Horrifical Comical Tragical Pastoral?

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Let's be honest, there's some problems with some of the comedies when you judge them by today's standards. Taming of the Shrew isn't exactly a feminist masterpiece whether Katharina winks at the end or not.  And there will never be a production of Merchant of Venice that doesn't come with a protest.

But is horrifying the right word to use?

I'll give the author points for an interesting angle.  But you can probably guess all 7 plays that make his list, and why.  There's two "bed tricks", a shrew, a Shylock, and ... hmmm .... I suppose it all depends on your definition of horrifying? Apparently the two gentlemen are anything but, and don't get me started on the less than noble kinsmen.

The most interesting element on the list is Much Ado About Nothing. I know, can you believe it?  Turns out the horrifying bit isn't Claudio calling Hero a whore -- it's Hero's father siding with Claudio and telling his daughter that he'd rather she just died and saved the all the dishonor.

I suppose he's got a point with that one.