Shakespeare's Comedies

Shakespeare's comedies are the original English romantic comedies, featuring familiar plot lines like the "enemies-to-lovers" trope seen in Hallmark movies where characters who initially clash end up falling in love. They also employ the classic mistaken identity and elaborate misunderstandings common to modern rom-coms like While You Were Sleeping, while the verbal sparring and social drama would feel right at home in reality shows like Real Housewives, where alliances shift and conflicts resolve in dramatic fashion.

Some modern rom-coms even seem to closely follow plot lines from Shakespeare's stories. Examples include: Anyone But You (2023) and Much Ado About Nothing; She's The Man (2006) and the Twelfth Night; John Tucker Must Die (2006) and The Merry Wives of Windsor; 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and The Taming of the Shrew; Love Is All There Is (1996) and Romeo and Juliet; and Big Business (1988) and The Comedy of Errors.

All's Well That Ends Well

Helena, a determined young woman, cures the king of France and is granted the right to marry the nobleman Bertram. Through a series of clever schemes and disguises, Helena wins Bertram’s love, fulfilling the play’s theme that perseverance and virtue can overcome social barriers and lead to a happy ending.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A whimsical comedy where lovers, fairies, and a group of amateur actors get tangled in magical confusion in a forest, leading to mix-ups, enchantments, and ultimately happy marriages.

As You Like It

In this romantic comedy, Rosalind, banished from court, disguises herself as a man in the Forest of Arden, where love, identity, and wit unfold among exiles and shepherds until multiple couples marry in the end.

Cymbeline

Cymbeline tells the story of Princess Imogen, who remains faithful to her husband Posthumus despite false accusations and betrayal, leading to a series of misunderstandings, disguises, and battles before truth is revealed and reconciliation achieved.

Love's Labour's Lost

The story follows a king and his friends who vow to avoid women and focus on study, but soon fall in love with visiting ladies, leading to courtship that ends unexpectedly when the women leave and delay marriage for a year.

Measure for Measure

The story explores justice and morality as a strict deputy enforces harsh laws, but is exposed for hypocrisy when he tries to exploit a virtuous woman — only to be outwitted by a disguised duke who restores order and mercy.

Much Ado About Nothing

A comedy of misunderstandings, where two couples — one tricked into falling in love, the other nearly torn apart by deception — find truth, forgiveness, and love in the end.

Pericles Prince of Tyre

The story follows Pericles as he flees danger, faces shipwrecks and loss, and endures years of wandering before a miraculous reunion with his long-lost wife and daughter.

The Comedy of Errors

In this comedy about two sets of identical twins separated at birth, whose accidental reunions in the same city lead to a cascade of mistaken identities, confusion, and ultimately a joyful family reunion.

The Merchant of Venice

The story is about Antonio, who borrows money from a lender to help his friend Bassanio woo Portia; when Antonio can’t repay the loan, the lender demands a pound of flesh, but Portia, disguised as a lawyer, outsmarts him in court.

The Merry Wives of Windsor

A comedy where Sir John Falstaff tries to seduce two married women for money, but they see through his plan and trick him repeatedly for their own amusement.

The Taming of the Shrew

A comedic battle of wills where the bold Petruchio woos and tames the strong-willed Katherina, leading to a controversial ending about marriage, obedience, and transformation.

The Tempest

The story follows Prospero, a sorcerer and rightful duke, who conjures a storm to bring his enemies to his island, where through magic, forgiveness, and reconciliation, he restores his daughter’s future and his own place in the world.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

A story about two friends, Valentine and Proteus, whose friendship is tested when they fall for the same woman.

The Winter's Tale

A story of jealousy and redemption, where King Leontes wrongly accuses his wife of infidelity, leading to tragedy — until years later, lost family is miraculously reunited and forgiveness brings healing.

Troilus and Cressida

A tragic tale set during the Trojan War, where the Trojan prince Troilus falls in love with Cressida, but after she's traded to the Greeks, she betrays him, revealing the futility of love and honor amid war.

Twelfth Night

A romantic comedy where Viola, shipwrecked and disguised as a man, gets caught in a love triangle, leading to mistaken identities, humorous twists, and joyful reunions.