shakespeare tragedy vs comedy

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 leads to their 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 that he uses.

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is young, "not yet fourteen," (I.3, 12) 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!" (I.5, 46-49). 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" (II.2, 117-118)

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With a few simple modifications, A Midsummer Night's Dream could have been a tragedy, and Romeo and Juliet could have been a comedy.

Both sets of youths have the same character type. In a different way, Hermia is not allowed to marry Lysander. The first two acts of this play qualify it as a comedy. For example, Lysander never mentioned a love before Hermia. “Imposed from outside on the youthful lovers, who feel themselves no part of it, the feud is a barrier placed arbitrarily between them, …something set up in order to be broken down” (Snyder 175). And, my gracious Duke, this man hath bewitched the bosom of my child" (I.

. Things continue to go wrong from here. If Egeus had showed up at the wedding, he could have killed her. My noble lord, this man hath my consent to marry her.

Both pairs of lovers seek help from another. Egeus tells the Duke that his daughter can marry Demetrius, not Lysander. Juliet and Romeo seek Friar Lawrence, and Lysander and Hermia seek Lysander's aunt, who lives in the woods near Athens.

Approximate Word count = 1258
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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