A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - SHAKESPEARE - PLAY - COMEDY

Comedy

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic example of Shakespearean comedy. Here is a checklist that details all the typical conventions and features of the genre:

Light, humorous tone: The play features fairy magic (like Oberon's love potion which goes wrong), silly pranks (like the transformation of a guy's head into that of a ass, cutsey enough for a fairy Queen to fall in love with -- with the help of a love potion), and the botched performance of a play-within-the-play by a bunch of craftsmen (The Mechanicals). 

Clever dialogue and witty banter: Shakespeare is a huge fan of puns and snappy wordplay, so naturally, his characters know how to get their witty repartee on. Shakespeare reserves some of the best dialogue for his warring lovers, especially Oberon and Titania -- ("How not nice to see you, Titania") and even the "rude mechanicals" manage to wow us with their clever banter at times.

Deception and disguise: Hard to find a Shakespearean play without disguise. Hermia and Lysander try to sneak away from Athens to elope (behind Hermia's father Egeus's back). Also, Titania and the young lovers have no idea they've been drugged by Oberon and his magic love juice. 

Mistaken identity: Sort of. In most of Shakespeare's other comedies, someone usually runs around in a disguise to mask his or her identity. (Sometimes, a lover is even tricked into sleeping with the wrong person by mistake.) This isn't necessarily the case in A Midsummer Night's Dream, unless we count the fact that the love juice causes Titania to fall head over heels in love with an "ass." In other words, Titania mistakes Nick Bottom for a creature who is worthy of her love and affection, much to the disgust of Oberon. The same can be said of the other lovers who are dosed with Oberon's magic love potion.

Multiple plots with twists and turns: There are several lines of action in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Shakespeare invites us to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. The first plot involves Theseus and Hippolyta's upcoming wedding. The second plot line involves the young Athenian lovers who run around the wood in confusion. The third plot follows Oberon's tiff with his wife, Titania. As a fourth plot line, Shakespeare works in a bunch of craftsmen (the Mechanicals), who plan to perform a play at Theseus's big fancy wedding in Athens.

Love overcomes obstacles: From the play's very beginning, Shakespeare beats us over the head with this idea. Seriously. The only reason Theseus is even engaged to Hippolyta is because he conquered her people (the Amazons) and basically won her in battle. Just a few moments after we hear about Theseus and Hippolyta, we learn that Hermia and Lysander must also overcome a major obstacle if they want to be together because Hermia's dad wants her to marry someone else, Demitrius. Never mind the fact that we've got a bunch of mischievous fairies running around the wood sloshing magic love juice into the eyes of hapless humans, causing them to fall in and out of love with the first creature that comes into view. In the end, though, love wins out and Theseus and each of the four young lovers hooks up with a steady partner. Keep reading...

Marriage: This is important so pay attention. No matter what else happens, Shakespeare's comedies ALWAYS end with one or more marriages (or the promise of marriage). This is Shakespeare's way of restoring social order to the world of his plays (after turning order on its head for a few hours, disturbing that Great Chain of Being if you will). At the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Theseus finally gets to marry Hippolyta and spend the night with her (which he's been talking about since the play's opening lines). As for the four humans who have been chasing each other around the forest and falling in and out of love, they finally settle down and hook up with a steady partner: Hermia weds Lysander and Demetrius gets hitched to Helena.

Family drama: If you read the very first scene, you know that Hermia and her dad Egeus go toe-to-toe about who she should and shouldn't marry. Egeus is so worked up about his daughter's disobedience that he wants Duke Theseus to uphold the Athenian law that says daughters have to do what their fathers' say or else they get sentenced to death. Geesh. Hermia doesn't seem at all fazed by this, so she must have Dad wrapped around her little finger. It's a good thing A Midsummer Night's Dream isn't a tragedy, otherwise, this ugly little domestic dispute would end badly. How badly? Think Romeo and Juliet.

(Re)unification of families: Like we said earlier, Egeus would rather see his daughter dead than witness Hermia marry Lysander. Still, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy so Egeus eventually backs down and gives in to the idea that Hermia is going to marry for love. We should point out that Egeus only changes his mind after Duke Theseus orders him to back off (4.1), but still, Egeus sticks around for his daughter's wedding so we're counting that as a family reunion.

MERCHANT OF VENICE - SHAKESPEARE - PLAY - SATIRE

IS THE MERCHANT OF VENICE A SATIRICAL PLAY?

The Merchant of Venice is a satiric play for several reasons. The entire play was set in favour of an audience that hated Jews and believed that even the most inhumane treatment was well-deserved. Labelled as "killers of Jesus Christ", the Jews were hated by Venetians; in this case,  the merchant Antonio, for charging usury and for being a Jew. Shylock the Jewish money-lender in the play, received harsh treatment from Antonio for being "thrifty". He disgraced Shylock publicly by speaking badly about him, calling him a "cut throat dog", spitting on his clothes and in his face and by kicking him like you would a stray dog. (Act One, scene Three). After all this, Antonio approaches Shylock about borrowing money to which Shylock replies, “Hath a dog money? Is it possible that a dog can lend three thousand ducats?"  Without remorse, Antonio, one of Shakespeare’s "protagonists" in the play, responds by telling Shylock, "I am like as like to call thee so again, to spit on thee again, to spurn thee too." 

Shylock again suffers abuse at the hands of Christians when his only daughter Jessica elopes with Lorenzo, Antonio's friend, taking from him; bags of ducats, jewels and precious stones, even his treasured turquoise ring, which he received from his wife before she died. He is mocked and ridiculed when Solanio, Antonio's friend, refers to him as "the dog Jew" and telling of how Shylock ran through the streets of Venice crying for his ducats and his daughter, with boys following mockingly. (Act two, Scene Eight).

Finally, the play is satiric because, having suffered all the things mentioned above, Shylock is taken to court and stripped of his dignity, his possessions and most importantly, his religion, when Portia, disguised as a lawyer, brilliantly accuses him of attempting to kill Antonio in the signing a bond that demands a pound of his flesh, should he forfeit his loan. Shylock was left dejected and ridiculed for his vice.     

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A Brief Evaluation of Comedy  In The Merchant ofVenice     A successful comedy needs basic elements and ingredients to be distinguished. In addition, it should make allowance for the audience who judge it. In consequence of ideological and psychological make-up variations, a comedy could be defined as a tragedy and vice versa. Looking to The Merchant of Venice, we find that it is a tragic-comedy that raises serious questions disguised in parody and irony. To be able to realize comedy in the play, there are some elements that should be discussed.     Once the word comedy comes to mind, the first thing to think of is laughter. In the play, there are many situations that make the audience laugh through parody, irony, misidentification and slapstick. Regarding the scène of Launcelot Gobbo Shylock's servant who decides to mock his father's blindness, we find a good deal of comedy. Launcelot plays the role of a clown; he raises laughter from his frequent misuse of words and exaggerated movements which is considered slapstick. In addition, we laugh at Gobbo who misidentifies his own son.     Parody and irony exist strongly in many situations. One of them is the ring scene when Portia and Nerissa act as if they are shocked with their husband's abandonment of the rings and they refuse to believe that they were given to the lawyer and his clerk. Irony exists when Portia says that her husband is not like Gratiano who gave away his wife's ring. In fact, she was joking as she was the lawyer who took the ring. Audiences laugh at this scene knowing that the truth that Bassanio gave away his ring as well. Knowing the truth, Portia tried to play the fool on her husband and that is when irony arouses laughter.     An element that standardizes the quality of a comedy is illogicality or fancy. As seen through the play, it is clear that there are many illogical events taking place. Firstly, the equivocal relationship between Antonio and Bassanio that leads to further complication. Secondly, the undiscoverable disguise of Portia and Nerissa in the court scene. Last, but not least, the funny happy ending when three happy married couples and a merchant who has his wealth back are found. All these events happen only in fancy and that is why the dues ex machine technique is used to end the play happily when an unexpected person, Portia, comes in the time of no hope and gets Antonio out of the hot water. All in all, it is fancy and illogicality that make the audience able to laugh.     The type of character is also one of the important elements that help the audience to laugh. Comic characters are usually flat and sort of caricature with no parallel in life. This type gives the audience an emotional distance which enables them to laugh and not lose their identity as in a tragedy. A stark model of that is Shylock's character that is presented as another Jewish comic stock villain character. This Jew villain is wearing the famous Jewish gabardine, acting miserly, lending money in usury and having a cruel nature. Such make-up forbid identification and consequently forbid any sympathy towards Shylock, so he is laughed at.     A question that is highly significant is: for whom is it a comedy? The Merchant of Venice was first presented in the 16th century England where Jews were tyrannized and patriarchy was dominant. As result, the play was pretty successful as the audience accepted the mocking on Jews and laughed at it heartily. Regarding Shakespeare's neutralization towards the patriarchal system, men and women laughed at the upside-down rolls of Portia and Bassanio. Back to our present time, the play won't receive a big success as comedy in many countries, especially those of Europe and America because of the anti-Semitic impeachments the play confronts. It would be accepted only in countries that have conflicts with the State of Israel, the home intolerant Jews.     In conclusion, The Merchant of Venice has a great deal of comedy that manages to entertain the audience through a light-hearted plot.                            http://7laa2.tripod.com/