- "Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter."
This subfield studies the genre of drama which aims to amuse and entertain people, like comedic plays by Aristophanes.
Ancient Greek Theatre: Understanding the origins of theater and comedy in ancient Greece can provide a foundation for understanding Literary Classicism, as it was the basis for much of the intellectual and artistic culture of that era.
The Aristotelian Concept of Comedy: The philosopher Aristotle outlined particular criteria for what constitutes a comedy, including the importance of satire, humor, and the role of irony.
The Shakespearean Comedy: Understanding Shakespeare's comedic plays, such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Much Ado About Nothing" can help to exemplify the characteristics of Literary Classicism as they have all the elements of a traditional classic comedy.
The Restoration Comedy: This era of comedy emerged in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century and was marked by its wit, satire, and bawdy humor.
The Commedia dell'arte: This is a style of theater that emerged in Italy during the 16th century, and during the Renaissance period, it was an influential comedy form.
The Satirical Comedy: Satire plays a key part in Literary Classicism and is a comedy that is used to critique social issues and human behavior, often through parody.
The Importance of Dialogue: Effective Dialogue can add to the humor and wit of comedy by reflecting the personality of the characters.
Comedy of Manners: This form of comedy is characterized by witty banter, dialogue, and the relationship between individuals within a particular social context.
The Jester: The role of the jester or fool within comedies can add extra humor and reflect certain social and collective belief of a particular era and place.
Irony and Absurdity as Tools for Comedy: The use of irony and absurd situations are fundamental to literary classicism as they can add humor, ridicule and reflect the societal habits, codes and norms.
The Importance of Timing: Knowing how to time the delivery of a joke in order to evoke laughter is important when writing comedy.
The Role of Exaggeration and Stereotypes in Comedy: These can be used effectively in order to exaggerate comic situations and also reflect societal and individual beliefs and habits.
Satire: A type of comedy that uses irony, ridicule, or humor to expose or criticize people's foolishness or vices.
Parody: A humorous imitation of a work of literature, music, or other art form that exaggerates or distorts its style or content for comic effect.
Burlesque: A type of comedy that uses exaggeration, mockery, or irony to ridicule serious or highbrow subjects.
Farce: A type of comedy that relies on physical humor, slapstick, and absurd situations for laughs.
Screwball comedy: A type of comedy characterized by eccentric characters, witty banter, and a fast-paced plot.
Black comedy: A type of comedy that deals with taboo subjects such as death, disease, and violence in a humorous way.
Romantic comedy: A type of comedy that focuses on the humorous aspects of romantic relationships and the obstacles that couples face while trying to be together.
Dark comedy: A type of comedy that uses humor to confront and critique social norms and conventions.
Irony: A type of comedy that highlights the incongruity between what is expected and what actually happens.
Sarcasm: A type of comedy that uses cutting or mocking remarks to convey irony or humor.
- "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."
- "Screwball comedy derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters."
- "Black comedy 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."
- "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."
- "In Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters."
- "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."
- "Screwball comedy derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters."
- "Black comedy is characterized by a form of humor that includes darker aspects of human behavior or human nature."
- "A comedy of manners uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members."
- "Romantic comedy focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love."