Humor is all relative to the viewer as it is. I can see how The Merchant of Venice could be a comedy, but to be honest, I never laughed(Except for when Portia said she would be married to a sponge...) That could just be because I was reading a play instead of watching one but... It is comedy in the sense that it has exaggerated situational humor. Almost like a modern day sitcom, in that these are things that could happen to normal people, but never actually would. For example, in act III, Shylock explaining why he must take a pound of flesh from Antonio.

I believe that, although there may be some intense moments in the play, The Merchant of Venice is a comedy. During the courtroom scene in act 4 scene 1, Portia appears dressed as a man. She give the illusion that she agrees with Shylock and pushes him to claim his pound of flesh, only to turn around at the last second and say, “But in the cutting it, if thou dost shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are by the laws of Venice, confiscated.” This switch causes Shylock to reconsider his bargain and instead he takes the ducats and allows Antonio to leave.

Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life, which [the playwright] representeth in the most ridiculous and scornful sort that may be, so it is impossible that any beholder can be content to be such a one. Now, as in geometry the oblique must be known as well as the right, and in arithmetic the odd as well as the even, so in the actions of our life who seeth not the filthiness of evil wanteth a great foil to perceive the beauty of virtue. This doth the comedy handle so in our private and domestical matters . . .

It is hard to think of Merchant of Venice as a comedy, but I think thare are some comedic things happening throughout the play. On of the first things that is very comical is when Portia is describing all the men she is suited for. She describes one as being more in love with his horse than her. Also one that she would rather marry a sponge than marry him. Another comical part in Merchant of Venice is when Portia dresses up as a lawyer and pleads the case for Antonio not to get a pound of flesh taken off of him. This is funny because she does not seem to know what she is doing.

Initially I failed to see much comedic aspect in this play, though I feel I had misplaced the protagonist upon Shylock when instead it should have been Antonio and his entourage that I had recognized as such. Shylock for that reason is the antagonist, he is the person that creates and drives the conflict. He is harassed and (ultimately) robbed by the protagonists, until he is killed by the system he thought would give him his justice, and he becomes the only one of the cast to die. From his view and solely his view the play is a tragedy that the Elizabethan audience might not sympathize with.

This, to me, is a new way of looking at comedy. Sir Phillip Sidney describes comedy as an imitation of the common errors of our life, which are represented in the most ridiculous and scornful way, that it is impossible for whoever reads it has no desire to be the person being depicted. keeping this in mind , I turn to scene 3.1 where shylock is mortified by his daughters action. he states"She is damned for it. my own flesh and blood to rebel!" I feel that in this case the play might be thought of as not being a comedy.

According to Sir sidney Philip comedy is an exagerated representation of the common promblems in life. I have found three examples through out the play that do/ dont represent sidneys idea of comedy.
Act 1 scene 2:

To even begin to write about comedy, we have to start with what Sir Philip Sidney wrote. To my best understanding, it is that comedy is often riddled with the most ridiculous/exaggerated of common problems, but shows that there is no black without the white – comedy articulates the power of virtue that is compared, side-by-side, with the filthiness of evil.
Using this idea with The Merchant of Venice, I found three passages that do/do not illustrate the writings of Sidney.

Act 3, Scene 1:

The Merchant of Venice is a comedy in the sense that what happens in the story is something that could easily happen in real life but in an exaggerated form. Take act 3 scene 1 for example where Shylock explains why he wants Antonio's flesh. People are vengeful animals for the most part and would hurt others for the mere pleasure of revenge. This is the metaphor behind Shylock wanting Antonio's flesh, it is a real emotion just exaggerated a little.

In act 2 scene 5 Maria puts her letter in molvia's path in Olivia's garden. I see a lot of colorful flowers and Maria feeling anxious and excited. Although the letter isn't to him from Olivia he convinces himself of that. I see him trying to talk himself into believing that Olivia is so in love with him and that he isn't disappointed although he should be. I see him quickly leaving the garden and dressing himself in bright yellow stockings so that he can " present himself" to Olivia like the letter telhe him to.