How Does Shakespeare Use Comedy In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Shakespeare's plays were and still are famous for his wordplay and writing. In all his plays he incorporates comedy ranging from insults to messed up identities. Many elements of comedy are instituted in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream including a frequent show of character comedy or exaggeration in the character’s personality, which can help spice up the play to make it more enthralling. Shakespeare incorporates comedy into his plays to make them more interesting and funny, which produces more lifelike characters. Character exaggeration is a very easily identified form of comedy in Shakespearean plays. Exaggeration can be shown on varying levels, like character overconfidence, being a fool and not realizing it, or trying to sound popular. …show more content…

Bottom again shows character foolishness as he tries to take every part of the play, when he was only given one character to play. He shows overconfidence in himself and his abilities, and the audience should already know that it is impossible for someone to play more than one part when the characters talk to each other. Shakespeare added this element to the play in Bottom’s part, to show the audience what a doof Bottom is, and to show his personality. It is kind of an opening explanation to how Bottom will be acting further on in the play. The comedy Bottom shows is connected to his purpose in the play, because, in the end, he is the stupid creature that Titania is supposed to fall in love with. It is also connected to the plot, because he is supposed to be acting a play for the important Duke of Athens, and his foolishness could mess it up. Bottom still acts childish and unprofessional later in the play as well, learning nothing from the moral of the story. In Act 5, for example, the mechanicals show off the play they had been working on, Pyramus and Thisbe. One instant of character exaggeration during the play is when Bottom/Pyramus broke character to correct Theseus about what was going on in the play, showing

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