Conventional plot elements in Shakespearean comedies:

Happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters (sometimes
deus ex machina)

Light-hearted tone.

Tension between Apollonian values (reason, control and abstinence) and Dionysian values
(such as desires, wildness and abandon)

A greater emphasis on situations rather than characters (this numbs the audience's
connection to the characters, so that when characters experience misfortune, the audience
still finds it laughable)

A struggle of young lovers to may overcome difficulty, often presented by elders

Separation and re-unification

Deception of characters (especially mistaken identity)Several of Shakespeare's comedies,

such as Measure for Measure and All's Well That Ends Well, have an unusual tone with a
difficult mix of humour and tragedy which has led them to be classified as problem plays. It is
not clear whether the uneven nature of these dramas is due to an imperfect understanding of
Elizabethan humour and society, a fault on Shakespeare's part, or a deliberate attempt by
him to blend styles and subvert the audience's expectations. By the end of Shakespeare's
life, he had written seventeen comedies. Cymbeline, listed in this article with the comedies,
was, in the First Folio, included among the tragedies, even though it has many of the
features of the so-called "late romances" (including a happy ending).

Common Features of a Shakespearean Comedy

What makes a Shakespeare comedy identifiable if the genre is not distinct from the
Shakespeare tragedies and histories? This is an ongoing area of debate, but many believe
that the comedies share certain characteristics, as described below:

Comedy through language: Shakespeare's comedies are peppered with clever word play,
metaphors and insults.

Love: The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. Often, we are presented
with sets of lovers who, through the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their
relationship and unite. Of course that measure isn't always foolproof; love is the central
theme of "Romeo and Juliet" but few people would regard that play as a comedy.

Complex plots: The plots of Shakespeare comedies have more twists and turns than his
tragedies and histories. Although the plots are convoluted, they do follow similar patterns.
For example, the climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene has a
celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their feelings for each other.

Mistaken identities: The plot of a Shakespearean comedy is often driven by mistaken

identity. Sometimes this is an intentional part of a villain’s plot, as in "Much Ado About
Nothing" when Don John tricks Claudio into believing that his fiance has been unfaithful
through mistaken identity. Characters also play scenes in disguise and it is not uncommon
for female characters to disguise themselves as male characters.
Shakespeare’s comedies are the most difficult to classify because they overlap in style with
other genres. Critics often describe some plays as tragic-comedies because they mix equal
measures of tragedy and comedy.

For example, "Much Ado About Nothing" starts as a comedy, but takes on some of the
characteristics of a tragedy when Hero is disgraced and fakes her own death. At this point,
the play has more in common with "Romeo and Juliet," one of Shakespeare’s key tragedies.

The Shakespearean plays generally classified as comedy are as follows:

 All's Well That Ends Well

 As You Like It
 The Comedy of Errors
 Cymbeline
 Love's Labour’s Lost
 Measure for Measure
 The Merry Wives of Windsor
 The Merchant of Venice
 A Midsummer Night's Dream
 Much Ado About Nothing
 Pericles, Prince of Tyre
 The Taming of the Shrew
 Troilus and Cressida
 Twelfth Night
 Two Gentlemen of Verona
 The Two Noble Kinsmen
 The Winter's Tale