What is comedy?Comedy is one of the oldest forms of drama
Elements of comedy include: - The major characters are average people - The conditions of a protagonist's life goes from bad to good There are many types of comedy including - > Slapstick - pie throwing, slipping etc. It requires perfect timing > Satire - Ridicules human folly, to promote change, but it also criticises. > High Comedy - it requires wit, word play, it plays to the audiences' intelligence > Comedy of Manners - it is set in an elite fashionable society and it deals with society situations, romance and intrigue > Farce - fast moving and improbable Types of Comedy> Black Comedy
> Burlesque > City Comedy > Comedy of Homours > Comedy of Manners > Commedia Dell'Arte > Farce > Parody > Restoration Comedy > Romantic Comedy > Satire > Sentimental Comedy > Theatre of the Absurd > Tragicomedy Aspects of Comedy> Bathos
> Bawdiness > Carnival and festival > Clowns > Cross-dressing and Transvestism > Cross conversations > Cruelty > Disguise > Domestic or everyday life > Double acts and comic pairing > Fools > The grotesque > Incongruity > Inversion and subversion > Jokes > Marriage > Misrule > Mistaken Identity > Misunderstanding > Mockery > Rural settings > Schemes and Evasion > Servants and Masters > Sex > Slapstick > Stereotypes and stock characters > Town/Court verses Country > Tricksters > Violence > Wit and wordplay - puns & innuendo |
Dramatic ComedyThe Characteristics of Dramatic Comedy> Love as the driving force - the theme of the fact that love makes u foolish.
> Its shows us that human beings have a tenancy to take themselves too seriously. > Make fun of human being using caricature . > Expose foolishness f society's customs and manner or an era's rule and laws. > 'Do as I say not as I do' - characters very often hold one opinion about societies rules and customs but then behave in a completely different way. > Exaggerations and stereotypes are used. > Sometimes characters are placed in an awkward or difficult situation - reflecting how we sometimes feel - that order of the word is a veneer and can easily be removed. > The seven deadly sins (in particular: pride, lust and greed), they are all the prime targets for a satire within comic writing. The Beginnings of Dramatic ComedyIn Greek Drama for the Modern Reader, F.L. Lucas states these rules for comedy:
- Some character has a bright but often ridiculous idea - A chorus, sympathetic or hostile enters - There is a debate about the proposal - The chorus turns and address the audience directly - Series of farcical episodes arise - There is a reveling, such as a feast or a wedding Roman ComedyIn 50 BC, the Romans enjoyed comedy, and thus developed ideas and genres which were given by the Greeks. This included:
- Stereotypical characters (young lovers, villain, grumpy old man) - Hidden characters - Mistaken identity - Division into acts and scenes - Chance encounters and coincidence - Comical confusion of words (malapropism) - Sub-plot - Lovable comic servants - Unity of place - Asides to the audience - Interlocking plots - Long lost siblings or rivals returning Themes of Comedy> Class
> Comedy itself - metatheatricality > Death > Fertility > Gender > Inclusion/Exclusion > Identity - individual, social, national > Language and the ways it's used in the world >Love, courtship, marriage, adultery and sex > Nature and the natural > Politics > Religion > Renewal and regeneration > Sexual politics > Status and power > Taboo > Transgression > Wisdom and folly > Youth and age - the generation gap |