Question

In what way does Shakespeare's the tempest resist traditional genre classification

Answer 1

The Tempest is neither a tragedy nor a comedy. Remember, a Shakespearean tragedy ends in death, including the death of the main character. A Shakespearean comedy ends in marriage. Despite several close calls, The Tempest is not a tragedy because no one dies. And, although the play ends in the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda, the play is not a strict comedy because several people nearly die during the play. The play therefore incorporates elements of both tragedy and comedy. As a result, the play is often classified as a tragicomedy, or romance.

Answer 2

A comedy deals with humorously confusing sometimes ridiculous situations in which the ending is, nevertheless happy and often ends in marriage. A tragedy in oposition to the comedy is arepresentation of the fall of kings or nobles, beginning in happiness and ending in catastrophe. Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" is considered a revenge tragedy, turned at the last moment towards forgiveness. It deals with the complex themes of colonialism, depicting Prospero as the master who displaced the ruler of the island and enslaves Caliban, an indigenous person. Although it follows some conventions of the comedy, as the marriage at the end, and the tragedy, some catastrophic events, the play is not confined to one genre.