Shakespearean comedy

A dramatic form often involving lovers overcoming obstacles, disguise, misunderstanding and a resolution through marriage or reconciliation.

A dramatic form in which obstacles and confusion are ultimately overcome, often ending in reconciliation and marriage rather than death.

Form means the kind of text and its conventions; structure means how its parts are arranged. This play is a Shakespearean comedy: its movement towards marriage and reconciliation matters as much as its jokes. Masks, mistaken identity, witty exchanges, songs and a final dance all contribute to that comic form.

A dramatic form often involving courtship, disguise, misunderstandings and a movement towards marriage or reconciliation; it need not be funny throughout.

The Merchant of Venice follows several conventions of Shakespearean comedy. Lovers overcome obstacles, women adopt male disguises, misunderstandings produce humour, and the couples are reunited. Bassanio and Portia, Gratiano and Nerissa, and Lorenzo and Jessica all marry.

A dramatic genre with a generally light-hearted tone and a happy resolution, often involving marriages. Serious suffering can occur before the ending.

A Shakespearean comedy usually has a lighter tone and a happy ending, often with marriages. It need not be cheerful throughout. In Much Ado, verbal sparring, disguises and matchmaking create amusement, but the rejection of Hero in Act 4 Scene 1 threatens to turn the play towards tragedy.

Definition

How each exam board covers it

AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

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OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720