Of the republic of uzbekistan andizhan state university named after z. M. Bobur the faculty of foreign languages


Mistaken Identity and/or Misconceptions


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ч Comparative analysis of comedy plays by Shakesperian and Ben Johnson

1. Mistaken Identity and/or Misconceptions
Situations where characters impersonate or are mistaken for somebody else are a long-standing comic tradition which Shakespeare only cemented in his time. This can be seen in Shakespearean comedies such as As You Like It, in which Rosalind impersonates a man in order to mentor her would-be lover into the man she secretly desires; or in Twelfth Night, where a shipwrecked Viola washes up in a strange land and decides to dress up as a man to enter into service of the nobility.
How characters get embroiled in gender mix-ups can be due to circumstances or just plain old-fashioned deception, but, all in all, the humour arises from the audience’s awareness of their predicament, in contrast to how others remain oblivious to it. Modern comedy films such as Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire also make use of this same comic technique, where male characters impersonate women to either advantage their career, or to bypass custody restrictions following a divorce battle. In either case, Shakespeare recognised how disguising one’s gender can be funny when it serves the need of the story.
2. Reason versus Emotion
The historical period in which Shakespeare wrote his plays was defined by an intellectual battle between Apollonian values (such as reason) versus Dionysian values (like desire). How does one act in the world—by following our passions, or by listening to our heads? It’s no surprise, then, that many of Shakespeare’s comedies toy with this dichotomy, challenging audiences to consider matters of the heart, whilst comparing it to the more rational considerations of the human mind.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hermia disobeys her father by refusing to accept Demetrius as her husband. Instead, she chooses to pursue a romance with Lysander, and is willing to face the possibility of a death sentence for doing so. Her motivations are led by emotion, and not dictated by reason. Only adding to confusion is Helena’s statement “love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind” when Hermia’s actions suggest the opposite to be true. In this way, Shakespeare’s comedies tend to wittily expose the contradictions inherent in human behaviour. In short, it’s all about choosing between what your heart wants, and what your mind says, and therein lies the humour.

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