comedy of intrigue

comedy of intrigue, in dramatic literature, a comic form in which complicated conspiracies and stratagems dominate the plot. The complex plots and subplots of such comedies are often based on ridiculous and contrived situations with large doses of farcical humour. An example of comedy of intrigue is William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors (first performed 1592–93), a humorous exploitation of the confusion resulting from twin masters and their twin servants. Shakespeare’s play is itself a version...