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Shakespeare's Play Types: Comedies, Tragedies & Histories

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There have been many attempts to classify Shakespeare's play types. Traditionally these have been defined as comedy, history and tragedy, with a number of

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Life of Shakespeare in a Lego stop-motion

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Life of Shakespeare in a Lego stop-motion

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The Life Of William Shakespeare As A Lego Stop Motion

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The most basic difference between a Shakespearean comedy and tragedy is that comedies have generally happy endings where most characters live, while tragedies have at best bittersweet endings and protagonists who die. However, there are also more subtle differences, and some of Shakespeare's plays fall into neither or both categories.

Comedies tend to focus more on situations than characters. This keeps the audience from empathizing with the plight of the characters, which can detract from the humor of the circumstances comedic protagonists find themselves in. Multiple plot lines that see characters separated and reunited, use of puns, identity confusion, family conflicts and young love are also common signs that a play is a comedy.

While tragedies share certain characteristics with comedies such as sometimes focusing on young love and conflict between families, other elements are more distinct. Tragedies are much more serious, focus on characters over the plot to make the audience emotionally invested in the protagonist's inevitable loss and emphasize characters' honesty or lack thereof. They also tend to follow Aristotle's older definition of a tragedy in which a hero of noble birth is brought to ruin by his or her tragic flaw, the one imperfection in the individual's otherwise sterling character.

It's also worth noting that other categories of Shakespearean drama exist. Histories, for example, chronicle the exploits of the English royal family and tend to focus on the progress of society; they strike a balance between tragedy and comedy. Romances, meanwhile, usually involve love and are serious stories that end happily, while tragicomedies combine elements of both comedy and tragedy.

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What Is the Difference Between a Shakespearean Comedy and Tragedy?

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The most basic difference between a Shakespearean comedy and tragedy is that comedies have generally happy endings where most characters live, while tragedies have at best bittersweet endings and protagonists who die. However, there are also more subtle differences, and some of Shakespeare's plays fall into neither or both categories.

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William Shakespeare was an English playwright, actor and poet who also known as the "Bard of Avon" and often called England's national poet. Shakespeare's works are known throughout the world, but his personal life is shrouded in mystery. Learn more at Biography.com.

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Shakespeare in Love, the award-winning masterpiece starring Joseph Fiennes as the Bard and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow as his lady love, is perhaps one of the best depictions of the life and roles of Elizabethan era women. It was a male dominated society

Elizabethan women had little or no control at all over their destinies. Normally, it was a male who made decisions for the Elizabethan era women, without as much as a consultation with or affirmation from the women involved. In the case of Gwyneth Paltrow's character, Viola, it was her father who promised her to an aristocratic family, without asking her whether the marriage suited her.

Did Elizabethan women get educated?

The women of the Elizabethan era were given education only if they were members of the nobility. Otherwise, they had to stay home and learn to run the household. For Elizabethan era women of noble birth, education included knowledge of several languages, including Latin, Greek, Italian, and French. However, even noblewomen were not allowed to go to university and were only taught by tutors who visited them in their home.

Gender roles during the Elizabethan era were clearly defined, with men reigning superior over women. Men really had such great influence over women. While a man went out to work, a woman at that time was only expected to keep the hearth - to stay at home and manage the household duties in the family.

From birth, Elizabethan era women were taught how to govern a household and perform domestic duties so that when they married, which was expected of them regardless of their class and ancestry, their husbands would be proud.

Marriage in the Elizabethan Era

Speaking of Elizabethan marriage, women were also expected to provide a dowry, which could be any amount of money, goods, or property that was to be their contribution to the marriage.

Once married, a woman during the Elizabethan era was expected, perhaps even pressured, to have and raise children. During the time, the mortality rate among infants and children were high, so even though the women gave birth often, families were not always large in number.

While marriage was a highly coveted state, especially among women of lower classes, not all Elizabethan era women married. For single women at the time, the nunnery was a place suggested. When monasteries were dissolved, however, the only place for single women during the Elizabethan era was in domestic service.

Women's dependence on men

All throughout their life, the women of the Elizabethan times were made to become dependent on a male relative - father, brother, uncle, husband, or other. Even religion dictated the fate of women, as obedience of a woman to a man was greatly emphasized.

It is interesting to note that while the rest of the women citizenry of England during what people call the Golden Age were given to the decisions of the male members in their family and were only limited to household duties, it was a woman who sat on the throne as queen of the land.

More Info On- England Fashion During Elizabethan Age, Outfits and Cothing Fashion, Elizabethan Hairstyles

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Elizabethan Era Women's Roles | Life, Education, Marriage

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Shakespeare in Love, the award-winning masterpiece starring Joseph Fiennes as the Bard and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow as his lady love, is perhaps one of the best depictions of the life and roles of Elizabethan era women. It was a male dominated society Elizabethan women had little or no control at all over their destinies.

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These are some ways of life during Queen Elizabeth's reign.

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Elizabethan England - Crime & Punishment

Elizabethan England and Elizabethan Crime and Punishment - not a happy subject. Violent times. Crimes were met with violent, cruel punishments. Many punishments and executions were witnessed by many hundreds of people. Facts about the different Crime and Punishment of the Nobility, Upper Classes and Lower Classes.

Picture of Queen Elizabeth I

We recommend the following site for Facts and information about Medieval England

Elizabethan England - Elizabethan Executions
Elizabethan England and Elizabethan Executions. The Death Penalty was definitely not an issue during the Elizabethan era, the only question was what form of execution did the person in question deserve. Executions by beheading were considered the least brutal of execution methods and were accorded to important State prisoners or people of noble birth.

The most dreadful punishment of being Hung, Drawn and Quartered was a barbaric form of execution was reserved for the most hated prisoners who had usually been convicted of treason.
Elizabethan England - Elizabethan Tortures
Elizabethan Tortures were excruciatingly painful and violent. Various means of tortures were use to extract confessions for crime. The Rack, the Scavenger's Daughter, the Collar, the Iron Maiden, Branding Irons, the Wheel and Thumbscrews were all excrutiating methods of Elizabethan tortures.

Elizabethan England - Religion - Protestants, Catholics and Jews

The two major religions in Elizabethan England were the Catholic and Protestant religions. The convictions and beliefs in these different religions were so strong that they led to the executions of many adherents to both of these Elizabethan religions. What were the differences between the Catholic and Protestant religion and beliefs in Elizabethan England? How were the Jews perceived in England during the Elizabethan era. How were Catholics and Jews treated in the Elizabethan era?
Elizabethan England - The Poor Law
Society in Elizabethan England was changing and the number of poor people living in abject poverty was increasing. A series of laws was introduced by the English Parliament in 1563, 1572, 1576, 1597 culminating in the 1601 Poor Law designed to make provision for the poor. The poor were divided into three categories - the 'Deserving Poor', the 'Deserving Unemployed' and 'Undeserving Poor' - those who turned to a life of crime or had become beggars.

Elizabethan England

Elizabethan England
The section and era covering Elizabethan England includes the following subjects:
Elizabethan England - Elizabethan Laws
The section covers Tudor and Elizabethan Laws passed during the 1500's. Important dates and details of Laws which effected the every day lives of Elizabethans in england including the 1559 Second Act of Supremacy the 1574 Sumptuary Laws called the 'Statutes of Apparel' and the 1601 Poor Law.
Elizabethan England - Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws
English 1574 Sumptuary Laws were well known by all of the English people. The penalties for violating Sumptuary Laws in England could be harsh - fines, the loss of property, title and even life. Sumptuary Laws were imposed by rulers to curb the expenditure of the people. Such laws might apply to food, beverages, furniture, jewelry and clothing. These Sumptuary Laws, called the Statutes of Apparel, were used to control behaviour and ensure that a specific class structure was maintained in England.

Elizabethan England
Interesting facts and information about life in Elizabethan England. For additional information regarding the Elizabethan era in England please access the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.

Elizabethan England

Crimes and Punishments in England

Executions in England

Tortures in England

Elizabethan Religion in England

Elizabethan Laws in the 1500's England

The 1601 Poor Law in England
1574 Sumptuary Law called the Statutes of Apparel in England

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Queen Elizabeth's Coat of Arms

Elizabethan Family Life

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Elizabethan England - Crime & Punishment Elizabethan England and Elizabethan Crime and Punishment - not a happy subject. Violent times. Crimes were met with violent, cruel punishments. Many punishments and executions were witnessed by many hundreds of people. Facts about the different Crime and Punishment of the Nobility, Upper Classes and Lower Classes.

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April 23rd is generally considered to be a good day to celebrate the birth of England's greatest poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. This is partly because there are no records of his birth-although he was baptized on April 26-and partly because he died on April 23 (and April 23 is St. George's day, patron saint of England), so there is a pleasing, almost poetic symmetry about the way the dates line up.

Today is the 450th anniversary of the day Shakespeare was (possibly) born, and in tribute to his astonishing contribution to the English language, it's time to for a challenge. One that will suit all comers, faint-hearted (1) or not.

Below there are 45 common expressions that were either coined by Shakespeare or popularized by him (at this vertiginous historical remove, it's hard to be certain what was created and what was pinched from his immediate surroundings). All you have to do, if you truly love the Bard, is work just five of them into your everyday conversations throughout this live-long day (2).

That's all, just five and then you'll be fancy free (3). And because brevity is the soul of wit (4), we've stuck to the short ones.

The game is afoot (5! See? Easy.):

"All our yesterdays"- ( Macbeth)

"As good luck would have it" - ( The Merry Wives of Windsor)

"As merry as the day is long" - ( Much Ado About Nothing / King John)

"Bated breath" - ( The Merchant of Venice)

"Be-all and the end-all" - ( Macbeth)

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" - ( Hamlet)

"Brave new world" - ( The Tempest)

"Break the ice" - ( The Taming of the Shrew)

"Brevity is the soul of wit" - ( Hamlet)

"Refuse to budge an inch" - ( Measure for Measure / The Taming of the Shrew)

"Cold comfort" - ( The Taming of the Shrew / King John)

"Conscience does make cowards of us all" - ( Hamlet)

"Crack of doom" - ( Macbeth)

"Dead as a doornail" - ( Henry VI Part II)

"A dish fit for the gods" - ( Julius Caesar)

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war" - ( Julius Caesar)

"Devil incarnate" - ( Titus Andronicus / Henry V)

"Eaten me out of house and home" - ( Henry IV Part II)

"Faint hearted" - ( Henry VI Part I)

"Fancy-free" - ( A Midsummer Night's Dream)

"Forever and a day" - ( As You Like It)

"For goodness' sake" - ( Henry VIII)

"Foregone conclusion" - ( Othello)

"Full circle" - ( King Lear)

"The game is afoot" - ( Henry IV Part I)

"Give the devil his due" - ( Henry IV Part I)

"Good riddance" - ( Troilus and Cressida)

"Jealousy is the green-eyed monster" - ( Othello)

"Heart of gold" - ( Henry V)

"Hoist with his own petard" - ( Hamlet)

"Ill wind which blows no man to good" - ( Henry IV Part II)

"In my heart of hearts" - ( Hamlet)

"In my mind's eye" - ( Hamlet)

"Kill with kindness" - ( The Taming of the Shrew)

"Knock knock! Who's there?" - ( Macbeth)

"Laughing stock" - ( The Merry Wives of Windsor)

"Live long day" - ( Julius Caesar)

"Love is blind" - ( The Merchant of Venice)

"Milk of human kindness" - ( Macbeth)

"More sinned against than sinning" - ( King Lear)

"One fell swoop" - ( Macbeth)

"Play fast and loose" - ( King John)

"Set my teeth on edge" - ( Henry IV Part I)

"Wear my heart upon my sleeve" - ( Othello)

"Wild-goose chase" - ( Romeo and Juliet)

See more:
Fraser's Phrases: "What The Dickens"
10 Old British Slang Terms That Deserve A Revival
Five Tiny U.S. Phrases With Opposite Meanings In The U.K.
10 Irish Slang Terms Americans Should Adopt

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45 Everyday Phrases Coined By Shakespeare | BBC America

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April 23rd is generally considered to be a good day to celebrate the birth of England's greatest poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. This is partly because there are no records of his birth-although he was baptized on April 26-and partly because he died on April 23 (and April 23 is St.

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According to Aristotle, a tragedy is a drama that shows us a realistic story about something. The hero of a tragedy has hamartia or commits hamartia (an error, a flaw). This leads to peripeteia, a reversal of fortune, in which everything goes wrong for him.

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Shakespeare's Comedies usually focused more on situations than characters. When the audience empathized with the characters from the play it took away the comedy affect so Shakespeare averted from this. Tragedies were more serious and focus on characters over the plot. When Shakespeare involved the English royal family he tended to focus on the progress of society and used a balance between tragedy and comedy.

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No birth records exist but a church record show that Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford on April 26, 1564. So we believe that he was born around April 23, 1564.William Shakespeare’s parents were John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. William Shakespeare had 5 younger siblings, Gilbert, Joan, Anne, Richard and Edmund.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, in 1582 when he was 18 and she was 26 years old. She was already three months pregnant with their first child.

The baptisms of Shakespeare’s three children were the last record of him for seven years. This time period was known as his Lost years