Comedy

1
Comedy

• The genre of love, romance and happy endings

2
Comedy according to Aristotle

• According to Aristotle, ancient comedy
  originated in komos, a curious improbable
  spectacle in which a company of festive males
  apparently sang, danced and cavorted rollicking
  around the image of a large phallus.
• (source condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/com
  ic-tragic.html)

3
Accurate or Not

• It seems plausible since comedy is usually a high
  spirited celebration of human sexuality and the
  triumph of eros

4
As my Shakespeare College Professor used to say

• Comedy is not funny ha-ha!

5
Definition

• All that is required for a comedy is a happy
  ending.
  
• It is defined as the story of the rise in fortune
  of a sympathetic central character

6
Characters of Comedy

• Comic Hero
• doesnt have to be a spotless character
• s/he must display enough charm to win the
  audiences approval

7
Characters of Comedy (contd)

• Ordinary People
• Traditionally about ordinary people
• Tend to be plain, everyday figures (lower or
  middle class) instead of kings, queens or heads
  of state (like tragedy)
  
• Ordinary peoples problems
• Not necessarily humorous it is about the
  satisfaction we feel when deserving people succeed

8
Types of Comedy

• Farce
• Romantic Comedy
• Satire
• Black Comedy

9
Farce

• Zaniness, slapstick humor and hilarious
  improbability
  
• Characters are fantastic or absurd (more
  ridiculous than other forms of comedy)
  
• Plots are full of wild coincidences, seemingly
  endless twists and complications
  
• Elaborate comic intrigues involving deception,
  disguise, and mistaken identity

10
Romantic Comedy (most popular?)

• A love plot in which two sympathetic
  well-matched lovers are united or reconciled
  
• The two lovers tend to be young, likeable and
  apparently meant for each other but kept apart by
  circumstances (class, parents) until surmounting
  all obstacles they are finally wed

11
Satirical Comedy

• The subject of satire is human vice folly
• Characters include con-artists, criminals,
  tricksters fortune seekers with gullible dupes,
  knaves, cuckolds who serve as their victims
  
• Resemble other types of comedy, but the central
  character is likely to be foolish and morally
  corrupt

12
Black Comedy

• Subjects that are usually serious (murder, death,
  drug abuse, sickness) are treated with humor
  
• The audience is invited to laugh at events that
  are mortifying and grotesque