Too proud to admit that the “merry war” betwixt them is covering up some very real feelings, Beatrice and Benedick need an outside push to get them to lower their pride and realize they’re perfect for one another.įrom Elizabeth and Mr. īut Shakespeare’s single most influential romantic comedy is Much Ado About Nothing, the iconic story of two wise and witty former lovers who claim they can’t stand one another, even though all they do is obsess about each other. And A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the urtext for any romance brimming with madcap wackiness, like Bringing Up Baby, Overboard, and Moonstruck. Rosalind from As You Like It set the template for the scrappy, self-confident heroines of Working Girl and My Best Friend’s Wedding.
#FIRST FOLIO MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING HOW TO#
Twelfth Night is the inspiration for any rom-com that involves a high-stakes hidden identity, like While You Were Sleeping, Maid In Manhattan, and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. Though Romeo & Juliet is a tragedy, it created a “star-crossed lovers” setup that has fueled romantic comedies from Roman Holiday to Pretty Woman. In fact, no one has influenced the modern rom-com genre more than William Shakespeare. It’s particularly ironic that Shakespeare has become so associated with snobby elitism when he also created the genre that’s most likely to be scoffed at today: the romantic comedy. Far from stuffy and academic, Shakespeare’s plays were written as bawdy, rousing entertainment for the masses. And that’s doubly true for the works of William Shakespeare, which can seem impossibly archaic on the page but are vital and hilarious when brought to life by actors who can actually make the language sound like dialogue. If there’s one thing I took away from my four years at theater school, it’s that plays are meant to be seen, not read.
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