Shakespeare's comedies

Charles Cattermole. A scene from The Merchant of Venice. 19th century. Folger ART Box C368.5 no.1 (size S) Italy is the setting most associated with Shakespeare’s comedies, providing layers of dramatic potential that Kent Cartwright explores in an excerpt from…

“We’re told from a young age that tragedy teaches us important things about what it means to be human. But does it actually teach us anything, or simply reveal what we already know?” writes Austin Tichenor, who looks at Shakespeare’s…

Audiences sometimes go from roaring with laughter to scratching their heads when it comes to Shakespeare’s jokes 400 years later. How (and why) has “what’s funny” changed over the years—and what’s still a guaranteed belly laugh?