Past paper essay plans - Comedy Flashcards
C: By the end of comedic texts, the central characters have changed for the better.
Although the protagonists seem to achieve what they want, no they only appear to change superficially, they continue to go on living their superficial lifestyles. Lady Bracknell’s snobbery presides.
C: Comedic texts are light-hearted, they have nothing to say about serious matters.
Although comedic texts are often light-hearted sources of entertainment for readers/ audiences for example the playfulness of Tam ‘o’ Shanter, they often contain darker subject matter disguised through the comedic surface. For example Wilde’s social critique in earnest, superficial, hedonistic lifestyles, sexism and gender politics, snobbery. And Mrs. Sisyphus touches on very dark subject matter of neglect and loneliness of famous wives throughout history, ending on very depressing note.
C: Male characters in Comedic literature are nothing more than figures of fun.
Tam is an insincere foppish fool, who has not learnt any lessons and remains a comedic device for the audience to laugh at and with. However, male characters are often clever and witty who set out with goals and ultimately achieve them, such as Jack and Algy the triumphant male protagonists. furthermore Sisyphus cant be described as a figure of fun, but rather the cause of his wife’s despair, whilst he himself is destined to a tragic eternity of pushing a rock up a hill,
“Scorned by all men, even her own father, Katherina is victimised by patriarchy.”
Yes, Katherina is treated horifically throughout the play, results in the elimination of hher fiesty wit and character.
Hortensio, Gremio, Baptista, Tranio and Lucentio all exert their power over Kate. “a wild cat” who he would not marry for a “mound of gold.”
The way Baptista treats Katherina is in direct contrast to the way he treats Bianca. “Katherina you may stay, for I have more to commune with Bianca.
Finally, we see Katherina as a victim of Petruchio’s taming, she has lost her fiery spirit and become the most obedient and submissive of the wives. “Thy husband is thy lord, thy soverein, they keeper. “
TTOTS: Even though this is a play about courtship and marriage, romantic love is absent.
Petruchio seeks love, but not for marriage, he arrives in Padua to “wive and thrive” he seeks a mercantile marriage.
Petruchio’s taming of Katherina is a kind of courtship, but far from romantic love, it is about gaining power and control.
The three unions at the end are not romantic they are concerned with power struggles, Bianca and the widow’s refusal at the end shows their marriages are about obtaining power, now for the women, and Kate’s obedience is evident of her losing power - her fiery spirit crushed.
Katherina’s transformation into an obedient wife provides an uplifting end to the comedy.
Although Kate’s transformation provides an uplifting, satisfying ending to the comedic issues and the main plot of the play, as her taming is officialy complete. Katherina’s obedience is anything but uplifting as it has crushed her once fiery spirit, comedic spirit and made her submissive and subservient.
Furthermore, Katherina only became this way because of the maltreatment and abuse Petruchio subjected her to.
It can hardly be described to uplift any audience, especially a modern one, as Katherina’s new obedience as a wife merely reinforces patriarchal views of women’s roles in heterosexual relationships.
Audiences enjoy Petruchio’s amusing and playful taming of Katherina.”
it is amusing to see Katherina and Petruchio interact with each other during their first encounters, as they match each other’s wit and have a playful and flirty dynamic.
However, Petruchio’s aim is to entirely crush Katherina’s fiery spirit, his aim to have the dominance and control in their future marriage - rather than marital harmony.
Furthermore, Petruchio’s treatment of kate eventually becomes psychological abuse, he deprives her of food and even tries to dictate her sensory experience.
The servants in the play are resourceful characters who make things happen.
Tranio is a witty, clever and resourceful servant who majorly contributes to the disguise plot and the resolution helping Lucentio win over his love.
Grumio’s character has much entertainment value, however, he is more of an obstacle in the play, too much of a fool to prove resourceful, he powerless and occasionally receives physical violence from Petruchio.
Biondello serves more as a comedic messanger than anything else, whilst entertaining, he holds little power in the world of the text.
Katherina is a clever woman who beats Petruchio at his own game.
It is most certainly arguable that at the end of the play, Katherina has understood Petruchio’s game and knows how to comply to get what she wants. This can be seen through the fact that her final speech might be delivered ironically, often actors choose to portray it with a knowing wink. However, as with hawk training, Petruchio has subjected Katherina to much suffering and torture, eventually breaking her spirity, even dictating her reality. Furthermore, Katherina does not have the ability to see she is being played, she succumbs to every part of Petruchio’s game by being obedient and letting him win the wager etc… suggesting she has lost.
Explore the significance of the play’s title in relation to the taming of the shrew.
the title foregrounds the central plot of the play and the focal comedic element. The title also indicates that the play is concerned with issues of gender, that of the “shrew” stereotype as seen in much contemporary literature, whereby a difficult woman is belittled, dehumanised etc… for not conforming to ideals. The title also highlights the importance of power and control, and lack thereof, in the play…the entire power struggle between kate and Petruchio which results in him taming her like a wild animal, ultimately disempowering her.
C: The predicaments and difficult situations presented in comedic literature make readers laugh.
Comedy is usually centered around predicaments and difficult situations that protagonists have found themselves in and need to overcome, such as the ridiculous predicament Tam causes himself to be in, ending up chased by witches. However funny these predicaments may be they are often commenting on more serious matters, and perhaps evoking sympathy. Lady Bracknell acting as an obstacle may be funny, but her total dominance and control could be critiquing aristocratic snobbery and obsession with pedigree and marriage. Mrs Sisyphus’ situation evokes sympathy through her despair and frustration.
Explore the significance of romantic love to the comedy of two texts you have studied.
romantic Love is usually the central issue of comedy, whether it be the struggle to achieve it, the loss of it or the desire surrounding it.
In TIOBE the play focuses on the two protagonists’ obsession with obtaining a partner, and the ridiculous lengths they will go to in order to do this. In Mrs. Sisiyphus, the speaker shows us the darker side of romantic love, when it is lost and the loneliness subsequent of said loss. In the Flea, the narrator focuses on love and the desire and lust surrounding it, stressing how love is only natural, and with love comes desire.
‘The predicaments and difficult situations presented in comedic literature make readers laugh.’
the nature of comedic texts often revolves around difficult situations and predicaments designed to make readers laugh - such as Tam running away from the witches, Tam is a drunken fool who suffers no consequences, and the real story this is based on makes it even funnier. Therefore, some comedic texts do indeed revolve around difficult situations that make readers laugh
however, there are sometimes darker aspects of these predicaments which are disguised through comedy. Such as in TIOBE, Jack’s difficult situation which is the fact he can’t marry Gwendolen Is indeed comedic, however wilde is using this as a vehicle to critique victorian high society, Lady Bracknell is most definitely a comedic obstacle, however she also represents the flaws of victorian aristocracy; their obsession with lineage, their callous cold-heartedness and the greed.
Furthermore, in Duffy’s mrs. Sisyphus , the difficult situation contains a much darker message about the nature of modern capitalist society and obsession with work, taking a depressing turn.
Explore the significance of romantic love to the comedy of two texts you have studied.
- love is a focal element of comedic literature; sometimes plays focus around achieving love, sometimes they focus on the lust and desire tied up with love and sometimes they focus on the death of romantic love
- for example, in Wilde’s earnest the plot revolves around the protagonists journey to marry their lovers the obstacles that come in between and the comedic lengths the two male protagonists go to to achieve their lovers
-e.g the flea focuses on the relationship between lust and love and how sex is a natural part of love that should not be shamed
mrs sisyphus focuses on the death of love and the loneliness that comes with this.
‘Comedic literature contains revelations – key moments in the comedy where information is revealed or characters discover something.’
- revelations as a way of provoking laughter at the dramatic nature of the information being revealed - eg jack discover mrs prism is his mother
Tam’s sudden discovery that he is in serious danger and the comedic moral about restraint which emerges,
the discovery of the girl in Not My Best Side that life with the dragon isn’t her future
