Wordplay/Puns
Wordplay is omnipresent throughout Shakespeare’s plays, from his tragedies to his comedies. Much Ado About Nothing’s title is itself a pun. “Nothing” sounds like “noting,” which in Shakespeare’s time was slang for gossip or rumor, a central theme of the play.
In Act 3, Scene 2 of Hamlet, he says, "For, O, for, O, the hobby-horse is forgot." The pun here is the word "hobby-horse," which can refer to both a child's toy and a promiscuous woman.
In Act 1, Scene 2 of As You Like It, Celia says, “You have simply misused our sex in your love-prate.” The pun here involves the word "prate," which means both to talk foolishly and to court, playing on the idea of wooing through nonsense.

Parody
Shakespeare is not only a master of storytelling but also a master of meta-theatricality, occasionally using parody within his own works. In a display of awareness, Shakespeare would exaggerate and caricature styles or genres for the delight of his audience, deconstructing and lampooning the very forms or traditions he himself was a part of, from the overwrought melodrama in “Hamlet” or the mocking theatricality of “Pyramus and Thisbe” within “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

Mistaken Identity
Mistaken identities are a recurring comedic device within Shakespeare’s collection of comedies. From the Antipholus and Dromio twin pairs of “The Comedy of Errors” to the switch of Lucentio and Tranio of “The Taming of the Shrew,” this beloved device never fails to amuse.

Bawdy Humor
Shakespeare’s audacity in weaving innuendo and bawdy humor into his plays proves his unwavering commitment to exploring all facets of human nature. Contributed to through language and wordplay, he never shied away from an opportunity to prompt laughter from the audience using puns and suggestive language, from Mercutio’s provocative banter in “Romeo and Juliet” to the ribald humor of Falstaff in “Henry IV Part 1”. He also mastered double entendre, where words carried both innocent and provocative meanings.

Absurdity
Shakespeare’s humor was rarely subtle; he often infused absurdity into his plays. One example comes from “Twelfth Night” in the form of Malvolio’s gullibility. The strict and pompous Malvolio is tricked into believing Olivia loves him and follows absurd instructions, like wearing yellow stockings and smiling constantly.

Cross Dressing
Shakespeare’s plays often defied gender norms and subverted established conventions. Much humor was derived from uproarious situations where characters had to act in contradiction to their gender or social status. Some examples of cross dressing are Viola’s transformation into a man in “Twelfth Night” and Portia’s legal disguise in “The Merchant of Venice”.

Running Gags
Shakespeare’s comedy would often not restrict itself to a single joke or isolated moment; he often employed a joke multiple times to build comedic momentum, which would involve intensifying a joke with each recurrence. Characters like the mischievous Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or the witty banter between Beatrice and Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing” are examples of this.