1. Shakespearean Plays: The Basics
Comedies

2. Genre Tragedies Histories Comedies
Shakespeare’s plays have been grouped into three categories:
Tragedies
Histories
Comedies

3. Comedies
Shakespearean comedies differ from today’s notion of comedy, often mixing tragedy with humour.
Shakespearean comedies have happy endings and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare’s other plays.

4. Characteristics of Comedies
Marriage for unmarried characters
A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty that is often presented by elders
Separation and unification
Mistaken identities
Multiple, intertwining plots
Frequent use of puns

5. Shakespearean Structure
Shakespeare used a five-act structure to develop and resolve plot:
ACT 1: Introduction to situation with tensions or implicit conflict ( intro)
ACT 2: Conflict is developed (rising action)
ACT 3: Conflict reaches height (climax)
ACT 4: Conflict begins to clear up (falling action)
ACT 5: Conflict is resolved ( conclusion)

6. Shakespearean Language
Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in iambic pentameter.
This meter refers to a line consisting of five iambic feet.
Iamb: unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Foot: two syllables
One iambic foot: da DUM
One line of iambic pentameter:
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM