 Only Human being laugh

 Writers of Comedy look at Human affairs differently than tragedy: perceive the follies and excesses of human behavior.

 Characteristics of Comedy  Suspension of Natural Laws  Cause and Effect, Logic , and probability do not have the same consequences they do in real life.  Slapstick – 2 thin slats of wood held together to make the sound of hitting someone more pronounced  Also describes a raucous, knockabout comedy  Cartoons are an example

 Contrast between social order and the Individual  The excesses, frauds, hypocrisy, and follies of men and women are laughed at against a background of normality and moderation.  The Comic premise  An idea or concept that turns the accepted notion of things upside down and makes this upended notion the basis of the play.  Lysistrata – Women go on a sex strike to end the war.  The Birds – two men persuade a chorus of birds to build a city between heaven and earth.  Techniques of Comedy  Verbal Humor  Pun – humorous use of words with the same sound but different meanings.  Malaprop – a word that sounds right but actually means something quite different.  Mrs. Malaprop – The Rivals by Sheridan.  Epigram – Turning accepted values unside down  Ex: “I can resist anything except temptation.”  Comedy of Character  Characters are inconsistent in how they see themselves or pretend to be, as opposed to the way they actually are.  Plot Complications  Coincidences and Mistaken identity.  Ex: The Comedy of Errors – Shakespeare  Twin brothers with twin servants are separated at birth.  Forms of Comedy  Farce – exaggeration, plot complications, physical humor, and stereotyped characters.  Ridiculous situations, pratfalls, mock violence, rapid movement, accellerated pace.  Marriage and sex are the object of fun in bedroom farce.  Burlesque – Extreme exaggeration of physical humor and can be vulgar.  US – Variety show with low comedy skits and attractive women.  Satire – Similar to burlesque but uses wit, irony, and exaggeration to attack or expose evil and foolishness.  Domestic Comedy  Comedy equivalent to Domestic or Bourgeois Drama  Dealing with family situations  Most TV Sitcoms  Comedy of Manners  Pointing up the foibles and peculiarities of the upper class.  Verbal wit to depict cleverness and expose the social pretensions of its characters.  Not physical comedy but witty phrases  Comedy of Ideas  Witty and amusing but include provocative discussions on social issues.

 Tragicomedy  Not a shift between comic and tragic within a play  Instead it is the fusion of both at the same time.  A sense of comedy pervades these plays, the idea that all will end well and that much of what happens is ludicrous or ridiculous; at the same time, the serious effects of a character’s actions are not dismissed.  Measure for measure - Shakespeare  Modern Tragicomedy  Kierkegaard – “ Existence itself, the act of existence, is a striving and is both pathetic and comic in the same degree.”  Theatre of the Absurd is an example  Probes deeply into the human problems and casts a cold eye on the world and yet is imbued with a comic spirit.  Theatre of the Absurd  In the modern age we have lost the comfort and security of being able to explain the world by reason and logic…  An ironic note runs through it.  Becket – Waiting for Godot  Absurdist Plots: Illogicality  Can seem non-realistic  Absurdist Language: Nonsense and Non-sequitur  Non-sequitur – “it does not follow”  Something that does not follow from what has gone before.  Words do not mean what we expect them to mean.  Absurdist Characters: Existential Beings  Element of ridiculous in characters’ actions.  Existence precedes Essence  A person creates himself or herself in the process of living. Taking action and making choices.  Summary  Comedy takes a different approach from serious forms of drama  Verbal humor, comedy of character, plot complications  Various kinds of comedy: farce, comedy of manners, etc.  Tragicomedy a mix of comic and tragic  Absurdist comedy