Shakespearean Comedy
The Structure of a Shakespeare Comedy
1. HARMONY - everything is peaceful, calm and in order.
2. COMPLICATION - things start to get complicated by different characters meddling in different ways. Usually involves a complicated love story.
3. DISORDER OR CHAOS - intertwining plots and more complication as more characters get involved and become confused. Often involve mistaken identity and hidden secrets.
4. RESOLUTION - a solution to get everything to the way it was and to get the couples who were meant to be together.
5. RESTORATION - everything is back to the way it was, a happy ending with one or more marriages involved.
2. COMPLICATION - things start to get complicated by different characters meddling in different ways. Usually involves a complicated love story.
3. DISORDER OR CHAOS - intertwining plots and more complication as more characters get involved and become confused. Often involve mistaken identity and hidden secrets.
4. RESOLUTION - a solution to get everything to the way it was and to get the couples who were meant to be together.
5. RESTORATION - everything is back to the way it was, a happy ending with one or more marriages involved.
The Features of a Shakespeare Comedy> COMEDY THROUGH LANGUAGE - Shakespeare communicated his comedy through language, but having characters having witty lines, clever word play, metaphors and insults to say
> LOVE - Love is the theme presented in every comedy play. This is because it has a simple yet effective structure of young lovers who try to get together, but have to overcome many obstacles in their relationship and unite > COMPLEX PLOTS - The plotline in comedy has more suprises and twists than Shakespeare's tragedies or histories. Again, it has a simple yet effective structure of the climax being in the 3rd act, then the lovers uniting and having a happy ending > MISTAKEN IDENTITY - This is a feature which drives most of the plot as it is a major part of comedy. For eample in Much Ado, Don John tricks Claudio into thinking that his fiance is being unfaithful to him, through mistaken identity. There are also scenes in this play were the characters are in diguise, and female characters may dress up as male characters |
Features in Much Ado About Nothing> There is a greater emphasis on the character's situation rather the actual character, because this reduces the connection between the audience to the character, and therefore makes it more humourous for the audience
> A tention between Apollonian - order and reason, and Dionysian - disire and chaos, values. > Young lovers who are stuggling to get together is often presented by a much elder person > Mistaken indentity, deception amonst the characters > There may be diputes between the characters, and in this case between faimly - Don Pedro and Don John > Many intertwining plots, usually caused by characters meddling with other charcters > The uses of all styles of comedy, including witty banter (Benedick and Beatrice), earthy humour and puns > The scene of that courtly people living in an idealised life - Pastoral element - Sicily > A happy enging with multiple marriages between unmarried characters |