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Shakespeare and Comedy
Comedy was at the centre of a critical storm that raged throughout the early modern period. Shakespeare's plays made capital of this controversy. In them he deliberately invokes the case against comedy made by the Elizabethan theatre haters. They are filled with jokes that go too far, laughter that hurts its victims, wordplay that turns to swordplay and aggressive acts of comic revenge. In a detailed study of seventeen plays, tragedies and histories as well as comedies, Maslen contends that Shakespeare's use of the comic mode is always calculatedly unsettling, and that this is part of what makes it pleasurable.
- GenresShakespeare
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 22, 2026
*4.5 stars
Written with the context of Shakespeare's time in mind, particularly including the perspective of the 'theatre-haters' of the day and how his plays toyed with and challenged them, this book grew my respect for Shakespeare, in particular with regards to how he wrote for women, played with gender, and blurred the boundaries of class in his plays (specifically those included in the book, of course). The chapters about the plays that I already know (even if just a little) were easier to read and understand - I struggled a bit with a couple of the chapters about plays I know nothing about - and I even gained more perspective on my favourite, Much Ado About Nothing, a play I know like the back of my hand and have studied a lot. I am looking forward to continuing to read about and watch more of Shakespeare's plays, especially the comedies, so while it would probably have been best to come to this book after having watched/read them all, it's served as an interesting introduction.
Written with the context of Shakespeare's time in mind, particularly including the perspective of the 'theatre-haters' of the day and how his plays toyed with and challenged them, this book grew my respect for Shakespeare, in particular with regards to how he wrote for women, played with gender, and blurred the boundaries of class in his plays (specifically those included in the book, of course). The chapters about the plays that I already know (even if just a little) were easier to read and understand - I struggled a bit with a couple of the chapters about plays I know nothing about - and I even gained more perspective on my favourite, Much Ado About Nothing, a play I know like the back of my hand and have studied a lot. I am looking forward to continuing to read about and watch more of Shakespeare's plays, especially the comedies, so while it would probably have been best to come to this book after having watched/read them all, it's served as an interesting introduction.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review