Definition and Origin of Comedy
– Comedy is a genre of fiction that aims to induce laughter.
– It can be found in various entertainment mediums such as theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, etc.
– The term originated in ancient Greece, where comic poets performed political satire in theaters.
– Greek comedy often portrayed conflicts between different groups or societies.
– Comedy can be seen as a struggle between a powerless youth and societal conventions.
– The word ‘comedy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘kōmōidía,’ which means revel and singing.
– In ancient Greece, comedy referred to stage-plays with happy endings.
– The Middle Ages expanded the term to include narrative poems with happy endings.
– Over time, comedy came to be associated with any performance intended to cause laughter.
– In the late 20th century, scholars preferred using the term ‘laughter’ to refer to the whole range of comic genres.
– Aristophanes, an Ancient Greek playwright, wrote 40 comedies, 11 of which survive.
– Comedy in ancient Greece originated from bawdy and ribald songs or recitations.
– Aristotle believed comedy originated in phallic processions and the light treatment of base and ugly subjects.
– Aristotle categorized comedy into farce, romantic comedy, and satire.
– Plato viewed comedy as a destructive force that overrides rational self-control.
Types of Comedy
– Satire and political satire use comedy to criticize people or social institutions.
– Parody subverts popular genres and forms without necessarily condemning them.
– Screwball comedy derives humor from bizarre and improbable situations or characters.
– Black comedy includes darker aspects of human behavior or nature.
– Scatological humor, sexual humor, and race humor violate social conventions or taboos.
– Comedy of manners focuses on parodying or satirizing the behavior of a particular part of society, often the upper class.
– It uses humor to highlight the foibles and mannerisms of its members.
– Romantic comedy humorously depicts budding romance and the quirks of those falling in love.
– It often involves misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and comedic situations.
– Comedy of manners aims to entertain while providing social commentary.
Historical Development of Comedy
– Punch and Judy show, rooted in 16th-century Italian commedia dell’arte, became a spirit of Britain, defying authority.
– Pantomime in England acquired its present form in the early 19th century.
– British music hall theatre became popular in the 1850s.
– Comedians like Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, and Dan Leno honed their skills in music hall sketches.
– Fred Karno, a pioneer of slapstick comedy, taught Chaplin and Laurel.
– American vaudeville emerged in the 1880s and featured comedians like W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers.
– Surreal humor became prominent in the 20th century, embracing bizarre juxtapositions and irrational situations.
– Charlie Chaplin became one of the best-known faces through silent film.
– Radio provided new possibilities for surreal humor, like the Goon Show.
– American cinema produced globally renowned comedy artists like Laurel and Hardy, George Carlin, and Eddie Murphy.
– British television comedy remains influential, with shows like Fawlty Towers and Monty Python.
– Australian satirist Barry Humphries brought Dadaist and absurdist humor to millions.
Studies on Comic Theory
– Psychologists have investigated the phenomena connected with laughter.
– Incongruity and contrast in the object and emotional seizure on the part of the subject are characteristics of comedy.
– The feeling of superiority is considered essential in comedy.
– Research has focused on the origin of laughter, smiling, and the development of the play instinct.
– George Meredith described laughter as a sudden glory and an expression of superiority.
Comedy Television Channels and Related Topics
– Paramount Comedy 1 and 2, TBS, The Comedy Channel (Australia, UK, and United States) are comedy television channels.
– Related topics include comedy portal, list of comedy television series, list of genres, lists of comedy films, theories of humor, and women in comedy. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: In Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing agon or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which engender dramatic irony, which provokes laughter.
Satire and political satire use comedy to portray people or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of their humor. Parody subverts popular genres and forms, critiquing those forms without necessarily condemning them.
Other forms of comedy include screwball comedy, which derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters, and black comedy, which is characterized by a form of humor that includes darker aspects of human behavior or human nature. Similarly scatological humor, sexual humor, and race humor create comedy by violating social conventions or taboos in comic ways, which can often be taken as offensive by the subjects of said joke. A comedy of manners typically takes as its subject a particular part of society (usually upper-class society) and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members. Romantic comedy is a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love.
