Shakespeares Comedy vs Tragedy

A detailed Summary of Shakespeares Comedy vs Tragedy

Certain parallels can be drawn between William Shakespeare's plays, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "Romeo and Juliet". These parallels concern themes and prototypical Shakespearian character types. Both plays have a distinct pair of 'lovers', Hermia and Lysander, and Romeo and Juliet, respectively. Both plays could have also easily been tragedy or comedy with a few simple changes. A tragic play is a play in which one or more characters have a moral flaw that lead to his/her downfall. A comedic play has at least one humorous character, and a successful or happy ending. Comparing these two plays is useful to find how Shakespeare uses similar character types in a variety of plays, and the versatility of the themes which he uses.

In "Romeo and Juliet", Juliet is young, "not yet fourteen", and she is beautiful, and Romeo's reaction after he sees her is:

"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear Beauty to rich for use, for the earth too dear!"

Juliet is also prudent, "Although I joy in thee, I have no joy in this contract tonight. It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden." She feels that because they have just met, they should abstain from

Prohibited love, romance, controlling families, both plays have it all. With a few simple modifications, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" could have been a tragedy, and "Romeo and Juliet" could have been a comedy. Shakespeare however, uses many of the same character types, young, prudent, rebellous lovers, and controling family members, in both comedies and tragedies. The end results are character molds, along with theme molds that can be easily translated into almost any plot, in any play.

Romeo's and Juliet's families are feuding. Because of these feuds, their own parents will not allow the lovers to see each other. In the a differnet way Hermia is not allowed to marry Lysander. Hermia's father Egeus says to Theseus, Duke of Athens:

Egeus tells the Duke that his daughter can marry Demetrius, not Lysander. Hermia replies ". . . If I refuse to wed Demetrius," Egeus replies "Either to die the death, or to abjure for ever the society of men." If Hermia does go against her father's wishes, and weds Lysander, she will either be put to death, or be forced to become a nun.

The stories of "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are very different however. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a comedy. Oberon, king of the fairies, sends a mischievous imp named, Puck, to play a trick on the queen of the fairies, Titania, and on a pair of Athenian youth. Puck turns Nick Bottom's head into that of an ass (Nick Bottom is the man in t

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