Shakespearean Comedy

            William Shakespeare uses his own structure of a Shakespearean comedy to write the play, The Tempest. An integral part of that standard structure is courtship. The two main love interests in this play are Miranda and Ferdinand. The fact that Ferdinand is only the third man Miranda has ever seen speeds up the process of this courtship. They fall in love instantly, but Ferdinand must prove himself not only to Miranda, but to Prospero as well. To demonstrate his genuine love for Miranda, Ferdinand promises to do whatever it takes. He collects and carries wood, per order of Prospero. This physical labor displays his seriousness in their relationship. Ferdinand would break his back before ever letting his one true love carry a piece of wood. Because courtship follows an extremely stylized format, it needs a specific language. Ferdinand’s “language of love” is seen clearly through his willingness to please Miranda. In reality, he is in service to Prospero, but sees Miranda as his master. He fills his speeches with compliments of her beauty, ending this courtship successfully with an engagement to Miranda.

            Another component of the standard structure of a Shakespearean play is the comic situation, which is determined externally by others. In Act II, scene ii, Trinculo finds Caliban underneath his cloak. Caliban imagines Trinculo to be a spirit and Trinculo concludes that Caliban is a monster. The comedy of the situation is found in the fact that Trinculo needed to find shelter from the impending storm and the only place he can think to hid is under a monster’s cloak. Stephano then enters, confused, and hears Trinculo’s voice. It takes Stephano and Trinculo a couple moments to figure out each other’s true identities. Because Stephano gives Caliban wine, Caliban devotes himself to be Stephano’s loyal servant, foolishly assuming that he is a special god, and not knowing that he is of human race just like Prospero. The entire scene is humorous from the bantering between the two drunks and the monster to Ariel interrupting the serenity between the three. This scene lends itself perfectly to a comic situation because personalities are confused, gods, or in this case spirits, intervene, people are drugged, and this continued confusion generates the absurdities of the play.