FACTOID # 161: If you are looking for work, just go to the Falkland Islands! They have full employment and a labor shortage.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Shakespearean comedy

Traditionally, the plays of William Shakespeare have been grouped into three categories: tragedies, comedies, and histories. Some critics have argued for a fourth category, the romance. "Comedy" in its Elizabethan usage had a very different meaning from modern comedy. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriage for all the unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more lighthearted than Shakespeare's other plays. Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown A play, written by a playwright, or dramatist, is a form of literature, almost always consisting of dialog between characters, and intended for performance rather than reading. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career: one of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, and he followed it a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. ... Traditionally, the plays of William Shakespeare have been grouped into three categories: tragedies, comedies, and histories. ... The late romances, often simply called the romances, are a grouping of William Shakespeares later plays, including Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Cymbeline, The Winters Tale, and The Tempest. ... The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ... Matrimony redirects here. ...


Patterns in the comedies include movement to a "green world," both internal and external conflicts, and a tension between Apollonian and Dionysian values. Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a beardless youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery and also a... Dionysus with a leopard, satyr and grapes on a vine, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) This article is about the ancient deity. ...


Shakespearean comedies also tend to have

  • A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty that is often presented by elders
  • Separation and unification
  • Mistaken identities
  • A clever servant
  • Heightened tensions, often within a family
  • Multiple, intertwining plots
  • Frequent use of puns

Several of Shakespeare's comedies such as Measure for Measure and All's Well That Ends Well, have an unusual tone with a difficult mix of humour and tragedy which has led them to be classified as problem plays or tragicomedies. It is not clear whether the uneven nature of these dramas is due to an imperfect understanding of Elizabethan humour and society, a fault on Shakespeare's part, or a deliberate attempt by him to blend styles and confound expectations. It has been suggested that dajare be merged into this article or section. ... Claudio and Isabella (1850) by William Holman Hunt Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, written in 1603. ... Alls Well That Ends Well is a comedy by William Shakespeare, and is often considered one of his problem plays, so-called because they cannot be easily classified as tragedy or comedy. ... The term problem plays is applied to the three plays William Shakespeare wrote between the last of his pure comedies (Twelfth Night) and the first of his pure tragedies (Othello) They are Alls Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida. ... Tragicomedy (or dark comedy or black comedy) refers to fictional works that blend aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. ... The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ...


List of Shakespearean comedies

Alls Well That Ends Well is a comedy by William Shakespeare, and is often considered one of his problem plays, so-called because they cannot be easily classified as tragedy or comedy. ... Scene from As you like it, Francis Hayman, c. ... Publicity poster for the 2002 Los Angeles production of The Second Maidens Tragedy as Cardenio is a lost play, known to have been performed by the Kings Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. ... The Comedy of Errors is an early play by William Shakespeare, written between 1592 and 1594. ... Cymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare. ... Title page of the first quarto (1598) Loves Labours Lost is one of William Shakespeares early comedies; it is believed to have been written around 1595-1596 and is probably contemporaneous with Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights Dream. ... Loves Labours Won, alternatively written Loves labours wonne, is the name of a play written by William Shakespeare before 1598. ... Claudio and Isabella (1850) by William Holman Hunt Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, written in 1603. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shakespeares best-known plays, written sometime between 1594 and 1597. ... Title page of the 1602 quarto The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare featuring the fat knight Sir John Falstaff. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) A Midsummer Nights Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare written sometime in the late-1500s. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) Much Ado about Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play written partly by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected plays. ... The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare from early in his career. ... Autolycus (1836) by Charles Robert Leslie This article is about the play by Shakespeare. ...

Comedy vs. Late Romance

Some scholars of Shakespeare break the category of "Comedies" into "Comedies" and "Romances." The plays included in the latter category would be Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, Pericles Prince of Tyre, and The Tempest. See Shakespeare's Late Romances. The late romances, often simply called the romances, are a grouping of William Shakespeares later plays, including Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Cymbeline, The Winters Tale, and The Tempest. ... Cymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare. ... Autolycus (1836) by Charles Robert Leslie This article is about the play by Shakespeare. ... Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play written partly by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected plays. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The late romances, often simply called the romances, are a grouping of William Shakespeares later plays, including Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Cymbeline, The Winters Tale, and The Tempest. ...

The complete works of William Shakespeare
Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet | Macbeth | King Lear | Hamlet | Othello | Titus Andronicus | Julius Caesar | Antony and Cleopatra | Coriolanus | Troilus and Cressida | Timon of Athens
Comedies: A Midsummer Night's Dream | All's Well That Ends Well | As You Like It | Cymbeline | Love's Labour's Lost | Measure for Measure | The Merchant of Venice | The Merry Wives of Windsor | Much Ado About Nothing | Pericles, Prince of Tyre | Taming of the Shrew | The Comedy of Errors | The Tempest | Twelfth Night, or What You Will | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | The Two Noble Kinsmen | The Winter's Tale
Histories: King John | Richard II | Henry IV, Part 1 | Henry IV, Part 2 | Henry V | Henry VI, part 1 | Henry VI, part 2 | Henry VI, part 3 | Richard III | Henry VIII
Poems and Sonnets: Sonnets | Venus and Adonis | The Rape of Lucrece | The Passionate Pilgrim | The Phoenix and the Turtle | A Lover's Complaint
Apocrypha and Lost Plays Edward III | Sir Thomas More | Cardenio (lost) | Love's Labour's Won (lost) | The Birth of Merlin | Locrine | The London Prodigal | The Puritan | The Second Maiden's Tragedy | Richard II, Part I: Thomas of Woodstock | Sir John Oldcastle | Thomas Lord Cromwell | A Yorkshire Tragedy | Fair Em | Mucedorus | The Merry Devil of Edmonton | Arden of Faversham | Edmund Ironside
See also: Shakespeare on screen | Titles based on Shakespeare | Characters | Problem Plays | Ghost characters | Reputation | New Words | Influence on English Language | Authorship Question

  Results from FactBites:
 
NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Shakespearean comedies (1057 words)
Shakespearean comedies are one of the three (sometimes four) genres of plays by William Shakespeare.
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare.
A Shakespearean comedy is one that has The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance.
The Plays - Comedies (818 words)
Among the most popular are the comedies which are full of laughter, irony, satire and wordplay.
Other character- istics of Shakespearean comedy are the themes of love and friendship, played within a courtly society.
The comedies themselves can be sub-categorised as tragicomedies, romantic comedies, comedies of justice and simple entertaining comedies with good wholesome fun.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.