A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Merchant of Venice
As you like
Twelfth Night
A Big Uproar Over Rumors

A set of five major comedies commemorating the 400th anniversary of the publication of the complete works of Shakespeare.
The way to win against evil people while laughing is in comedy.

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the complete works of Shakespeare, Minumsa published a set of Shakespeare's five major comedies.
Professor Choi Jong-cheol, an emeritus professor at Yonsei University who has devoted his life to Shakespeare research and translation, compiled Shakespeare's representative comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and Much Ado About Rumors, and brought the verse characteristics of the Arden version to life in Korean rhythm.
In addition, the original text of Shakespeare's plays was included, allowing readers to experience the liveliness and richness of expression of the genius's writing, which still elicit admiration when read today.
Shakespeare's comedies are the most modern and, above all, the most entertaining of all genres, including tragedies and romances.
Because Shakespeare's comedies, in which women step up to solve problems and win back love, are filled with laughter, humor, and refreshing wisdom.


A total of nineteen of Shakespeare's plays were published during his lifetime, and after his death, a complete collection of thirty-six plays (fourteen comedies, ten historical dramas, and twelve tragedies) was published in folio format by Shakespeare's theater colleagues.
The First Folio, published in 1623, is estimated to have been printed in a total of 750 copies, of which approximately 233 copies have been confirmed to exist to date.
In 2016, to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, a four-volume First Folio was auctioned in England and sold for approximately 4.3 billion won, giving us a glimpse into Shakespeare's global influence.


Shakespeare wrote a total of thirteen comedies, starting with The Comedy of Errors (1592-1594) and ending with A Ruler for a Ruler (1604).
Among them, the five collected here—A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-1596), The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597), As You Like It (1599), Twelfth Night (1601-1602), and Much Ado About Rumors (1598-1599)—are so-called masterpieces.
These comedies are difficult to define in a single word due to their diverse content, but they are classified as comedies because they share at least two common elements.
First, it gives readers, overall, more joy than sadness, and more laughter than crying.
The nature of that laughter may be bright and innocent, or it may be closer to mockery or laughter, but in any case it does not cause us to fall into deep sorrow or cry.
Second, although the beginning of the play may be serious or tragic, such conflict eventually leads to reconciliation and a happy ending.
At least the main character or important character doesn't die, and instead there's a wedding, a symbol of unity.


The language used by Shakespeare in his plays is divided into verse and prose in terms of form.
Prose is mainly used to express comical moods, low-class characters, vulgar content, letters, proclamations, or states of insanity, while verse is mainly used to express thoughts and emotions in a formal manner.
Shakespeare used a form called 'iamb pentameter blank verse' primarily in his verse.
Unlike Korean, English has stress. When a stressed syllable follows an unstressed syllable, these two syllables are combined and called 'yak-gang il-bo'. When these syllables appear five times in a row in a line of poetry, they are called 'yak-gang obo'.
'Muun' means not having rhyme.
Of all verse forms, iambic pentameter blank verse is closest to the natural rhythm of the English language, and Shakespeare made good use of it.
Translator Choi Jong-cheol's translation shows how important verse is in bringing out the effects of Shakespeare's poetic language.
If you read the lines aloud, you can feel the natural flow of pronunciation that comes from the number of syllables and the length of lines that fit the natural breathing unit, and the musical rhythm that comes from the three-part rhythm.
If today is a day with nothing to laugh about, let's read Shakespeare's five greatest comedies!