Shakespeare. The very name conjures up imagery of the theater, drama, romance and the stage. He is arguably the most famous writer of comedic, tragic, and historical plays in all of history; with a playwright of this caliber one could rightfully say that he knew how to write a play that fit any classification. This bear's to mind one of his famous plays, "The Merchant of Venice." Unlike most plays of note this one is much harder to categorize in the modern sense, for it has elements that could easily place it as comedy, tragedy, and history.
             When the term comedy comes to mind, the modern mind thinks of outrageous situations, slapstick humor, and maybe a few crude jokes. The simple idea of this is correct for works of our present day in age, but this differs greatly from the historical classification of comedy. Traditionally a happy ending is the primary prerequisite for this. The play "The Merchant of Venice" does indeed qualify in this regard. The primary protagonists all have happy outcomes. Antonio is plucked from the hands of death, and his ships, once thought lost, arrival safely. Bassanio, gets the girl, becomes wealthy, and Lorenzo and Jessica fall in love and are promised a large inheritance. All of this would qualify as a happy ending. Add in there is a few humorous situations involves cross-dressing, mistaken identities, and the bad guy loses. That also fits the more modern day classification.
             What also set this play apart is the fact that many of its plot lines would also almost break it into the tragic realm. The play's primary antagonist, Shylock, is also a terribly tragic figure. Shylock is a Jew in the streets of Venice who has been poorly treated for his beliefs, and alludes to a great deal of past mistreat for his occupation as well. This all being told, he ends up at the end loosing half of what he owns, loses his daughter to another man, and is out the original money that he l...