Ever wonder how many times Shakespeare made us laugh?
You picture A Midsummer Night’s Dream or Much Ado About Nothing and think, “He must have written a ton of comedies, right?”
The short answer is 17—but the story behind that number is worth the stroll.
What Is Shakespeare’s Comedy
When we talk about Shakespeare’s comedies we’re not just listing any light‑hearted play.
In the Bard’s world a “comedy” is a drama that begins in trouble, ends in marriage (or at least a happy resolution), and usually throws in a handful of mistaken identities, witty banter, and a dash of the supernatural Small thing, real impact..
The Classical Roots
Shakespeare borrowed the ancient Greek idea of komoidia: a plot that moves from confusion to order. He also leaned on Roman playwrights like Plautus and Terence, who loved clever wordplay and slapstick. The result? A hybrid that feels both timeless and unmistakably Elizabethan.
The Six‑Act Structure
Most of his comedies follow a five‑act format, but the internal rhythm is what sets them apart.
Acts II and III deepen the mess with disguises and misunderstandings.
Which means act I throws the problem onto the stage—think lovers separated by feuding families. Act IV begins to untangle the knots, and Act V ties everything up with a wedding or a coronation.
That’s the skeleton, but the flesh—puns, songs, and bawdy jokes—makes each piece feel fresh And that's really what it comes down to..
Why It Matters / Why People Care
Comedy isn’t just “fun” in Shakespeare’s canon; it’s a laboratory for social commentary.
When The Taming of the Shrew puts Petruchio in charge of a headstrong woman, audiences aren’t just laughing at the antics—they’re wrestling with gender roles that still feel relevant.
Twelfth Night flips gender identity on its head, giving us Viola disguised as a man and a love triangle that feels oddly modern.
Understanding that Shakespeare wrote 17 comedies helps us see the balance in his oeuvre. And he wasn’t just a tragedian; he was a master of human contradiction. The more we know about his comic output, the better we can appreciate how he used humor to probe power, class, and love.
How It Works (or How to Count the Comedies)
Counting Shakespeare’s comedies isn’t as simple as opening a spreadsheet and tallying titles. Which means scholars have debated the genre for centuries, and the list has shifted as new evidence emerged. Here’s the step‑by‑step method most academics use today.
1. Start With the Traditional Canon
The first pass is the “traditional 17” that appears in most textbooks:
- All’s Well That Ends Well
- As You Like It
- The Comedy of Errors
- Love’s Labour’s Lost
- Measure for Measure
- The Merchant of Venice
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Taming of the Shrew
- The Tempest
- Twelfth Night
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- The Two Noble Kinsmen (co‑written with John Fletcher)
- The Winter’s Tale
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre (often listed as a romance but sometimes counted as a comedy)
- Cymbeline (again, a romance that straddles the line)
Notice the gray area: Pericles and Cymbeline are “late romances,” yet many scholars slot them into the comedy count because they end happily and share many comic devices Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
2. Check the Folio and Quarto Evidence
Shakespeare’s plays were printed in different formats. Plus, the First Folio (1623) groups these works under “Comedies. ” If a play appears there, it’s a strong indicator that contemporaries saw it as comic Practical, not theoretical..
To give you an idea, The Tempest is in the Folio’s comedy section even though it has serious themes. That’s why it stays in the list.
3. Look at Scholarly Consensus
Modern Shakespeare scholars—like those at the Arden, Oxford, and Cambridge editions—publish annotated lists. Their consensus currently sits at 17, with The Two Noble Kinsmen and Pericles sometimes excluded, dropping the number to 15.
If you’re writing for a general audience, the 17‑count is safest because it matches what most people have learned in school.
4. Consider Co‑Authorship
The Two Noble Kinsmen was a collaboration with John Fletcher. Some purists argue that only solo works should count, which would shave the total down to 16 And that's really what it comes down to..
But the play was performed by the King’s Men, Shakespeare’s own company, and the comedic elements are unmistakably his. Most modern counts include it.
5. Factor in Lost or Mis‑attributed Works
A handful of plays—The Two Noble Kinsmen aside—have been lost or mis‑attributed over the centuries. The History of Cardenio is a tragedy, but Love’s Labour’s Won (a lost comedy) was mentioned in contemporary records. If it ever resurfaced, the total would rise to 18 That's the part that actually makes a difference..
For now, we stick with the surviving 17.
Common Mistakes / What Most People Get Wrong
Mistake #1: Counting All “Funny” Plays
People often lump Macbeth or Julius Caesar into the comedy tally because of occasional comic relief scenes. Those are tragedies, not comedies. The genre classification hinges on the overall arc, not isolated jokes And that's really what it comes down to..
Mistake #2: Ignoring the Romance Category
The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest sit in a limbo between comedy and romance. Some readers think they’re not comedies at all. In reality, they were printed as comedies in the First Folio, so they belong in the count Nothing fancy..
Mistake #3: Assuming Love’s Labour’s Won Is Still Lost
A myth persists that Love’s Labour’s Won turned up in a dusty archive last year. But it didn’t. The play is still missing, so it doesn’t affect the official number That's the part that actually makes a difference..
Mistake #4: Over‑Counting Co‑Authored Works
A handful of early modern scholars dismissed The Two Noble Kinsmen because Fletcher contributed. That’s a narrow view; the play was performed as part of Shakespeare’s repertoire, so it counts.
Mistake #5: Forgetting the Folio’s Influence
The First Folio is the primary source for genre classification. Skipping it and relying solely on modern editions can lead to a different tally. Always cross‑check with the Folio.
Practical Tips / What Actually Works
If you’re trying to explore Shakespeare’s comedies—whether for a class, a blog, or a theater season—here’s a cheat sheet that actually saves you time.
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Start with the 17‑list
Grab a copy of any reputable edition (Oxford, Arden, or Folger). Those editions label each play’s genre right on the title page. -
Watch the adaptations
Film versions often highlight the comedic elements. Look for the 1999 Much Ado About Nothing (Kurosawa’s Ran is a tragedy, not a comedy) or the 2016 The Tempest starring Ben Whishaw for a modern twist. -
Read the prologues
Shakespeare sometimes tells the audience what to expect. In The Comedy of Errors, the prologue explicitly calls it a “Comedy” and sets the tone. -
Use a genre‑filtering app
Many digital libraries (e.g., Folger Digital Texts) let you filter by “Comedy.” That’s a quick way to verify the list. -
Pair with a historical guide
A quick read of a reputable Shakespeare biography will give you context for why certain borderline plays were classified as comedies. -
Don’t forget the music
Songs are a hallmark of Shakespeare’s comedies. If a play features a “song” in the stage directions, chances are it leans comedic. -
Check performance histories
If a play was regularly performed in the “comedy” slot of the Elizabethan repertory schedule, that’s a strong indicator. The Globe’s archives show The Merry Wives of Windsor as a staple comedy Simple as that..
FAQ
Q: Did Shakespeare write any modern‑style sitcoms?
A: Not exactly. His comedies follow a five‑act structure, but the rapid‑fire wordplay and ensemble casts feel surprisingly sitcom‑like.
Q: Are The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest really comedies?
A: Yes. Both were printed in the First Folio’s comedy section and end with marriages or reconciliations, key markers of Shakespearean comedy.
Q: What about Love’s Labour’s Lost? It feels more literary than funny.
A: It’s still a comedy. The humor is high‑brow—puns, word games, and witty repartee—rather than slapstick, but the genre classification holds.
Q: Is The Two Noble Kinsmen considered a Shakespeare play?
A: It’s co‑authored with John Fletcher, but it was performed by Shakespeare’s company and included in the Folio’s comedy list, so most scholars count it.
Q: Could the number change if a lost play is found?
A: Absolutely. If Love’s Labour’s Won ever resurfaced, the total would rise to 18. Until then, 17 is the accepted count That's the part that actually makes a difference..
Wrapping It Up
So, how many comedies did Shakespeare write? Seventeen, give or take a couple of disputed titles. That number isn’t just a trivia point; it tells us that the Bard saw humor as a vital lens for examining human nature.
Next time you hear someone say “Shakespeare only wrote tragedies,” you can smile, quote a line from Much Ado About Nothing, and remind them that the man who penned Hamlet also gave us A Midsummer Night’s Dream—proof that a good laugh has always been part of his genius.
