1. Types of Comedy in AMND

2. Comedy

3.  The word “comedy” comes from the Greek word Komos, or merrymaking, always part of the the Dionysian ritual.  Comedies were popular during the Greece’s Golden Age of drama (5 th Century BCE).  These “old comedies” relied largely on witty language and characters; their point was to satirize something in society.  Aristophanes, of course, is the well-known master of Old Comedy in ancient Greece: Lysistrata, Birds, Frogs, Peace, Clouds, Wasps. All poke fun at war, peace, politicians, people and society.  But Aristophanes is also credited with pioneering a transition period, Middle Comedy, between Old and New. Comedy

4.  The playwright Menander (342-291 BCE) is credited with creating New Comedy, which is based on the bizarre situations incited by human love.  This particular form of comedy relies more on situational plot, stock characters, and visual humor, rather than on wit and complex ideas.  The goal of new comedy was to amuse, not to instruct. In these, as many comedies, all difficulties ended in marriage. (Of course, often, this is where difficulties actually begin!) Comedy

5.  Stock characters in New Comedy include: eager young lovers, coquettes, indignant fathers, jealous husbands, pompous asses, gullible victims, tricky servants, go- betweens, greedy con-men, and the like.  These two basic forms of comedy moved through the ages, adapting to tastes and moral restraints, which – as today – comedy always strives to circumvent through limber use of pun, double-entendre, and mock.  Bawdy comedy was alive and well in the supposedly pious middle ages, in the form of fabliaux and mimes and farcical plays. Comedy

6.  Comedy has the power to take fear and nobility out of the object opposed, and in doing so, functionally diffuses tension.  This allows humans to critically view what might be unbearable, or merely uncomfortable, and find solutions, comfort, or solace in situations that could otherwise be unfathomably heinous or merely humiliating.  Opposing forces and culturally different enemies can find common ground in laughter.  And mostly, comedy gives us the uncanny ability to humbly see fault within ourselves, and to change accordingly, without need for defensive repercussions. Comedy

7. Romantic Comedy  Usually two attractive protagonists face a number of challenges in their quest (usually true love) and are able to overcome those challenges to reach a happy ending  It is the continued development of new obstacles and the actions of the protagonists or of fate to overcome those obstacles that provides the humor  Class differences  Bad luck

8. Romantic Comedy  Romantic comedy emerges from the middle ages as a parody of romance literature of the middle ages; the word “Romantic” is a derivative of “romance.”  Romantic comedies in the Renaissance, conversely, derive from New Comedy, and blend in elements of medieval romances.  Conventions include: Stock characters from Old Comedy: blocking agents (those preventing the lovers from marrying) choric figures (detached figure who comments on the ridiculous situations) go-betweens (who try to defy the blocking agent) and all difficulties end in marriage.*

9.  Romantic comedies follow a dynamic plot sequence, common to high comedy, although problems or complications, are often created whimsically and solved abruptly.  Note: This is the inverse pattern of tragedy: at the climax of rising action in a comedy, it seems as if all is lost to the lovers; in tragedy, it seems briefly as if the hero will reach his or her goal.  Characters in Renaissance comedy, as in New Comedy, tend to be well-developed, and erudite: In Shakespeare, notably, the character of Rosalind in As You Like It and Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing, and Alceste in Molière’s, The Misanthrope. Romantic Comedy

10.  Many of Shakespeare comedies contain elements of medieval romance. Tokens of Medieval romance are evident in the presence of a “green world” where magic solves the problems of the lovers. (As You Like It; Midsummer Night’s Dream) In medieval romances, the quest often involves encounters with magical or mystical places and beings.  Some of Shakespeare’s plays in themselves are called romances, rather than comedies, due to the healing nature of the green world: The Tempest; The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It, Cymbeline, and Pericles. In these plays, the theme of love and its foibles is secondary to redemption and forgiveness.  Shakespeare’s romance plays use magic, the supernatural, and the idea of a journey to an unknown and mystical place where wounds are healed or the spiritual answer to a profound question is discovered. Romantic Comedy

11.  The connections to fertility ritual is also a subtext in medieval romance.  The wedding festival is victory of spring over winter, renewal of humanity, and of the earth.  Generally, Renaissance romantic comedies, for their sophistication, are placed in the High Comedy category, especially those of Shakespeare. The characters who are mocked, are generally, static, and these resemble Low Comedy figures.

12. 18 th Century Satire  Satires Mock: human institutions, including religions, politics and political systems, social or other classes, philosophy or ideas, social practices or codes of behavior, groups of any sort, individuals of any sort – in fact, the entire human race!  How important is it for us to be able to excoriate ourselves? Satire can be considered as a genre, as an important element of a work, or as a motif within a work. Satire is didactic literature used to make an ideological point.

13.  Satire points out a problem, but offers no solution! (Remember, therefore, to keep it out of your intimate life!) Debates in satires mock the very attitudes and viewpoint they profess, by revealing faulty logic to the extreme. The 18 th century’s new openness, brought on by Enlightenment thought, made this century ripe for satires. 18 th Century Satire

14.  This type of satire is ripe in England, mostly during the Age of Enlightenment. Voltaire, notably, envied the English for their liberty to express dismay and astonishment of the foibles of political, religious, and world institutions, in satire.  Satirical notables include: Samuel Richardson, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett, Laurence Stern, and of course, the radical Frenchman, Voltaire. 18 th Century Satire

15.  Satire works like caricature: it highlights faults until they’re completely absurd, so no one can miss them.  Sarcastic Language:  irony, understatement, and hyperbole*  sardonic (cynically mocking) language (Eliot’s The Hollow Men)  cruel, biting jokes  use of ridicule (sarcasm) and invectives  malapropisms and other variations on diction  Tonal variations all pointing to general outlandishness: Satires can move from the ridiculous to the absurd to the surreal to the grotesque – and go into very dark realms. They are not always “funny” in a way that is lightly humorous. Elements of Satire

16.  Faulty Logic to Mock Faulty Logic  The Absurd  Ridiculous Coincidences or Crazy Contradictions Juxtaposed  Caricatures, especially eccentrics and pedants  An “Innocent” Observer or Narrator  Capricious Journeys of a Rogue Character (picaresque novels)  Other Miscellaneous plot forms in generally episodic narration: These are called Menippean satires, for example, Alice in Wonderland  Humor or Dark Humor (A Clockwork Orange)  Use of Farce: Slapstick humor, physical and situational humor, high sexual content  Use of Burlesque: Parody or Travesty Elements of Satire

17.  1. Parody is a work that mixes high form and low content, such as Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, which uses high diction and lofty epic poetry with the rather low subject of a girl’s hair, cut as a prank. Trapped in the Closet, by R. Kelly is a really nice example of parody. (Where would you file, Blazing Saddles?)  2. Travesty is a work that mixes low form with high content: The film Cabaret, for example, uses travesty in the “MC scenes” made famous by Joel Grey in the film, where Weimar Republic dance-hall acts depict malignant racism about to erupt into the Holocaust. Also, the film Airplane could be considered travesty. What about Borat? Elements of Satire

18. Comedy of Manners  Comedy of Manners is a term that is generally applied to Restoration* Comedy and Neoclassical Comedy – both forms existing in the post-Renaissance world of England and France. (Molière, William Congreve, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Sheridan, William Wycherley).  These plays include elements of Romantic comedy and satire. They tend to mock the relations and intrigues of people in the upper classes, rely largely on words and wit, and are often sophisticated and refined.

19. Farce  Definition: Comedy based on far-fetched, humorous situations.  T.V. shows: “Friends”, “Seinfeld”.  Films: “Superbad”, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”, “Enchanted”, “Tropic Thunder”**.  Also a satire

20. High and Low Comedy  Comedy is often separated into two classes: High and Low, which correlate in theory to Old and New Comedy.

21. High Comedy  High Comedy: Words, wit and sophisticated characters and ideas are used to reveal ridiculous or destructive traits of human nature. Character and internal conflict march the mostly dynamic plots forward.  High comedy provides a critique, often quite stinging, of human foibles and customs, social structure and power, etc.  Satire and irony  The Importance of Being Earnest  Dark comedy  Humor relating to subjects normally treated as very serious or somber

22. Low Comedy  Low Comedy: Unruly plot, farce, bawdy jokes, sight gags, slapstick and stock characters reveal absurd aspects of human life. Often the purpose is sheer stupid fun as we laugh ourselves silly at ourselves. The plot is random and full of situational gags.  Low comedy does not imply any social critique and is based on a wide range of topics  Romantic comedy  Sexual innuendo  Battle of the sexes  Sitcoms  Stupidity/Naiveté  Cut-downs (physical appearance, power differential)  Slapstick  The great majority of comedy in US mass media would be considered low comedy