Comical Elements in A.A Milne The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling, written by A.A Milne deals with the marital issues related to women in the society. The play shows that societal expectations are a heavy burden cursed upon women. Women are expected to subscribe towards the societal norms and traditions which is physical beauty and appearance. It is a feminist play where the women characters are strong and they are the prime force in the play.

The comical elements in the play gives rise to occasional humour and idiosyncratic behaviour of the characters. The comical elements is evident subtly in the beginning of the play amidst the conversation between the King and the Chancellor. When the Chancellor states in a pun about Princess Camilla’s appearance, it indirectly gives a strong impression to the King that he calls him out. The King directly calls him out whether he is trying to justify that his daughter is ugly. This very instance is comical as the Chancellor is unable to state the reality and one can observe the tensions in the language of conversation arising comedy.

However, the comedy is observable in an ironical stance. It is evident subtly when the Kings tells the Chancellor that the beauty of Princess Camilla has eluded everyone including the painter. The painter’s last words were “well, I did my best” and the mention of his successor clearly shows that the painting did not fascinate the King. Perhaps, the painter is either executed or thrown in the moat. This also shows the irony that institutes a comical element where the successor of the painter paints Princess Camilla’s painting near the “West Turret” to enhance her appearance advised by the doctor. The other is the evident of the Prince who came for the competition to win the heart of Princess Camilla , found to be dumb enough for the Queen that his body was found in the moat the next morning. It is an irony that gives rise to comical instance.

In addition to this, the comical scene is evident when the King interrupts in between the conversation of the Queen. The King is one of the comical characters in the play. When the Queen was narrating the story to the Chancellor, he interrupts in between intriguing humour. Though the Queen remain unprovoked yet she calls him out indirectly for his idiosyncratic behaviour. Hence, the idiosyncratic behaviour of the King to interrupt in between also adds another layer of comedy in the play.

However, the comical scene is at its peak when Dulcibella and the King practice to make Prince Simon fall in love with a disguise Dulcibella. When the King tells Dulcibella to pretend to be Princess Camilla, the most beautiful woman ever seen, she already laughs because she thinks that Princess Camilla is ugly. She also makes a sound “coo” which gives a lot of comical and humour elements in the play. It is also evident when the King ask Dulcibella if Prince Simon touches her hand, then she answers him “coo” which gives rise to comedy in the play. The other instance is when the King disagrees and tells her to say with passion “Oh, Prince Simon” that adds another humour in the play. Lastly, the King (getting up)tells her to be conscious of her mouth if she is thinking about “Eg” all the time and her mouth is not partially open arises comedy in the play suggesting that Dulcibella language is not as sharp as the royals. Thus, one can observe that the very idiosyncratic behaviour of Dulcibella and the king adds many comedy and humour in the play.