Shakespearean Humour

A working definition of humour: which involves the setting up of a surprise or series of surprises for an audience. This is usually set up through developing what is often called "incongruity." The incongruity is created when a comic sets up a frame of reference, which sets up audience expectations through narration, visual representation, enactment/movement, or sound patterns. The comic/writer then reveals a change, breaking the expectation. The tension created between the expectation and the revealed results in the emotional response we recognize as humor.

Note that humour, and its inherent release of tension, often will result in lowering the stress level, both for the audience, and often, the players.
Make Brief notes on the following comic terms:

Wit

Irony

Hyperbole

Pun

Parody

Bombast

Malapropism

Slapstick

Common Features of a Shakespeare Comedy

What makes a Shakespeare comedy identifiable if the genre is not distinct from theShakespeare tragediesand histories? This is an ongoing area of debate, but many believe that the comedies share certain characteristics, as described below:

  • Comedy through language:Shakespeare communicated his comedy throughlanguageand his comedy plays are peppered with clever word play, metaphors and insults.His comedies are filled with puns and witty language games. Sometimes silly, sometimes bawdy, yet always clever, his plays on words are a distinguishing feature of all his works. You'll need to brush up on your Elizabethan English if you want to catch all of his jokes
  • Love:The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. Often, we are presented with sets of lovers who, through the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their relationship and unite.These obstacles are typically brought about by the elders in the play, often parents or guardians of the lovers. Various circumstances cause the lovers to be kept apart, either literally or figuratively, and thus they must find their way back together in the end
  • Complex plots:The plotline of a Shakespeare comedy contains more twists and turns than his tragedies and histories. Although the plots are convoluted, they do follow similar patterns. For example, the climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene has a celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their love for each other.
  • Mistaken identities:Whether it takes the form of mixed-up twins or a clever disguise, mistaken identity was one of Shakespeare's favorite and most-used plot devices. Gender mix-ups were also quite popular. Shakespeare quite often had characters masquerading as the opposite sex, leading to many misunderstandings and comical situations. During Shakespeare's lifetime, men frequently played all the roles in a play, which added another dimension to the comedy.
  • Stock characters:Shakespeare, like many classical writers, relied heavily on stock characters for his plays. You'll notice several that keep appearing in his work: the young couple, the fool, the clever servant, the drunk, etc. These stock characters were instantly recognizable stereotypes to Elizabethan audiences.
  • Happy endings:All Shakespearean comedies end happily. Most often, this happy ending involves marriage or pending marriage. Love always wins out in the end.