Shakespeare and the Ends of Comedy

Drama and Performance Studies

by Ejner J. Jensen

"This is a congenial, lucidly written work, the product of careful thought and attention to performance." ―Shakespeare Bulletin "... Jensen has done a service by reminding readers of the variety and richness of the comedy and comic devices in Shakespeare’s plays." ―Choice "The ear that Jensen brings to the plays themselves results in close readings that are always insightful and stimulate new questions." ―English Language Notes "Here is a genuinely readable and enjoyable book... humane, balanced, unpolemical, good humored, and fundamentally sane." ―Charles R. Forker "... Jensen has produced a sensitive and eminently readable book that will no doubt figure prominently in future attempts to understand Shakespeare’s comic practice." ―Shakespeare Yearbook Jensen questions a persistent critical emphasis that finds the meanings of Shakespeare’s comedies in their endings. Analyzing The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and Measure for Measure, he shows how much vitality is sacrificed when critics assume that "the end crowns the work."

176 pages, Hardcover

First published July 22, 1991