Shakespeare's comedies: list of the best

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the work of the greatest playwright of the Renaissance, W. Shakespeare, it is customary to distinguish three periods. The division is primarily due to the genre and thematic originality of works written in different years.

The first period - 1590-1601 - looks, perhaps, the most cheerful against the background of others. This is the time when Shakespeare's best comedies were created. Their list includes about ten plays, cheerful, with bright, memorable images.

Features of the comedies of 1590-1601

Love that can overcome any intrigues of others… Young, energetic, witty characters, among which a special place is occupied by women who amaze with their charm, striving for independence and ready to compete with men in everything… An unusual, often romantic landscape filled with the light of the sun or the moon… That's the main thing that unites Shakespeare's early comedies.

A fascinating plot based on some story fromAntiquity or the Middle Ages, always reflects the realities of the time and is often built on the same principle. The main characters - a young couple in love - begin to fight for the right to marry. And quite often, not only parents and circumstances become an obstacle, but also their waywardness, character traits, beliefs, which ultimately can be changed. Thus, the main idea that Shakespeare's comedies carry is that a person, whoever he is, must himself become the creator of his own happiness.

There is one more thing to pay attention to. Despite the apparent lightness and playfulness, the playwright touches on quite important issues in his plays, denouncing human stupidity and vulgarity.

Comedy of Errors

As already noted, the playwright often borrowed the plots of early plays from his predecessors. But after artistic processing, instead of the masks adopted in the medieval play, real faces appeared, and these were already Shakespeare's comedies. The list of them opens with "The Comedy of Errors" - still immature, small in volume, focusing more on the external side of events and focusing on the traditions of classicism. But already quite interesting characters with their inherent strong human feelings are outlined in it. And although very often this play is called nothing more than a farce, it is clear that it is far superior in form and content to previously created works of this genre.

Shakespeare's comedy "The Taming of the Shrew"

Created a little later (presumably in 1593), itprocessed by the playwright. There was also an anonymous version of the play with a similar title and plot, which was attributed to Shakespeare.

The behavior of comedy characters has always been perceived ambiguously. This is the story of sisters, one of which is the wayward and rebellious Katarina, and the other is the meek and humble Bianca. Two young men claim the hand of the latter, but the girl's father announces that he will marry his youngest daughter only after Katarina. As a result, the suitors join forces in search of a husband for her. This is how a young, intelligent, energetic Petruchio appears, who managed to discern her true character behind the outward impregnability of her older sister. Thanks to his intelligence, patience, and sometimes toughness in relationships, he managed to win the heart of the obstinate beauty and find true happiness.

The finale of Shakespeare's comedy, a summary of which is given, turned out to be unpredictable. Meek Bianca became capricious and grumpy, and more recently, wayward Katarina turned into an obedient and well-behaved wife. A new perspective on the life of a tamed girl is revealed in her final monologue, in which she calls on married women to submit.

Thus, the playwright emphasized the superiority of men over the weaker sex established in society, but, showing the rich nature of Katharina, proclaimed the equality of both in society.

The Merchant of Venice

By 1596 is another famous work written by William Shakespeare. Comedies are usually based on a funny plot. However, the basis of this playThere is a story about how poor Bassanio, who decided to marry a beauty from a rich family, turns to a merchant friend with a request to borrow money. He signs a bill, according to which the moneylender Shylock, in case of delay, has the right to cut a pound of meat from him. It is for this reason that many writers tend to classify The Merchant of Venice as a drama. But the genre was determined by the author himself, and in the finale Bassanio, in order to save a shipwrecked merchant friend, goes to court and decides to pay a pen alty. As a result, Shylock, who opposed this, is accused of an attempt on the life of Antonio, and half of his fortune goes to the merchant. This is how Shakespeare's comedy raises the question of the need to keep a given word, even if it was dropped out of frivolity or being sure of a successful outcome.

Twelfth Night

This is a mature play written around 1600 by the playwright. The main characters - the twins Viola and Sebastian - as a result of a shipwreck lose each other and end up in the country of Illyria. Viola puts on a man's dress and enters the palace of Duke Orsino. He instructs the "young page" - to convince Olivia, whom he was in love with, to marry him. But the young widow is fascinated by Cesario Viola.

Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night" continues with the appearance of Sebastian in the city, which leads to many confusions, since brother and sister were extremely similar. As a result, two couples appear: Olivia-Sebastian and Viola-Orsino, and everything ends well.

According to the plot of the playreminiscent of a cheerful romantic love story, in which there are many jokes, unusual situations associated with disguise of heroes (this is a typical feature of Shakespeare's early comedies). The unusual ending is caused by the fact that each hero finds true happiness not at all where he was looking for.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Athens becomes the scene of action. In parallel, several storylines develop, and fairy-tale characters living in the forest interfere with people's relationships - these are the features of Shakespeare's most fantastic comedy. Its summary is as follows. The heroes in love, who decide to break the will of their father, find themselves in an unusual forest. Hermias' friend and fiancé rush after them. Thanks to the mistake of the elves, everything turned out well. In love with each other, Hermia and Lysander were able to unite their destinies. And Demetrius found happiness with Elena, who had long suffered for him. The funny adventures that happened to young people in the magical forest, the next morning seem to be nothing more than a dream that brought the fulfillment of desires.

The meaning of Shakespeare's comedies

The main thing that distinguishes all the work of the playwright is attention to the personality of a person. This is well seen in every genre, including comedy. Cheerful laughter, connection with folklore traditions, the sincerity of the characters' feelings, their dreams of a happy life, the search for ways to achieve it, high humanism made Shakespeare's plays relevant and in demand at all times.