Comedy Sem 3-Unit 1

 

Comedy

Comedy deals with the light side of life. It aims at evoking our laughter. In comedy though fortune may be unkind for a while all comes right in the end. Comedy deals with people of much less importance. In ancient Greece the comic actor wore light shoe called the sock, to show his low degree. For example some of the most memorable characters of Shakespeare’s comedies are people of rank Mr. Falstaff and Sir Toby Belch among men and Portia and Rosalind among women. Tears of laughter override consideration of caste, creed and color.

Comic Atmosphere

Comedy moves us with laughter whether it is thoughtful laughter or unalloyed mirth. It aims at giving pleasure. Comedy refined the conduct that is it corrected the social failings. Comedy served to show “the common errors of life… in the most ridiculous and scornful sort that may be, so as it is impossible that any beholder can be content to be such a one. Verse was the medium of both tragedy and comedy. For example Shakespeare’s comedies are written in blank verse. Later on comedy confined itself to prose.

 

Types of Comedy

Comedy may be classical or Romantic depending on whether it observes or ignore the classical rules explained above. The classical form was attempted by many, naming few are Ben Johnson and Restoration playwrights; the Romantic by Shakespeare and the ‘University Wits” including Lyly, Greene, and Nashe.

                Its divided according to the themes and there are numerous themes in comedy.

1.  Humor comedy of Ben Johnson, satirizing eccentricity (is unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual), which is due to an excess of one of the four ‘humor’ or natural fluids of body, blood, phlegm (mucus), choler ( Anger; irritability. a. One of the four humors of ancient and medieval physiology, thought to cause anger and bad temper when present in excess; yellow bile) and melancholy (sadness or desolution) or black bile (a humor of medieval physiology believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause melancholy);

2. The Restoration comedy of Intrigue (interest/fascinate), specializing in situations arising out of infidelity (the action or state of being unfaithful to a spouse) in love and marriage;

3. The comedy of Manners, which is also of Restoration period, in which the language and behavior was highly stylized (not natural or spontaneous;) and artificial;

4. The Genteel (refined/respectable/polished) comedy of Colley Cibber, ridiculing the affectations (behaviour, speech that is pretentious and designed to impress) (wigs, shoes, ribbons, toilette, etc) of 18^th century society;

5. The Sentimental comedy of the late 18^th Century, presents tears in the place of laughter, in place of intrigue (interest), melodramatic (exaggerated or overemotional) and distressing (causing anxiety, sorrow or pain) situation; in place of rogues, gallants (suitor) and witty damsels (young lady/girl/miss) ‘pathetic heroines, serious lovers and honest servants’.

               

                Another basis of classification is that if the plot unfolds itself mainly through dialogue or narration, and assigns a subordinate place to incident or action, the result is a comedy of Dialogue. The result is said to be comedy of Incident if the dialogue plays a second part mainly through action. A well built comedy unites both in judicious (good judgement/sensible) proportions.

                Until 1860s in comedy the language and atmosphere of the English drama remained fairly remote that of ordinary life. It was only when TW Robertson’s ‘Caste’ showed what could be done with more natural speech and subjects.