Shakespearean Comedy

You may currently be studying (or at least trying to study!) one of Shakespeare's many comedies. Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream are all regularly set for literary analysis in schools. Possibly, you just don't find your text funny. Don't worry-not everybody shares the same sense of humour! My own teenage years were punctuated by my dad laughing riotously at Only Fools and Horses whilst my mum just watched and muttered, They're stupid, under her breath. Lots of people in Shakespearean England wouldn't have seen what was funny in lots of word play, confused identity and the very real possibility of comic events resulting in tragedy. They may have found the visual comedy funny(which is why you should always try to see a production of your play) but the rest of it would have probably just left them cold. So, the message is, accept that you might not find Shakespeare's comedies funny and move on. So, let's move on, then, to seeing a production. Remember that, in the theatre, cinema or even in your own front room, you are an audience. An audience is there to hear (think audio, audition) so, listen to all the words spoken by every character. Ask yourself if a character is using monosyllabic (really short) or polysyllabic (really long) words. Then ask yourself why. Are that character's speeches long or short? Do the words change in length? Do the speeches change in length? Is the speaker alone or in company? If that character is alone they may be reflecting, planning or even plotting (think Iago if you're familiar with Shakespeare's tragedy Othello. )

Next, listen to the rhythm and identify whether your speaker is using blank verse (10 syllables in a line, rhythm of natural speech....)if in doubt check a written text-blank verse is set out like a stanza of poetry. Ask why-does it sound sincere? When Claudio in Much Ado uses blank verse he just sounds fake. On the subject of fake, think disguise. It is usually disguise that leads to possible disaster. Why disguise and confused identity? There are many reasons. Viola in Twelfth Night has to disguise herself in order to survive, but Maria disguises her handwriting in order to cause mischief and hurt Malvolio, which she most certainly does. Comic events, invariably lead to potential disaster in Shakespearean comedy, but remember, all's well that ends well and, to reinforce the Elizabethan world view, order is restored. It always is in Shakespeare, whether we find the intervening comedy funny or, in my own dear mother's words, stupid.

Keep laughing!