Characteristics of

Shakespearean Comedy
Shakespearean comedies are a class in themselves. They may be called
comedy of life where the man's follies are portrayed against the backdrop of
the destiny of mankind. His plays provide artistic and ethical pleasure. Some
of the essential features of Shakespearean comedy are:

Definition of Shakespearean Comedy

Shakespearean Comedy is a kind of romantic comedy, which ends on a happy note
through a matrimonial relationship between various characters. Marriage plays a vital role
in a typical Shakespearean comedy. Any comedy, which follows the pattern of comedy
modeled by Shakespeare in his comedies, would be termed as Shakespearean comedy.
It is totally different from classical comedy, wherein the classical rules are observed
strictly. A typical Shakespearean comedy shows the following characteristics, which
differentiate it from other forms of comedies:

Love in Shakespearean Comedy

Love is the crux of the matter in a typical Shakespearean comedy. Every Shakespearean
comedy, predominantly deals with the theme of love. For instance, there is a chain of
love in Twelfth Night. In this beautiful comedy, we observe that Viola is in love with
Orsino, Orsino is having a crush on Olivia, and Olivia is in love with Cesario. That’s why;
it makes it the most delightful comedy of Shakespearean Comedies. Every one of them
feels depressed due to having sentimental love for each other.

Marriage in Shakespearean Comedy

Marriage plays an important role in all of Shakespearean comedies. It becomes an
obsession and prime concern of the main characters to get engaged and married to the
lady or gentleman of their choice. That’s why; we can observe the characters engaged in
silly pursuits to materialize their dreams of marriage. It is the element of marriage that
resolves all the issues and brings an end to the long-lasting riddles and rivalry recurring
throughout the comedy. For example, in Twelfth Night, we observe that Viola enters into
wedlock with Orsino and Olivia gets married to Sebastian, the brother of Viola. Thus, it
resolves the issue of mistaken identity. Olivia comes to know that Cesario is actually a
female, named Viola, while Orsino also comes to know about the real identity of Viola. So
important to Shakespeare is the symbolic power of marriage that some end in more than
one marriage. Both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night end with three. In the
final scene of As You Like It, Hymen, the god of marriage, takes the stage to preside over
no fewer than four nuptial couplings and to celebrate ‘High wedlock’ (5.4.144) in song. In
other Shakespeare comedies, some concluding marriages – Claudio and Hero in Much
Ado about Nothing, the Duke and Isabella in Measure for Measure – seem designed to
look convenient rather than affectionate.

Mistaken Identity in Shakespearean Comedy

Mistaken Identity is another important feature of Shakespearean comedy. Shakespeare
employs the element of mistaken identity in his comedies to create fun and irony. It is one
of the best tools for Shakespeare to give a twist to the story and achieve the purpose of
giving entertainment to his readers. Mistaken identity is produced In Twelfth
Night through the introduction of twins, i.e., Sebestian and Viola, who are mistaken for
one another by other characters. For example, Sebastian is mistaken for Cesario by
Olivia, while Viola is mistakenly thought to be a male. Though, she is a girl, yet she is
considered to be a male as she disguises herself as a servant to Duke Orsino. Similarly,
in The Merchant of Venice, Portia disguises herself as Balthazar to act as a lawyer to
defend Antonio against Shylock, who is determined to cut a pound of flesh off his body
for failing to pay him (Shylock) his debt. Thus, mistaken identity is the part and parcel of
Shakespearean comedy.
Pun in Shakespearean Comedy
Pun is a figure of speech, wherein the sound of a word is used in such a way in a
sentence that it may create a sort of confusion in terms of its meanings for the readers.
Shakespeare is a great lover of puns and he uses them frequently in all of his comedies
to create fun, laughter and confusion in the minds of his readers. He leaves the readers
to derive the meaning for themselves from the puns employed by him. His puns may be
funny, silly and lewd. Whatever may be the case, the reader gets astonished about
Shakespeare’s mastery over the use of puns in his comedies.

Humour in Shakespearean Comedy

humour is an integral part of Shakespearean comedy. Shakespeare is the master of
producing robust laughter and fun through various means in his comedies. He produces
humour through puns, ironies, masquerade, bawdy jokes, mistaken identity and satire. It
should be kept in mind that Shakespeare uses humour in such a way that we laugh at the
follies of human beings instead of having hatred for them. Thus, he uses humour as a
way of mild satire instead of lashing at the follies of human beings.

Buffoonery in Shakespearean Comedy

Buffoonery is another feature of Shakespearean comedy. Every single comedy of
Shakespeare has got a fool or a clown, who provides humour in the play. Fool is a
special kind of character in a typical Shakespearean comedy, who has got the gift of gab.
They are witty and they know how to reply a person during an argument. They speak in
such a way that they are able to get the better of people. Shakespeare uses them to
create fun, humour and laughter in his comedies. They are very much like jokers and
jesters, who amuse people through their witty and funny remarks. One of the best
purposes of using clowns in comedies is that they act as a messenger and mediator
between various characters. We observe in The Merchant of Venice that the clown is
used to exchange messages between the lovers, i.e., Lorenzo and Jessica. Thus, we
have Feste in Twelfth Night, Launcelot in The Merchant of Veniceand Touchstone in As
You Like It.

Happy Ending in Shakespearean Comedy

All of Shakespearean comedies end on a happy note. It is pertinent to mention here that
most of the Shakespearean comedies end in marriage. In the end main characters got
married to their beloved. In Twelfth Night, you might have observed that Duke Orsino
marries Viola and Olivia marries Sebastian. Similarly, The Merchant of Venice also ends
on a happy note. Antonio is saved from giving one pound flesh of his body to Shylock.
Thus, every Shakespearean comedy ends happily and the issues are resolved.

young lovers struggling to overcome obstacles

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.

stock characters
Shakespeare, like many classical writers, relied heavily on stock characters
for his plays. You'll notice several that keep appearing in The Bard's work: the
young couple, the fool, the clever servant, the drunk, etc. These stock
characters were instantly recognizable stereotypes to Elizabethan audiences.
Women in Shakespearean comedy constitute its very soul. Shakespeare’s
tragedies and history plays are dominated by their heroes and their ups and
downs. But in his comedies, the reverse is true. A critic remarks that in
Shakespeare’s comedies there are no heroes at all; there are only
heroines. Shakespeare’s comic heroines are much more sparkling and
interesting than their male counterparts. We have the vivacious and intelligent
Portia, the witty Beau in the constant Viola and the charming Rosalind.
Bassanio does not come to the level of Portia, Benedick pales in wit beside
Beatrice, the Duke has no comparison with Viola, and Orlando with the
charming Rosalind. Though all these heroines in their character do not have
the same pattern, yet they have in common one important characteristic-their
quintessential womanhood. This quality makes them look surprisingly
modem. It is understandable why Shakespeare in his comedies should give
such importance to women. As we have already said, these comedies are
comedies of love; and love for a man is just a part of his life and life’s activity,
but for a woman it is her whole life arid its activity.

Largely, his scene of action is not located in the real world. The actions are
drawn with romantic splendor, mystery and fancy. His comedies carry us to a
Utopian state or to some worldly paradise, far away from the dull reality. The
action of Twelfth Night takes place at some uncertain date in Illyria, an imagined place
where the Italian-seeming court of Orsino is neighbour to the apparently English
household of Olivia. Several of Shakespeare’s comedies have such highly imaginary
settings – the magical wood outside Athens in A Midsummer Night’s Dream or the Forest
of Arden in As You Like It. Only one, The Merry Wives of Windsor, is set in England, and
this is an opportunistic piece, written to exploit the popularity of the character of Falstaff.
Shakespeare was unusual in invariably finding foreign (and timeless) locations for his
comedies.

At such wonderful and remote paradise on earth some unfamiliar or absurd

incidents take place. Improbability, as a result of pure romance, is the
essence of Shakespearean comedy.

His comedies deal with one or more than one sub-plots which equally develop
with the main plot. Shakespeare completely succeeds in skilfully interweaving
the sub-plots to the main plot.

In Shakespearean comedies, men and women of different class and mind

appear. The clash of values and complex moods among them trigger mirth
and laughter. Each character has weaknesses like vanity, greed, ambition,
jealousy, credulity etc. The most noble and balanced character receives
sympathy from the public.

Shakespearean comedies are not entirely romantic. His comedies portray real
people too. If extremely romantic characters are present in his comedies, so
are extremely realistic characters. No doubt, his comedies are not only rich in
poetry and imagination but are examples of perfect blend of imagination and
realism.

Music, both vocal and instrumental, play a pivotal role in Shakespearean

plays. In his comedies too, songs are significant to the theme and structure of
the play. Sometimes, music provides pure entertainment but at other times,
they are meant to throw lights on characters or to carry the action forward.
Shakespeare was highly influenced by the ballads and popular songs of his
era.
Last but not the least, fools are essential to his comedies. It is essential to
note that the audience can laugh with the fools but never laugh at them.
These quick witted and lively characters not only make the audience laugh but
help to moralize other characters of the play. The audience is amused by their
humorous actions, and at the same time are impressed with their verbal
felicity and ready wit.