Heroes occur -- within the conventions of Western drama and Western literature more generally -- within the context of tragedy, for it is the stresses of tragic situations that (typically) allow for heroism to arise. But we can -- especially if we use the lenses of gender and queer theory -- see that Shakespeare has written a comedic play that nevertheless allows for heroism to come through. At least temporarily. Shakespeare underscores the heroism of his characters through the simple device of giving us "Hero." This might seem to be either heavy-handed or so obvious as to be meaningless, but to take this view is to privilege the point of the twenty-first century audience or reader.

As citizens of the postmodern world, we are used to (and ever expect) for different literary and artistic tropes to be mixed together: We are not surprised when tragic elements end up in comedies...
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