preview

Popularity Of Mucedorus

Decent Essays

The popularity of Mucedorus Mucedorus is an Elizabethan romantic comedy which was first performed by the end of the sixteenth century. It is an anonymous play, however, it is associated with William Shakespeare. In the play, a reader can find many words and other features typical for Shakespeare. And since Mucedorus was also performed by Shakespeare's company, the King's men, it is speculated that Shakespeare may not have been just an inspiration for writing this piece, he possibly may have collaborated with the real author. Despite the fact, that no author has been convincingly proposed for the original version, Mucedorus was the most popular play of the first half of the seventeenth century (Kirwan).
The sympathetic romance, high adventure and connection of comedy with a real threat, may have been the grounds for Mucedorus' popularity. While Mucedorus and Amadine have to overcome one difficulty after another to maintain their love, the play keeps its spectators uncertain about the ending. Some of the subsequent actions in the play are introduced with a sentence, which sets up high expectations and speculations about what is going to happen. For instance, the sentence "Enter Segasto …show more content…

For instance, when the bear appears in the play, Mouse speaks about the bear's double identity and then the plot shows parallel elements of comedy and tragedy. When the bear tumbles over Amadine, it is a feature of comedy, whereas the chances that Amadine is killed by the bear express tragedy. Afterwards, the story changes again and shows comic twist when cowardly Mouse and Segasto run away. After Mucedorus kills the bear and wins the heroine's heart, a reader notices that the play returns to a romantic storyline. Another example of transitions between comedy and tragedy is Bremo's death. When he is killed, there is only one reference to it and then the play returns to the romantic storyline

Get Access