Comic elements are often said to be an integral part of both Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good and William Shakespeare's The Tempest. In The Tempest, the characters of Trinculo and Stephano are objectionable almost entirely for comedic effect, even having their own subplot of a comedic nature. The same can also be said of the "gross" Meg in Our Country's Good, and in both comedies most of the characters take part in some form of comedy. Whether included in dialogue or intertitles, comedy creates light and shadow in both works and therefore increases the importance of themes such as love, power and class divisions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the most potentially obvious ways in which both Wertenbaker and Shakespeare use comedy is through arguably crude sexual innuendo. Not only do they provide light relief to the audience after a more intense and dark scene in both plays, but they also reveal the transition from innocence to experience in Miranda in The Tempest. In act one, scene one of The Tempest, Gonzalo says: "I will vouch for it by drowning, though the ship were not stronger than a nutshell and as permeable as a tireless girl", the words "tireless girl" refer to the menstrual bleeding and 'leaky', implying sexual incontinence. A violent storm puts the lives of everyone on board the ship at risk in this opening scene, thus providing the audience with a three-dimensional atmosphere from the offset of the show. Given that Gonzalo is an "honest old councilor", such a way of speaking would seem out of place with his class position, reinforcing the element of danger in his situation while remaining entertaining, Wertenbaker also uses this technique similar, with "gross" Meg telling Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark that she'll "play" him "like a virgin" and "play whatever part you want." This rather crude but funny metaphor for a penis (like playing an instrument) does found at the beginning of the fifth scene of the first act; the previous scene, titled with the rather solemn title "The Solitude of Men", consists entirely of an intense dialogue between Ralph Clark and Ensign Harry Brewer. Thus the "gross" Meg, whose purpose is apparently only for comic effect since she is only present in this scene and only talks about sexual matters, is appropriately placed in the comedy and once again offers light relief . However, comedic sexual references are not always crude in nature, as the conversation between Miranda and Ferdinand in The Tempest shows. In the first scene of the third act, he asks Ferdinand to be his wife immediately after saying "the more he tries to hide, the bigger he shows". This not only refers to pregnancy as it is automatically perceived, but can also denote an erection. Miranda is a virgin (for twelve years she has never seen a man apart from her father and Caliban), thus indicating her willingness to come of age, mature and offer herself to Ferdinand. This courtly love is of the purest nature, and her breaking out of her "puppet role" by asking Ferdinand to marry her foreshadows the future harmony brought upon the characters. References to love are also prevalent in both works; Miranda and Ferdinand experience "love at first sight" and Miranda's line when she first sees Ferdinand of "What isn't he, a spirit?" ... She has a brave form, but "tis a spirit" not only highlights the fact that this is the first man her age she has met, but is funny because she mistakes him for a magical being. Ferdinand respondswith "No, girl, he eats and sleeps and has such senses, as we have them." He talks about himself in the third person, which the audience may have found quite funny. The fact that both characters appear to form a relationship soon after meeting gives the audience an idea that their love will blossom, ultimately helping the outcome of reconciliation and forgiveness. Since these are two of the main themes of Shakespeare's work, it seems that the pure and courteous relationship between Miranda and Ferdinand serves as a means to achieve these goals. Furthermore, the "love triangle" prevalent between John Wisehammer, Mary Brenham, and Ralph Clark in Our Country's Good and the complications associated with it can be said to contain comedic elements. In the eleventh scene of the first act, "Wisehammer eagerly steps forward" when given the opportunity to read Plume (Mary's "Captain" in the play) as he thinks it would bring her closer to Mary. Here the audience was able to empathize with Wisehammer's desires but also find his almost childlike enthusiasm amusing. The comedic aspect here is developed through Ralph suddenly realizing that he has "competition" and therefore immediately changing his mind saying "no, I'll read Plume myself". One could imagine this scene being played as if there were two male animals competing for their potential mate! However, Wertenbaker uses this play not only to entertain the audience, but also to show the problems associated with Ralph, an officer, clashing with Mary, an inmate. Although a relationship between Wisehammer and Mary would be a relationship between two equals, there would be a potentially harmful split if Ralph were her partner. While love is certainly important to a successful relationship, in the eighteenth century equal status was universally considered a determining factor in marriage. The fact that both Miranda and Ferdinand in The Tempest both believe that Prospero is against their budding relationship, but that is actually not the case. it's all part of his cunning plan, revealed through his speaking "aside" to the audience, is another effective tool used by Shakespeare to achieve comic effect. Prospero indicates his apparent disgust towards their relationship, for example by saying to Ferdinand in Act I's second scene: "My foot, my guardian?" Put up your sword, traitor... For here I can disarm you with this staff and make your weapon fall.' In doing so, Ferdinand is unable to raise his "weapon", or sword; the dramatic visual effect of this is fun as it humiliates Ferdinand in a lighthearted way. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the term "weapon" also refers to his penis, Prospero's threat therefore indicates an emasculation of Ferdinand. This is also a clear statement of power over Ferdinand, power in both colonialism and language is another theme addressed in both works through the use of comedic elements. In The Tempest, act two, scene two, shows a clear distinction between the "superior" Italians Trinculo and Stephano and the "savage" Caliban, whose name is an anagram of "cannibal". When Trinculo sees Caliban for the first time, he mistakes him for a fish, saying, "What have we here?" A man or a fish? Dead or alive? A fish: it smells like fish, a very ancient, fishy smell. If I were in England now... and had painted only this fish, there would not be a festive fool who would not give a silver coin... when they will not give a doit to receive a lame beggar, they will put ten to see an Indian died ' . Not only does Caliban's initially hilarious association with a fish dehumanize him, but Caliban's "selling" is a reference to slavery. By comparing Caliban to a fish, Shakespeare manages to increase the shock level here;.