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Genre is not merely a label — it is a structural force that shapes how Shakespeare treats love. The conventions of comedy, tragedy, and romance create different expectations, different possibilities, and different meanings for the relationships at the centre of each play. Understanding genre is essential for AO2 (form and structure) and for writing the kind of sophisticated comparative analysis that examiners reward at the highest grades.
The four set plays span Shakespeare's generic range:
| Play | Genre | Date | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Taming of the Shrew | Comedy | c.1590–92 | Marriage as resolution; verbal wit; disguise and deception; festive conclusion |
| Othello | Tragedy | c.1603–04 | Noble protagonist; fatal flaw or external evil; catastrophic conclusion; death |
| Measure for Measure | Problem play / dark comedy | c.1604 | Resists neat generic classification; comic structure but tragic emotional register; forced marriages at the end |
| The Winter's Tale | Romance / tragicomedy | c.1610–11 | Tragedy in first half; comedy in second; separated by a sixteen-year gap; loss followed by qualified restoration |
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