We can trace the origin of Comedy to Dionysis- the Greek God of Wine who was hilarious, satirical and irreverent in spirit. Ben Jonson in ‘Volpone' (1605) that is considered to be the greatest comedy in English epitomized the classical spirit of comedy. Shakespeare was aware of the classical tradition by the chose to follow the Roman tradition of Petrarch and Boccacio.



Shakespeare's early comedies were classical in spirit but the later ones were more emotional, fanciful and humorous. ‘The Merchant of Venice' falls between there two categories. It leads the list of mature comedies; has more Romantic characteristics than classical. It is also one of the earliest productions of the middle period. In this play Shakespeare seems to have obtained the highest use of his powers as a playwright, his faculties as a poet and philosopher seem to be approaching their grand maturity without losing the ardor and hopefulness of youth. There is loftiness of thought and expression.

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Title: The Merchant Of Venice As A Romantic Comedy - Critical Analysis
Approximate Word Count: 1642
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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