen of Verona,
- Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Joyous Comedies
The plays that fall in this group were full of love and music, fun and merry-making are the main ingredients of these comedies. They have wonderful heroines and characters were skillfully composed. A fine blend of romantic and realistic can be seen in these plays. This group includes plays like:
- The Merchant of Venice,
- As You Like It,
- Much Ado About Nothing,
- Twelfth Night
Dark Comedies
Dark comedies written by Shakespeare were sombre, dark and tragic in essence. These plays have Low moral values and the theme is more of cynicism than comedy. These plays are comedies, only in name and form, but not in essence. This group includes plays like:
- All Is Well That Ends Well,
- Measure for Measure,
- Troilus and Cressida
Dramatic romances
This style of comedy was very different from Shakespeare early comedies. Towards the end of his career, Shakespeare switched back to comic plays from tragedies. This group includes plays like:
- Cymbeline,
- The Winter’s Tale,
- The Tempest
8 features Shakespearean comedy
1. Love and Marriage
Shakespeare comedy is a story of love and marriage. Not only the hero and heroine but almost all characters fall in love. Therefore, marriage is inevitable in the end.
2. Mistaken identity or misconception
Characters impersonating someone or are mistaken for someone else is another important feature of Shakespearean comedy.
3. Idyllic Setting
Shakespearean comedies are set in idyllic surroundings. The locations are like paradise, which doesn’t exist in reality and is created by the imagination of the writer.
4. Disguise and Gender
Characters disguised as someone else, particularly female characters disguised as man is yet another feature.
5. Music and Dance
Another important feature of Shakespearean comedy is music and dance. The climax part of his comedies is always full of music, dance and merrymaking.
6. Fools
Presence of “fools” is Shakespeare’s comic plays is also an important characteristic. “Fools” serves any purpose in his plays. He is witty and sometimes the mouthpiece of Shakespeare.
7. Fate and Fantasy
Fate and Fantasy place an important role in Shakespeare’s comic plays. He makes human appear as a plaything, in the hand of some supernatural power. Supernatural elements like fairies and monsters are also part of his play.
8. Happy Ending
All Shakespearean comedy has a happy ending and ends with the marriage of one or several characters. The confusing gets resolved and everything is clear.
Conclusion
Some people do not find “Measure for measure” or “The Merchant of Venice” as a comic. There are many critics who classify plays like “The Tempest” and “The Winter’s Tale” as Romance. There can be an argument on the genre of the plays. But all the plays mentioned above fits the style of Shakespearean comedy. Also, the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s play “First Folio 1623” has all the plays mentioned above categorized under “Comedies”