A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night

Welcome to Shakespearean Comedy!

Hello! Welcome to your study notes for the Comedy section of your Edexcel A Level English Literature course. Whether you love the wordplay of Shakespeare or find the old-fashioned language a bit like reading a secret code, these notes are here to help you crack it.

In this section, we are looking at Component 1 (Drama). You will be studying one of four plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, or Twelfth Night. Shakespearean comedies aren't always "laugh-out-loud" funny in the modern sense; they are defined by their structure—usually starting with chaos and ending in multiple marriages. Think of them like a romantic comedy movie: there are misunderstandings and drama, but it almost always ends with a wedding!

What Makes a Shakespearean Comedy?

Before we dive into the specific plays, let’s look at the "ingredients" Shakespeare uses. If you see these in your play, you know you’re dealing with a comedy.

1. From Chaos to Order
Comedies usually start with a problem (like a law forbidding lovers from being together) and end with social harmony (usually weddings).
Analogy: Imagine a messy bedroom. At the start of the play, everything is on the floor. By the end, everything is folded and put away.

2. The "Green World"
Characters often leave the strict, boring city (like Athens or London) and go into a wild, magical place (like a forest). In this Green World, the normal rules don’t apply. People change identities, fall in love with the wrong person, and eventually find their true selves.
Memory Aid: Think "Green = Go Wild." When characters hit the grass, things get crazy.

3. Disguise and Mistaken Identity
Shakespeare loves a "girl-disguised-as-boy" plot (known as transvestite disguise). This creates dramatic irony, which is when we (the audience) know something the characters don't.
Quick Tip: If you see a character put on a hat and suddenly nobody recognizes them, that’s classic Shakespearean comedy!

4. Wordplay and Puns
Characters often use wit to battle each other. It’s like a rap battle but with 16th-century metaphors.

Summary Takeaway: Shakespearean comedy is about the journey from trouble to marriage, often involving a trip to a magical location and lots of confusion along the way.

The Four Plays: A Quick Guide

Don't worry if this seems tricky at first; each play has its own "flavor." Here is a breakdown of the core themes for the four plays in this unit.

1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This is the ultimate "Green World" play. It features four young lovers, a group of amateur actors (the Mechanicals), and feuding fairies.
Key Theme: The randomness of love.
Did you know? The character Bottom gets turned into a donkey. It’s a literal "ass-head" joke—Shakespeare’s version of a silly filter!

2. Twelfth Night

Viola is shipwrecked, thinks her brother is dead, and disguises herself as a boy named Cesario. She falls in love with Duke Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, who falls in love with... Cesario (Viola).
Key Theme: The fluid nature of gender and desire.
Quick Review: It’s a love triangle where nobody knows who anyone actually is!

3. The Taming of the Shrew

This play is more controversial today. Petruchio tries to "tame" the headstrong Katherine to turn her into a "proper" wife.
Key Theme: Power and Gender Roles.
Analogy: It’s like a 16th-century version of a reality TV show about "fixing" someone's personality.

4. Measure for Measure

This is often called a Problem Play. It’s much darker. A ruler leaves his city in the hands of a strict man named Angelo, who sentences a man to death for a moral crime.
Key Theme: Justice vs. Mercy.
Important Point: This play tests the limits of comedy because the ending feels a bit forced and uncomfortable.

Summary Takeaway: Each play uses the same "comedy toolkit" but for different reasons—some for magic, some for romance, and some to ask tough questions about society.

Understanding Context (AO3)

To get top marks, you need to understand the "world" Shakespeare lived in. This is called Context (AO3).

Elizabethan/Jacobean Gender Roles
In Shakespeare’s time, women were legally the property of their fathers or husbands. This is why The Taming of the Shrew focuses so much on Katherine’s "obedience." When women like Viola (Twelfth Night) or Rosalind dress as men, they gain agency (the power to act and speak freely) that they didn't have as women.

The Great Chain of Being
People believed God set an order for the world: God -> King -> Men -> Women -> Animals. Comedy often "flips" this chain for a little while (the carnivalesque), but the end of the play usually puts the chain back in its "proper" order.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't just say "people were sexist back then." Instead, explain how the play reflects or challenges those social rules. For example: "While Katherine seems defeated at the end of Shrew, some critics argue her final speech is actually sarcastic, challenging the patriarchal expectations of the time."

How to Use Critical Views (AO5)

For Section A of Paper 1, you must include ideas from different critics. Your school should provide the Shakespeare: A Critical Anthology – Comedy. This is your "secret weapon."

Step-by-Step for AO5:
1. State your point about the play.
2. Introduce a critic's perspective: "As the critic [Name] suggests..."
3. Explain if you agree or disagree and why.
Example: "While many see the ending of Twelfth Night as happy, critic [Name] argues that the treatment of Malvolio leaves a 'dark shadow' over the final celebrations."

Summary Takeaway: The exam isn't just about what you think; it's a conversation between you, Shakespeare, and the critics!

Exam Skills: Nailing Section A

In the exam, you have 2 hours and 15 minutes for the whole paper. Section A is about your Shakespeare play. You get a choice of two questions.

Quick Tips for Success:
• AO1 (Expression): Use clear language. Don't try to sound like a dictionary; just be precise. Use terms like protagonist, antagonist, soliloquy, and dramatic irony.
• AO2 (Analysis): Look at how Shakespeare writes. Mention iambic pentameter (the "heartbeat" rhythm) for noble characters and prose (ordinary speech) for lower-class characters.
• The "Open Book" Rule: You can take a clean copy of the play into the exam. Use it! Don't spend hours memorizing quotes; instead, learn where the important scenes are so you can find them quickly.

Common Mistake: Telling the story (plot summary). The examiner knows what happens! They want to know why it happens and how it's written.
Instead of: "Viola dresses as a man and goes to see Olivia."
Try: "Through Viola’s transvestite disguise, Shakespeare explores the fragility of identity and the performative nature of gender."

Final Quick Review Box

• Comedy = Chaos moving toward Marriage.
• Green World = A place of magic and transformation.
• AO3 = Context (Gender roles, Social order).
• AO5 = Critical interpretations (The Anthology).
• Keep it focused: Always link your points back to the question!

Don't worry! Shakespeare can be intimidating, but these plays were written to be entertainment. They are full of the same things we watch on Netflix today: love, secrets, power struggles, and jokes. You've got this!