Comedy and Tragedy

As we explored in the previous section, Shakespeare’s plays can be categorized into stock ‘genres’, and by far his most famous plays are his tragedies.

Like the Greeks who invented this genre (remember Oedipus Rex by Sophocles?), many of Shakespeare’s tragedies center on the trappings of kingship and power.

And again, Shakespeare's renowned play Hamlet perfectly captures Shakespeare’s psychological take on tragedy and revenge in a royal context.

Hamlet follows the titular character, Prince Hamlet of Denmark. In the first scenes, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to him and tells him how he died not of natural causes but was murdered by his brother Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle), who subsequently became king.

The ghost of Hamlet’s father then instructs him to avenge his murder. Afterwards, Hamlet is crippled with inaction grappling with the moral consequences of revenge by murder.

“How all occasions do inform against me and spur my dull revenge” - Hamlet

The characters in Hamlet are complex and often contradictory. Hamlet himself is a complex figure, torn between his desire for revenge and his fear of the consequences of his actions.

Claudius, Hamlet’s murderous uncle, is a villainous figure, but also a sympathetic one, as he is driven by his own ambition and guilt.

Similarly, like many of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Hamlet features comedic characters but is usually shot through with sinister elements.

For instance, the King’s counselor, Polonius, is often seen as a comic figure because of his pompous and convoluted speeches, but he is also crafty and manipulative.

Polonius’s role in the play is multifaceted: he acts as a counselor to the king, spies on Hamlet, and meddles in the affairs of his children. Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to spy on his son Laertes in Paris and uses his daughter Ophelia to determine whether Hamlet’s erratic behavior is due to his love for her.

Polonius’s penchant for espionage leads to his demise; he eavesdrops on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet, thinking he is Claudius, stabs Polonius through a tapestry.

Macbeth is another great example of Shakespeare’s tragedies of power, and its story deals primarily with the consequences of too much ambition.

The play follows the titular character, Macbeth, as he is tempted by the prophecies of three witches, who tell Macbeth at the beginning of the play how he will eventually become king.

Macbeth then allows this idea to obsess him, and, spurred on by his wife, he’s eventually compelled to kill the current King and take his place, fulfilling the prophecy.

This initial act of murder leads Macbeth to commit a series of further murders to help cover it up, including the King’s guards and his best friend, Banquo. However, this brings about guilt and his own eventual downfall. As Macbeth's ambition leads him to commit increasingly heinous acts, his pursuit of power is ultimately his undoing.

“Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” - Macbeth

The tragedy of Macbeth is that he is ultimately a victim of his own ambition, leading first to hubris and then to guilt. The play serves as a warning against the consequences of power without morality.

King Lear was a play written by Shakespeare in 1606 and was described by Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley as “the most perfect specimen of dramatic art existing in the world”.

In the play, the old and weary King Lear, tired of ruling England, decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, based on their declarations of love for him.

Foolishly, Lear gives the lion's share to Goneril and Regan, who flatter him with their words, and banishes his most loving and honest daughter, Cordelia, when she doesn't shower him with false compliments.

Some of Shakespeare’s best tragedies explore not power and ambition, but another frequently fatal emotion, that can lead characters to their downfall: love.

Romeo and Juliet is perhaps Shakespeare’s most popular and accessible play. It tells the story of two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who are at war throughout the streets of Verona.

However, the two children of the family fall in love with each other, secretly marrying with the help of the local friar. In the end, both lovers end up committing suicide because they can’t bear to live without each other.

The play highlights the power of love, as Romeo and Juliet are willing to risk everything for it. Fate is also a major theme in the play, as it is fate that brings the two lovers together and ultimately leads to their downfall.

After Romeo and Juliet, the other major tragedy of love written by Shakespeare is Othello.

Othello is a story about a general in the Venetian army who overcame racial prejudice to become powerful and well-respected. But as much as he excels on the battlefield, his love life is where things start to unravel.

Othello falls for the lovely Desdemona, and they marry in secret. But not everyone is happy for the couple. In fact, the villainous Iago, who pretends to be Othello’s friend and advisor, is determined to ruin their happiness.

Iago manipulates Othello by planting the idea that Desdemona is cheating on him with his lieutenant, Cassio. Unfortunately, Othello starts to believe it.

In the end, Othello's jealousy drives him to smother Desdemona in her bed. But he's not the only one who's met a tragic end. Iago's scheming also costs the lives of a few others, including his own wife.

It's not until Othello realizes the truth that he turns on Iago, stabbing him before killing himself. It's a heartbreaking tale of love, jealousy, and betrayal that leaves no one unscathed.

In a nutshell, Othello is a story about a guy who has it all, except the ability to trust his own wife. The result is a cascade of misery and death that only comes to a halt when the protagonist kills himself.

This section explores another major genre in the works of Shakespeare — the comedies — through three major works: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Love’s Labours Lost, and Twelfth Night.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most beloved works. The play is a comedy about the foolish things people do for love, as well as the power of nature to put human hierarchies into perspective.

In the first part of Midsummer Night's Dream, we are introduced to the main players: Theseus and Hippolyta, the Athenian rulers who are preparing for their wedding, and four young Athenians, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena.

Hermia loves Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius and threatens to kill her if she doesn't obey. Lysander and Hermia decide to run away into the forest. Meanwhile, Helena, who is hopelessly in love with Demetrius, informs him of their plan and follows them into the forest.

Once in the forest, the characters of Midsummer Night's Dream are at the mercy of the fairies who live there. Oberon, the king of the fairies, is quarreling with his queen, Titania, over a young Indian boy whom they both want as a servant.

Oberon orders Puck, a mischievous fairy, to use a magic flower to make Titania fall in love with the first thing she sees. Puck also accidentally causes both Lysander and Demetrius to fall in love with Helena, which makes the four young Athenians very confused and upset.

In the second part of the play, order is restored. Puck reverses the love spells, and the four young Athenians return to Athens. Demetrius is now content with Helena, and Lysander and Hermia are allowed to marry. Oberon and Titania also reconcile, and bless the couples at their weddings.

In the play Love's Labour's Lost, Shakespeare tells the story of King Ferdinand of Navarre and his three companions, who have sworn off women for three years in order to focus on their academic pursuits.

But this is easier said than done, as the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies throws a wrench in their plans. The four men are all smitten with these women, and a series of comic misunderstandings and mix-ups ensue as they each try to woo their respective love interests, all while trying to keep up the appearance of their scholarly dedication.

Ultimately, the four men are discovered and they confess their feelings to the women. But the play doesn't end with a typical Shakespearean happy ending. Instead, the princess and her ladies postpone any possible engagements until they return from mourning the death of the Princess's father. It's a cheeky and bittersweet conclusion to a play that revels in the humorous folly of love.

In Love's Labour's Lost, Shakespeare takes a playful jab at the ridiculousness of trying to resist the irresistible. As the four men struggle to stay true to their scholarly pursuits, they make complete fools of themselves, highlighting the absurdity of their plan from the start.

In Twelfth Night, a shipwreck leaves the twins Viola and Sebastian separated and stranded on the shores of Illyria. Viola, believing her brother dead, disguises herself as a man, 'Cesario', to gain employment with Duke Orsino.

Orsino is in love with Countess Olivia and sends Viola/Cesario to court her on his behalf. However, Olivia falls in love with Viola/Cesario, unaware of the disguise.

Meanwhile, Sebastian arrives in Illyria and is mistaken for Viola/Cesario by Olivia, who marries him.

At the same time, the Duke realizes that he loves Viola. The truth is eventually revealed, and Viola and Orsino marry as well.

Alongside the main plot of Twelfth Night, Shakespeare also presents a humorous subplot involving Olivia's servants.

Malvolio, Olivia's steward, is tricked by Maria, Toby, and Andrew into believing that Olivia loves him.

They convince him to act foolishly, wearing yellow stockings and smiling incessantly. Olivia believes Malvolio has gone mad and has him imprisoned, but the truth is eventually revealed and Malvolio swears revenge on those who tricked him.

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a witty and entertaining play, that explores themes of love, gender, and mistaken identity.