Characteristics of Comedy
There are many characteristics that make up a comedy. Characteristics such as mistaken identity, battle of the sexes, and jumping to conclusions are what set the comedic story apart from the tragedy. Within a comedy, no matter how much fault, and dismay may appear within the story, there always seems to be the classic ending of “…and they all lived happily ever after…” Comedies capture the viewer with a sense of compassion and love for the characters in the story. Each character has their own essence, to which they pertain a flaw of some sorts, which the audience can relate to. With the relation to characters there is defiantly a certain interest that is grabbed by the actors, which sucks the audience into the show.
Within the comedic play Much To Do About Nothing, Shakespeare portrays many of the characteristics of a comedy. One of these characteristics is mistaken identity. When it is thought that the lady Hero is dead, the offer for Claudio to marry Hero’s cousin is presented, yet Hero is playing a fictional character of her cousin. Claudio had mistaken her identity for that of her cousins. The plan is not known at all until it all unwraps at the end of the play when the supposed cousin takes off her veil. In a modern comedy, mistaken identity is usually more settle, and less drastic then a wedding. Such as in the movie Clerks, when the employee running the store (Dante) steps away from the counter, and asks his friend to watch the store. Then the Dante’s ex-girlfriend comes into the store and asks for him. Dante has been sweating her for so long and wants to get back together, and so does she. His friend (Randal) being ignorant tells her he went home to change or he’s in the back. She goes into the back of the store not to return until a few scenes later. Then she comes out from the dark back bathroom fulfilled, and out of breath to find Dante standing there talking to Randal. When she asks Dante how he got to the front of the store so fast, he replies what are u talking about. It ended up that she was in the bathroom with another man who had gone into the bathroom earlier. She had made love with this stranger thinking it was Dante. Mistaken identity can be quite drastic at times, and then again can be a dream come true.
It seems within every comedy there is a batt...
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...e jumps to the wrongful conclusion of this tragedy. Even though it seems like Claudio has much fault in the scandal, it is not at all his fault. Within modern day life it is not uncommon to find someone jumping to conclusions about someone, or a situation. Within the comedic sense it shows the ignorance of man, and how impatient we are to find out the truth. It seems as though through this characteristic of comedy, there is the reflection of man’s impatience, and how we grab the first possible answer without looking into it just to get an answer; the easiest answer.
All aspects and characteristics of comedy from the past can relate into characteristics of comedy form the present. Although stories and plots are different, the general formula to have a comedy remains the same throughout the ages. Relating these characteristics of the comedy Much To Do About Nothing, by Shakespeare, to comedies from the present is simple because every comedic story contains the same characteristics of a comedy. To be a comedy, a story must contain comedic characteristics. Without these characteristics, there would be no comedy, and with no comedy the world would frown.
A major concern in both the film and the original text is the ‘status of women’. This is represented through the differing roles of women and their denigration within the Elizabethan society. For instance, Hero is accused of committing infidelity; consequently her image in society is tarnished, In addition to this, Claudio insults Hero publicly without even considering confirming the accusation of her being unchaste. This is illustrated through Claudio slandering Hero through the use of usage of Greek Mythological allusions “You seem to as Dian in her orb, but you are more intemperate than Venus in y...
The beginning of the play shows Claudio, on numerous occasions, as gullible and paranoid that everyone is against him. When Don John tells Claudio that Don Pedro has wooed Hero for himself he responds by saying, ““But hear these ill news with the ears of Claudio. Tis’ certain so. The Prince woos for himself” (Shakespeare 24.) This quote shows that Claudio often puts his trust in the wrong people. He takes the word of an enemy, who he has already defeated in battle, over someone who fought along side him and is supposedly his best friend. It also shows how naïve Claudio can be and how easily he will take what others say as the truth without using his better judgment. In this quote, Claudio proves how fast he can turn against someone, even one of his best friends, when he hears they have wronged him. When Don John accuses Hero of being unfaithful to Claudio he says, “If I see anything tonight w...
It is this mix that so marks the play out from pure comedies such as
Comedy is used to establish the theme that love isn’t always easy. This is shown when Puck puts the love potion in the wrong Athenian’s eyes. The audience can clearly see the mistake that Puck makes is supposed to be comical but the conflicts that result, make the theme more serious. Shakespeare also shows comedy in his play when he causes Tatiana, queen of the fairies, to fall in love with Bottom. "Why do they run away? This is a knavery of them to make me afeard."(86) In this quote, the speaker, Bottom, is wondering why everyone is afraid of him. He doesn 't realize that as a practical joke Puck has put an ass head on his shoulders. This makes all of his companions afraid of him so that they run away. This is an example of the comedy involved in this
It shouldn't be forgotten that in the body of the play those who are masters of a language of extraordinary wit and polish - language that seems to guarantee rationality and good judgement - get things almost completely wrong. The resolution of the play comes via the agency of the people whose discourse is an assault on language, who are dismissed - by Leonato - as 'tedious' when they should be patiently listened to. But, as Borachio says 'what your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light' (V.1.221-222). And even more disturbing, that resolution comes by mere accident: by the chance overhearing of a conversation.
The Comedy of Errors has often been dismissed as a mere farce, unworthy of any serious attention. Yet, when the author is Shakespeare, even a "farce" is well worth a second look. Shakespeare himself may have takent his comedic work quite seriously, for audiences expected comedy of his day not only to entertain, but also to morally instruct. It is not surprising, therefore, that for one of his earliest comedies, Shakespeare found a model in the plays of Plautus and Terence, which were studied in all Elizabethan Grammar Schools, praised by schoolmasters, and critically respectable. (Muir 3)
The play evokes an exemplified expression of frustration and love which we bottle in. With today’s technology, social media makes it harder for us to communicate to each other; it was a tool that was meant for us to easily connect to each other, but that is not the case. We hide behind it and we start to lose our ability to communicate to each other face to face, failing to reveal our true emotions to each other. We fail to notice this dilemma because our cultural norm has changed and it is acceptable for us to hide behind text messages instead exchanging words with our mouth’s. It was a part of the play when Beatrice and Signior Benedict tried to hide their love from each other. In the end of Much Ado About Nothing, both parties tried to hide behind their excuses claiming that they only loved one another because one was madly in love with the other. Signior Benedict was flushed out when one of his friends revealed his sonnet for Beatrice that truly came from his heart. Beatrice was uncovered by Hero the same way since Beatrice also professed her love to Signior Benedict in a piece of paper. Both of them never planned to read it to each other. In a way Shakespeare understood human emotions and interactions. His works is a necessity of the years to come. It shifts us back into the lost ways in the art of
Comedy differs in the mood it approaches and addresses life. It presents situations which deal with common ground of man’s social experience rather than limits of his behaviour – it is not life in the tragic mode, lived at the difficult and perilous limits of the human condition.
The film Bridesmaids exhibits the use of several principles of “comedy of a genre,” including happy ending, uplifting worldview and magnified disharmony/disorder. Comedy films tend to have happy endings, in which conflicts and challenges are resolved positively, sympathetic protagonists achieve their goals and gain rewards, antagonists have a change of heart or undergo moral conversion or receive due comeuppance, and there is communal and/or familial reconciliation. In Bridesmaids, we see all of these tropes exhibited in the ending - for example, Lillian’s wedding does end up happening successfully, Annie is able to get out of her “low point” and ends up with Officer Rhodes, and Annie and Helen become friends by the end of the film. An uplifting worldview in comedy films promotes a
Humor in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In Twelfth Night we see different types of humour. There is the witty
In Shakespeare’s comedies, the audience have come to expect that the play will end on a note of happiness. Indeed, the “happiness of Shakespeare’s comic endings belong in s...
Defeating the enemy, light-heartedness, and a happy ending for the lovers are all elements in a comedic play. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice shows that love conquers all and that you can always defeat the enemy. Even if a pound of flesh is the difference between life and death, or if one wrong person chooses the casket that decides your fate. For example, The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, not only survives the fate of having a pound of his flesh taken from his body on account of his friend that could not repay the bond to a man who is seen as the devil, but gets thrice his money back and the villain is taken down. Not to mention that Antonio’s best friend, Bassanio, not only repays the bond and gets out of his debt to help his friend, but also marries himself a rich wife. In contrast, Portia, who was bound by her dead father to marry a man whom she could never love, cheated her fate and married the man she truly loved. What makes this play a comedy is clearly evident; the villain is defeated and destroyed, and happy endings are given to those that deserve them like the Christians.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and
Throughout Twelfth Night, disguise and mistaken identity works as a catalyst for confusion and disorder which consistently contributes towards the dramatic comic genre of the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola, who disguises herself as a man in order to serve Orsino, the Duke. By dressing his protagonist in male garments, Shakespeare creates ongoing sexual confusion with characters, which include Olivia, Viola and Orsino, who create a ‘love triangle’ between them. Implicitly, there is homoerotic subtext here: Olivia is in love with a woman, despite believing her to be a man, and Orsino often comments on Cesario’s beauty, which implies that he is attracted to Viola even before her male disguise is removed. However, even subsequent to the revealing of Viola’s true identity, Orsino’s declares his love to Viola implying that he enjoys lengthening the pretence of Vio...
Humor has been the source of entertainment throughout history. Today humor is practiced in movies, plays, songs, television shows and radio. Humor has brought fame and fortune to those who have mastered its power.