Comedic Elements in 2 Tragedies

'Tis Pity She's a Whore

References to "wit" in "Tis Pity" are abundant until the pardoning of Grimaldi in Act III Scene iv.  The first speech of the play invokes the word as the Friar opines, "wits that presumed  / On wit too much, by striving how to prove / There was no God, with foolish grounds of art, / Discovered first the nearest way to hell" (I.i.3-6).  Here we are presented with a very different kind of wit than the representations of Face in "The Alchemist" and Truewit in "Epicoene."  In these earlier plays, wit was used as a comedic and useful trait of central characters.  "Tis Pity" presents us with men who mis/use wit differently.  Giovanni twists this trait into a manner of reasoning against religious and social moralities as he studies "what wit or art / Could counsel" and arrives at his decision to commit incest.  The majority of wit references, however, are spoken by or about Bergetto.  In Act I Scene ii, he claims to be able to "buy a headful of wit at any time" (ll.103-4) and later boasts that his lack of retaliation for inflicted head wounds was due to wit (II.vi.72-6).  However, Bergetto is entirely witless (as testified by his uncle) and a second violent encounter ends in his violent, though accidental, death.  What connections can be drawn from Ford's use of a comedic trait in this tragedy?  If it only appeared in reference to Bergetto, we might claim that the poet was trying to lighten the mood of the play, but the word and its cousins (reason and sense) are scattered throughout the dialogue.  What is the function of wit in tragedy?  More specifically, how can we think about this in terms of Giovanni's questionable logic?

The Changeling

In a broader, architectural sense, "The Changeling" also utilizes a comedic trope to enhance and/or complicate its tragedy.  The double bedfellow switch in and of itself is a classic example of the liberal frivolity of identity and sex in comedies.  Here, however, the authors problematize this lighthearted trick by surrounding the scene with deceit and eventual murder.  Simply put, why do they chose to use this plot catalyst?  Furthermore, isn't there great significance in the trick being used on the wedding night?  What larger issues are being addressed by the context of this trick?  Lastly, how can this intensify our earlier discussions of the  married couples we encountered in the comedy section?