Shakespeare is not a Tragedy

I initally had no topic to write on today, until i read through my classmates posts. Jenna's insipired me, she asked why didn't Shakespeare write romances, why did he just seem to write Tragedies, why were there no happy endings in Shakespeares writing. I thought this was an interesting question because being a History lover and having studied Shakespeare since 7th grade I can answer these questions with ease. Shakespeare did write Romances! He also loved writing Histories and Comedies and Poems. While He did write a few tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Othello. He also wrote hilarious plays like Comedy of Errors, Midsummer Nights Dream, Much Ado about Nothing. He wrote lots of historical plays including Henry the sixth, Richard the third, and Henry the eighth. Shakespeare did write Romances! Although it is the smallest category he's written 5 stories are there including A Winters Tale, Cymbeline, and The Tempest. So if all these other funny, romantic, and historical stories are out there why do we only learn the tragedies?

Perhaps everyone knows them because society told us they were the best, but why? Much Ado about Nothing is pretty famous play, its even been turned into a movie starring Denzel Washington and Kate Beckinsale. Yet why have most students never heard of it? In high school we learned the basics: Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. But then I took a Shakespeare class and read so many more. So out of all of Shakespeares plays why do these 3 keep popping up? Why are the so special and so well known? Shakespeares plays have been read for centuries, is it possible that people love Romeo and Juliet because it wasn't a classic fairytale? Were our teachers so keen on the Tragedies because Shakespeare pushed the envelope?

I believe they are, in the centuries before us and even now there is and has been a lot of violence in the world. Today we can watch funny movies and they make us happy or watch sad ones to make us feel better about our own lives. Perhaps this is why people love Shakespeares tragedies because it makes them feel better about themselves. But I do wish more people would read his comedies they are soo funny! And it's amazing to see because we sometimes don't think people from the past think the way we do today, but Shakespeare proves us wrong. Shakespeare wrote his first play in 1589 and 500 centuries later we are still reading and enjoying his plays. In a world that is completely different from Shakespeares own we still understand his words today. That's quite a success!