User:Jgisi/sandbox

Another scholarly analysis of Shakespeare's problem-plays by A.G. Harmon argues that the commonality between the problem-plays is that each consciously debates the relationship between law and nature. Many of the problem-plays address a disorder in nature, and the characters attempt to mitigate the disorder in varying manners. In four of the plays that Harmon categorizes as problem-plays, The Merchant of Venice, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and Troilus and Cressida, the social order is restored when faulty contracts are properly amended. Harmon's conception of the problem-plays differs from others in that he argues that the problem-plays offer a resolution to their respective stories. Much like the characters in the plays must fulfill their contracts, he argues, Shakespeare fulfills his contract as a playwright by providing resolution. Though Harmon's conception of the problem-plays does not align with the common understanding of Shakespeare's problem-plays, he does provide examples of the social dilemmas that Shakespeare addresses through these plays. The common social problem, per Harmon, is the tension between laws establishing order and the natural tendencies of humans. The problem-plays follow a formula: the established laws of society are challenged, chaos reigns over society, chaos is vanquished by the institution of a new order.