Greek tragedy did not allow any comic relief in drama,[3] but had a tradition of concluding a series of several tragic performances with a humorous satyr play.
Even the Elizabethan critic Philip Sidney, following Horace’s Ars Poetica, pleaded for the exclusion of comic elements from a tragic drama.
Comic relief moments serve the purpose[4] of allowing the audience to "break from the dark and heavy content" and advance the plot.
William Shakespeare deviated from the classical tradition and used comic relief in Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet.
The grave-digger scene in Hamlet, the gulling of Roderigo in Othello, and the mockery of the fool in King Lear provide immense comic relief.