presentation on comedy as a dramatic genre

1. INTRODUCTION TO COMEDY

2. Byron (poet)
All tragedies are finish’d by a
death, all comedies are
ended by a marriage.
1788-1824

3. Charlie Chaplin (comedian)
Life is a tragedy when seen
in close-up but a comedy in
long-shot.
1889-1977

4. Eric Idle (comedian and Actor)
Life doesn’t make any sense and
we all pretend it does. Comedy’s
job is to point out that it doesn’t
make sense, and that it doesn’t
make much difference anyway.
Born 1943

5. Peter Ustinov (Actor)
Comedy is simply a funny way of
being serious.
1921-2004

6. Moliere (Playwright/Actor)
The duty of comedy is to
correct men by amusing them.
1622-1673

7. Bombeck (Humourist/comedian)
There is a thin line that separates laughter
from pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and
hurt.
1927-1956

8. Phillip Sidney (poet)
Comedy is an imitation of the common
errors of our life.
1554-1586

9. Comedy is:
1. Something that makes you
laugh.
2. A separate dramatic genre.

10. Comedy Through Time
Comedy, is argued, to have originated from
Ancient Greece.
The Greeks celebrated the feast of
Dionysus. Actors would dress up and
parade, pretending to be drunk thus
creating slapstick comedy.
Put your timelines in order. Can you
identify modern day examples that match the
descriptions?

11. Timeline
1. Earliest Origins: A key element is slapstick comedy.
Laurel and Hardy or Just for Laughs/You’ve been
framed.
2. Satyr Plays: The satyrs interferes with the normal story
for comic effect. Miranda/Mrs Brown’s boys.
3. Old Comedy: Political Satire which made fun of the
politicians. The politicians could be identified. Have I
got news for you?
4. Middle Comedy: Continued with satire. It became less
obvious who the characters were imitating from real
life.
5. New Comedy: Conflict between generations e.g. My
Family and Harry Enfield.

12. Timeline
6. Roman Comedy: Use of stock characters e.g. The
Big Bang Theory.
7. Shakespearean Comedy: develops key elements
such as disguise, conflict, resolution and
reconciliation e.g. Some Mothers do Have ‘em and
Ten things I hate about you.
8. Jonsonian Comedy: showed the interaction of
people of different classes and were often critical
of politics e.g. Two Broke Girls.
9. Restoration Comedy: cross-dressing and bawdy
comedy e.g. Catherine Tate.

13. Timeline
11.Eighteenth-century Comedy: comedy of
manners, pokes fun at recognisable characters
but not very political.
12.Nineteenth-century comedy: The comedy of
manners continues to be developed but
becomes mainly focused on the upper classes
e.g. Keeping Up Appearances.
13.Twentieth-century comedy: Influenced by the
rise of films. Social comedy and satires are
developed e.g. Have I got news for you? ‘Come
fly with me’. Benidorm.