How is Hamlet in any way comedic?

While it is difficult to characterise Hamlet as a comedy from a modern perspective, Hamlet is comedic mostly through the use of dark humour. We must of course bear in mind that Hamlet was written in 1609,, and during the Early Jacobean period, standard of humour were different, due to the relative commonness of crime and death. For example, during Act 3 Scene 4, when Hamlet kills Polonius, his phrasing and deliberate vaguery ('I'll lug these guts, intruding fool') could be construed as funny in a world where death was relatively common compared to the modern viewpoint- that Hamlet's actions were reprehensible.Furthermore, Shakespeare also utilises tropes known in Italy as comedia dell'arte, deliberately subverting the character of vecchi in the form of Polonius. Usually, a vecchi was noble and kind- in Polonius, this is subverted through the portrayal of the 'dignified old man' as inept, unwise, and most importantly, sevile. This can be seen in his interactions with Hamlet, which are designed to show Hamlet's wit is beyond that of the usually witty elder. Polonius is long-winded and boring- a stock character wmeant ot be laughed at.

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