Comedies and Tragedies of
Shakespeare have a close connection as proved by James Smith.
James smith, as one of
the greatest exponents of formalistic criticism, analyses Shakespeare’s
comedies and tragedies in accordance with “As You Like It”, “Macbeth” and
“Hamlet”. Shakespeare’s success is said to be due to his integrity and his
manifold interests, being coordinated regularly to strengthen one play after
the other. A tragic play is a kind in which one or more characters in it have a
moral flaw that leads to his/her downfall. In the side of a comic play, it has
at least one humorous character with a joyful ending. Belief is said to be an author’s integrity. Shakespeare
has given a number of early years spending in his comedies which are not his significant
part. But still, these comedies have shed their lights on his upcoming
tragedies. If it is comprehensible, then the comedies should be shunned. But,
for some readers, comedies are less inviting than the tragedies. Comedy admits
interludes and sideshows.
In his comedy like “As
You Like It”, Jaques plays a common role as an intruder and he used to have a
quest for melancholy and thus Rosalind calls Jaques a melancholy fellow. He
used to travel and get acquainted with a sorrow. In the whole play, Jaques
seems to be travelling, which brought him anything but profit: “I have gain’d,”
he insists, “my experience”. He replies to Rosalind that, his melancholy is at
least sincere as it is as pleasing to him as jollity to other men: “I doe love it
better than laughing.” But, Rosalind appears as a character who is experiencing
melancholy, from the place where she is. Also, she appears as a rebuke in front
of Jaques.
In the case of Hamlet
and Macbeth-their melancholy seems to be genuine. As Macbeth is totally
collapsed, when he is informed, lady Macbeth is dead. He loses his interest in
the worldly life and utters the words, “Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full
of sound and fury, signifying nothing. The pathetic cry of the villainous character
elevates him to the level of a tragic hero. Therefore, he procrastinates and
hence, it transforms into a great tragedy which results in his melancholy. On
the other hand, the melancholy of Jaques is forced to him through his “wide
travel.” So in all the plays of Shakespeare, there will be a taste of
bitterness embedded in it. Hence there will be a vast difference in the
characters of his tragedies and comedies, but still there will be a relationship
within the characters.
Thus by compiling such facts, James Smith has
given his assumption by which, Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies have a
relation with their themes and characters.
Submitted
By,
J.
Mery Joylin Treasa,
1st
M.A English Literature.
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