Anything But Happy: A Study Of The Unhappy Happy Endings Of Shakespeare

Though Shakespeare has physically left the world for nearly four hundred years, his popularity and influence have not faded away. He is still alive on the stages of different nations and occupies an important position in the field of literature. From his contemporaries to the modern scholars, many have provided enlightening insights to the understanding of Shakespearean drama, including comedy and romance. The study of these two genres of Shakespeare's literary work has engaged a large number of scholars and much weight has been put to the related analysis.The amount of analysis concerning Shakespearean comedy and romance is great, however, the study of happy ending in Shakespeare is much less, as the arrival of happy ending is always taken for granted. Hence, the thesis is intended to probe into the happy endings in Shakespeare, taking sixteen dramas as the research target. The happy endings fall into two categories:one is the "true" happy ending, farcical, merry in theme and well-designed in play-making, the other one is the unhappy happy ending.The gravity of importance lies in the analysis of the unhappy happy endings in Shakespeare. The "unhappiness" is perceived from two perspectives:the first one is the abrupt happy ending, out of the dramaturgical consideration. It refers to the swift change or unexpected incident that prompts the arrival of happy conclusion in the final scene, which is not harmonious with the characterization or plot in previous scenes or too easily-gained to be believed. The second one is the strained happy ending from the thematic concern. It refers to the artificial happiness, which will not be regarded as lighthearted, amusing or entertaining by the modern audience, for the basis of the happiness in the Shakespeare's dramatic world has collapsed in the modern world and the disparity in mindset and perception between the audiences in different times is too large to be ignored.With the detailed treatment of thirteen unhappy happy endings, the thesis will take the step further to illuminate the factors that make the happy ending unhappy and to offer some explanation for this phenomenon. The "timeless" Shakespeare is by no means immune to the conventional literary practice on stage and social surroundings of his time, from which he inherits the dramatic conventions and forms the outlook of the world.The thesis is devoted to the study of unhappy happy endings in Shakespeare and attempts to expound how this phenomenon appears and what gives rise to it. It helps the modern audience to have a more comprehensive and deep understanding of Shakespearean comedy and romance.