The World Must Be Peopled Shakespeare's Comedies of Forgiveness

This performance-oriented study proposes the dramatic sub genre Ocomedies of forgivenessO to describe four Shakespeare plays that have been traditionally been staged as if they were romantic comedies. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Much Ado About Nothing, AllOs Well that Ends Well, and Measure for Measure all feature young heroes who behave badly, apologize weakly, yet quickly earn the complete forgiveness of their societies. This book suggests feminist stagings of the comedies of forgiveness designed to reveal how society deals with masculine fickleness, suspicion, lust, and sexual irresponsibility by channeling male erotic desire toward courtship, marriage, legitimate procreation, and child rearing.