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what are 4 elements of a shakespeare comedy and tragedy?

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:29 pm
by SilverFang
I need to know for a class.

thanks in advance.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:30 pm
by uc pseudonym
I'd be happy to help, but could you be more specific? What I'd need is more specifically what qualifies as an "element." Just a common thread in all Shapespeare's plays (for example, five acts, each taking a specific role in the overall plot)? Or are we speaking of general styles of the two genres (rising action, climax, etc)?

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:13 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
1st step - incomprehensible old english
2nd step - impossible love triangle
3rd step - unfunny comedy
4th step - high level of bordem

There. You're all set!

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:42 am
by Hephzibah
LOL! That's so it W4J!

Anyway, on the serious aspect. I dont know all four, but I would say that one would be Supernatural elements. Almost all of his plays contain references to gods or godesses (sp?)

Edit:
I did a search, and found this :

Here are the four main elements of tragic figures.
One: tragic figures are noble figures who are somehow better than we are.
Two: they suffer a reversal of fortune and recognize the consequences of their actions.
Three: In art, a tragedy is the imaginative depiction of the tragic figure.
Four: Shakespeare depicted his tragic figures through language.
http://www.pbs.org/standarddeviantstv/transcript_shakespeare.html#figures

I dont know if that is what you want or not.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 8:23 am
by SilverFang
thanks for all of you help, I found it just beffor I went bed last night. thank again for all of you trouble.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 12:50 pm
by uc pseudonym
I realize this was a joke, but I'll speak to one thing regardless. Allow me to also point out that while I'm not a fan of Shakespeare, I'm not a vicious detractor, either.

Warrior 4 Jesus wrote:3rd step - unfunny comedy


Actually, some of it wasn't that bad... in the 14th century. I'll credit the plays with having humor, but I disagree with those who say that modern readers should find them funny. Humor is controlled by culture, and American or English culture today is extremely different from that of Shakespeare's time.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:32 am
by termyt
And, if it must be said, a lot of Shakespeare would be on the "do not discuss" list for it's rather vulgar and suggestive terminology. Still, I thought Midsummer's Night Dream to be hilarious.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:17 pm
by Hephzibah
I loved Much Ado About Nothing ;) Ever see the movie with Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson and Denzel Washington in it? Classic! I love it :grin:

PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:24 pm
by SilverFang
I as well thought Much Ado About Nothing, was a funny movie.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:25 pm
by Ingemar
Warrior 4 Jesus wrote:3rd step - unfunny comedy

Sigh. I would hope that a fellow member of the Commonwealth would have more appreciation of the Bard. Actually, Shakespeare's humor was rather baudy, and his plays in general were (at the time) considered quite low brow. When you consider the fact that his theatre was situated between a brothel and a dogfighting pit, you'll no longer think of Shakespeare as material for stuffy shirted people.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 4:22 pm
by ClosetOtaku
How to tell a Shakespearean Tragedy from a Comedy:

TRAGEDY: Everybody dies.

COMEDY: Everybody gets married.

Hope that didn't make for any spoilers...

PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:16 pm
by uc pseudonym
Ingemar wrote:Sigh. I would hope that a fellow member of the Commonwealth would have more appreciation of the Bard. Actually, Shakespeare's humor was rather baudy, and his plays in general were (at the time) considered quite low brow. When you consider the fact that his theatre was situated between a brothel and a dogfighting pit, you'll no longer think of Shakespeare as material for stuffy shirted people.


Indeed not (though it has become such, now). Thinking of that has always made me wonder what generations down the road will be reading. When I think of low brow material, I don't think of classics... but neither did the critics of Shakespeare's time.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 6:46 pm
by Ingemar
Oh! There's one more--

ROMANCE: You think it will be a tragedy, but no one dies in the end (example: The Tempest)