Why this topic, why these plays
The plays gathered under "Comedy plays" share a recurring thematic preoccupation that, across 82 different scripts in our archive, has produced a remarkable variety of theatrical solutions. Reading them in proximity to one another is one of the more useful comparative exercises a student of dramatic writing can do, because the contrasts in tone, structure, and resolution show how much choice a playwright really has, even when the underlying subject is the same. The list below collects the works in our library that catalogue indexers identified with this subject; in some cases the connection is overt and in others oblique, but in every case the thematic affinity is real and worth pursuing.
All plays on this topic (82)
- The Clouds — by Aristophanes
- Peace — by Aristophanes
- The Acharnians — by Aristophanes
- The Birds — by Aristophanes
- Lysistrata — by Aristophanes
- The Frogs — by Aristophanes
- The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 — by Aristophanes
- The Eleven Comedies, Volume 2 — by Aristophanes
- Epicoene; Or, The Silent Woman — by Ben Jonson
- The Poetaster — by Ben Jonson
- Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy — by Ben Jonson
- The Devil is an Ass — by Ben Jonson
- You Never Can Tell — by Bernard Shaw
- O'Flaherty V.C.: A Recruiting Pamphlet — by Bernard Shaw
- Pygmalion — by Bernard Shaw
- Three Comedies — by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
- The Village Coquette; Or, The Supposed Lottery — by Charles Rivière Dufresny
- The Scornful Lady — by Francis Beaumont
- Minna Von Barnhelm — by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
- What Every Woman Knows — by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
- Quality Street: A Comedy — by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
- A kiss for Cinderella: A comedy — by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
- The Jewel Merchants: A Comedy in One Act — by James Branch Cabell
- The Love-chase — by James Sheridan Knowles
- The Unforseen Return — by Jean-François Regnard
- The McNaughtens — by Jean-François Regnard
- Fanny and the Servant Problem — by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome
- The Elder Brother The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher (Volume 2 of 10) — by John Fletcher
- The Spanish Curate: A Comedy — by John Fletcher
- Beggars Bush: A Comedy From the Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher (Volume 2 of 10) — by John Fletcher
- The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces — by John Kendrick Bangs
- New Comedies — by Lady Gregory
- Comedies by Holberg : Jeppe of the Hill, The Political Tinker, Erasmus Montanus — by Ludvig Holberg
- Moral — by Ludwig Thoma
- Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite — by Molière
- Amphitryon — by Molière
- The Middle-Class Gentleman — by Molière
- The Blunderer — by Molière
- The School for Husbands — by Molière
- The Miser — by Molière
- The Shopkeeper Turned Gentleman — by Molière
- The Learned Women — by Molière
- The Impostures of Scapin — by Molière
- The Imaginary Invalid — by Molière
- The Lucky Man — by Monsieur (Michel) Baron
- The Inspector-General — by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
- She Stoops to Conquer; Or, The Mistakes of a Night: A Comedy — by Oliver Goldsmith
- The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People — by Oscar Wilde
- An Ideal Husband — by Oscar Wilde
- The School for Scandal — by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- St. Patrick's Day; Or, The Scheming Lieutenant: A Farce in One Act — by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- A Trip to Scarborough; and, The Critic — by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- The Rivals: A Comedy — by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- The Contrast — by Royall Tyler
- Our American Cousin — by Tom Taylor
- The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts — by Upton Sinclair
- The Double-Dealer: A Comedy — by William Congreve
- The Old Bachelor: A Comedy — by William Congreve
- Love for Love: A Comedy — by William Congreve
- The Sleeping-Car: A Farce — by William Dean Howells
- The Elevator — by William Dean Howells
- The Parlor Car — by William Dean Howells
- The Register — by William Dean Howells
- The Comedy of Errors — by William Shakespeare
- The Taming of the Shrew — by William Shakespeare
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona — by William Shakespeare
- Love's Labour's Lost — by William Shakespeare
- A Midsummer Night's Dream — by William Shakespeare
- The Merchant of Venice — by William Shakespeare
- The Merry Wives of Windsor — by William Shakespeare
- Much Ado about Nothing — by William Shakespeare
- As You Like It — by William Shakespeare
- Twelfth Night — by William Shakespeare
- All's Well That Ends Well — by William Shakespeare
- Measure for Measure — by William Shakespeare
- The Merry Devil of Edmonton — by William Shakespeare
- Shakespeare's play of the Merchant of Venice Arranged for Representation at the Princess's Theatre, with Historical and Explanatory Notes by Charles Kean, F.S.A. — by William Shakespeare
- A Fairy Tale in Two Acts Taken from Shakespeare (1763) — by William Shakespeare
- Two Gentlemen of Verona The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] — by William Shakespeare
- The Merry Wives of Windsor The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] — by William Shakespeare
- Measure for Measure The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] — by William Shakespeare
- The Comedy of Errors The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] — by William Shakespeare