The Comedies

The Comedies Analysis: Tragedy Potential
Shakespearean comedies and tragedies have the same plot potential; the same ball of clay, if you will. But it is the how Shakespeare molds this clay through the plots of his plays that defines the difference between tragedy and comedy. Unlike the tragedies where the worst possible things can happen, comedies always end light-heartedly; yet that chance for tragedy was present during the play. For example, the opening conflict for each comedy is a lightly tragic scenario that could have spun out of control in a tragedy. For example, Lysander and Hermia’s forbidden is strikingly similar to Romeo and Juliet, yet both plays end on totally different ends of the spectrum. Prospero’s desire for revenge can be compared to Hamlet’s desire for revenge on Claudius. Yet again, however, the two different genres end with totally different endings. While in tragedies a single character is greatly explored, in comedies the characters remain relatively static. The endings themselves between the two genres show the striking differences; utter disparity on one side and sheer joy on the other.
While tragedies employ the grim reality of life, comedies play down on the reality and rely more on an illusioned life where, in the long run, everything works out. In order to dispense this illusion, Shakespeare often utilizes magic as seen in The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Not only does the illusion provide for the comedic value but the situations themselves supply the audience with more than enough humor. In all of the comedies the characters are placed in situations that entirely go out of expected context: suitors begin to reject the fair maiden they once loved while under a magical spell, monsters worship drunkards, eccentric men marry shrewish wives and employ unorthodox tactics to gain their obedience, and the list goes on and on.
When many think of Shakespeare, the first thought their mind conjures are usually the horrific tragedies yet let’s not forget the tragedy’s lesser-known yet still exceptionately written cousin, the comedy.
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Passage Analysis: The Fool
One of the archetypes implemented by Shakespeare to inject humor into the situation of the comedy is the fool. There are three major things that differentiate a fool from a regular character. The first is the acute form of mortal vices they have. For most of these fools one of these vices is a lack of intelligence. Other major vices include alcoholism/drunkenness, impulsiveness, clumsiness, over-enthusiasm, etc. The second is the fool’s lack of reality. Shakespearean fools don’t realize they are fools or are doing foolish things and this brings their comedic situations to a new level of humor since the fool is unaware of why he is in such a predicament. The final differentiating facet of the fool is their lack of character change. While the fool goes through a situation where he is ridiculed, his lack of realistic viewing causes the fool to remain the way he was at his first appearance. What differentiates the comedic fool from the tragic fool such as the one from King Lear is the fool’s illusionary temporary ascension into a higher status that in reality the fool would be completely unable to achieve. However, while the fool is a secondary character that at first seems unimportant to the play as a whole, it is through the fool’s antics that most major messages of the comedies are delivered. For example, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream from a static perspective is unimportant to the plot yet when one delves deeper into the use of Bottom we can see the true message that Shakespeare delivers. For example, the following line indicates Bottom’s fool-status: When we first see Bottom in the play he is portrayed as a true ass; somebody who thinks he is above all reproach and who believes he is not bound by any obstacles. In reality, however, Bottom is truly a mediocre person, somebody who can barely even put on a decent performance. It is this foolish illusion conveyed by Bottom that sparks the greatest aspect of humor in the play. With his mortal vices of hubris and mediocrity and his failure to see these faults, Bottom is indefinitely a fool. In Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew the fool is again implemented yet in this play he is used in a much interesting fashion. The fool Sly is introduced at the beginning of the play, yet the first entire opening scene is not even the play itself as The Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play. The use of a fool for a play introduction allows for this comedy to start off on a light-hearted note from the onset. Sly is a drunken beggar who is dressed as a noble and treated as one as a joke by the nobles of the castle. In his drunken state Sly too believes he is nobility that once again portrays the temporary rise to power. While A Midsummer Night’s Dream begins with a somewhat tragic situation among the young Athenians, the use of a fool at the beginning allows the audience to laugh right from the start. One of Shakespeare’s greatest implementation of the fool, however, is seen in his play The Tempest, a romance which is essentially a mix of the tragedy and comedy genre. The while the plight of Prospero is shown, Shakespeare injects some comic relief by implementing the fools Trinculo and Stefano. Stefano, a drunk, gives Caliban some of his wine and inebriates Caliban. In his drunken state, Caliban proclaims Stefano a god, a powerful man. It is this scene that yet again brings the fool from a lowly state to a high status in the eyes of another. It is the common humor and the common archetype that makes all comedies the same, yet their plots different.
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The Tempest

CALIBAN
I'll kiss thy foot; I'll swear myself thy subject.

STEPHANO
Come on then; down, and swear.

TRINCULO
I shall laugh myself to death at this puppy-headed
monster. A most scurvy monster! I could find in my
heart to beat him, --

STEPHANO
Come, kiss.

TRINCULO
But that the poor monster's in drink: an abominable monster!

CALIBAN
I'll show thee the best springs; I'll pluck thee berries;
I'll fish for thee and get thee wood enough.
A plague upon the tyrant that I serve!
I'll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee,
Thou wondrous man.

TRINCULO
A most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder of a
Poor drunkard!
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream

TITANIA
Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head,
And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

BOTTOM
Where's Peaseblossom?

PEASEBLOSSOM
Ready.

BOTTOM
Scratch my head Peaseblossom. Where's Mounsieur Cobweb?

COBWEB
Ready.

BOTTOM
Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsieur, get you your
weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped
humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good
mounsieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret
yourself too much in the action, mounsieur; and,
good mounsieur, have a care the honey-bag break not;
I would be loath to have you overflown with a
honey-bag, signior. Where's Mounsieur Mustardseed?

MUSTARDSEED
Ready.

BOTTOM
Give me your neaf, Mounsieur Mustardseed. Pray you,
leave your courtesy, good mounsieur.

MUSTARDSEED
What's your Will?

BOTTOM
Nothing, good mounsieur, but to help Cavalery Cobweb
to scratch. I must to the barber's, monsieur; for
methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face; and I
am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me,
I must scratch.
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The Taming of the Shrew

SLY
Am I a lord? and have I such a lady?
Or do I dream? or have I dream'd till now?
I do not sleep: I see, I hear, I speak;
I smell sweet savours and I feel soft things:
Upon my life, I am a lord indeed
And not a tinker nor Christophero Sly.
Well, bring our lady hither to our sight;
And once again, a pot o' the smallest ale.


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Commentary:
While the comedies provide a great laugh, to me their literary merit just can’t add up to Shakespeare’s more serious plays. While A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest were well-written, I found that The Taming of the Shrew provided a more realistic comedic situation. The use of magic in the plays to me just seems to account for a lack of creativity. Anybody can make a story where in the end a magical unicorn comes and strikes a lightning bolt down on the antagonist and everyone is happy. It takes a lot more skill to make a comedic situation that can apply to real life which is why I found The Taming of the Shrew to be the most enjoyable read. However, I found the fools in all of the plays equally funny in their lack of reality perception and their ridiculous behavior. I especially found Bottom’s hubris so hysterical since in truth he is a mediocre person at best. Compared to other genres, though, I did not particularly enjoy the endings to all of the Comedies. That lack of reality, to me, really takes away from what could have been a really good play. While the tragedies may be very heartbreaking at the end, this ending is so realistic that it impacts me more than a “happily ever after” ending. Overall, I found the comedies to be a nice read, however, I would suggest Shakespeare’s other genres over this one.



"I pity the Shakespearean fool!"