23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

Comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or
amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio,
books, or any other entertainment medium. 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.[1] 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".[2] 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.[3]

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.

Other forms of comedy include screwball comedy, which derives its humor largely from bizarre,
surprising (and improbable) situations or characters, and black comedy, which 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, which can often be taken as offensive by the subjects of the joke. 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.

Etymology
Dean Rubin says the word "comedy" is derived from the
Classical Greek κωμῳδία kōmōidía, which is a compound of
κῶμος kômos (revel) and ᾠδή ōidḗ (singing; ode).[4] The
adjective "comic" (Greek κωμικός kōmikós), which strictly
means that which relates to comedy is, in modern usage,
generally confined to the sense of "laughter-provoking".[5] Of
this, the word came into modern usage through the Latin
comoedia and Italian commedia and has, over time, passed
through various shades of meaning.[6] Tragic Comic Masks of Ancient
Greek Theatre represented in the
The Greeks and Romans confined their use of the word Hadrian's Villa mosaic.
"comedy" to descriptions of stage-plays with happy endings.
Aristotle defined comedy as an imitation of men worse than the
average (where tragedy was an imitation of men better than the average). However, the characters
portrayed in comedies were not worse than average in every way, only insofar as they are

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 1/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

Ridiculous, which is a species of the Ugly. The Ridiculous may be defined as a mistake or deformity
not productive of pain or harm to others; the mask, for instance, that excites laughter is something
ugly and distorted without causing pain.[7] In the Middle Ages, the term expanded to include
narrative poems with happy endings. It is in this sense that Dante used the term in the title of his
poem, La Commedia.

As time progressed, the word came more and more to be associated with any sort of performance
intended to cause laughter.[6] During the Middle Ages, the term "comedy" became synonymous
with satire, and later with humour in general.

Aristotle's Poetics was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world, where it was
elaborated upon by Arabic writers and Islamic philosophers, such as Abu Bishr, and his pupils Al-
Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes. They disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation
and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as hija (satirical poetry). They
viewed comedy as simply the "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful
events, or to the troubling beginnings and happy endings associated with classical Greek comedy.

After the Latin translations of the 12th century, the term "comedy" gained a more general meaning
in medieval literature.[8]

In the late 20th century, many scholars preferred to use the term laughter to refer to the whole
gamut of the comic, in order to avoid the use of ambiguous and problematically defined genres
such as the grotesque, irony, and satire.[9][10]

History

Western history

Dionysiac origins, Aristophanes and Aristotle

Starting from 425 BCE, Aristophanes, a comic play and satirical
author of the Ancient Greek Theater, wrote 40 comedies, 11 of which
survive. Aristophanes developed his type of comedy from the earlier
satyr plays, which were often highly obscene.[11] The only surviving
examples of the satyr plays are by Euripides, which are much later
examples and not representative of the genre.[12] In ancient Greece,
comedy originated in bawdy and ribald songs or recitations apropos of
phallic processions and fertility festivals or gatherings.[13]

Around 335 BCE, Aristotle, in his work Poetics, stated that comedy Roman-era mosaic
originated in phallic processions and the light treatment of the depicting a scene from
otherwise base and ugly. He also adds that the origins of comedy are Menander's comedy Samia
obscure because it was not treated seriously from its inception.[14] ("The Woman from
However, comedy had its own Muse: Thalia. Samos")

Aristotle taught that comedy was generally positive for society, since it
brings forth happiness, which for Aristotle was the ideal state, the final goal in any activity. For
Aristotle, a comedy did not need to involve sexual humor. A comedy is about the fortunate rise of a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 2/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

sympathetic character. Aristotle divides comedy into three categories or subgenres: farce, romantic
comedy, and satire. On the other hand, Plato taught that comedy is a destruction to the self. He
believed that it produces an emotion that overrides rational self-control and learning. In The
Republic, he says that the guardians of the state should avoid laughter, "for ordinarily when one
abandons himself to violent laughter, his condition provokes a violent reaction." Plato says comedy
should be tightly controlled if one wants to achieve the ideal state.

Also in Poetics, Aristotle defined comedy as one of the original four genres of literature. The other
three genres are tragedy, epic poetry, and lyric poetry. Literature, in general, is defined by Aristotle
as a mimesis, or imitation of life. Comedy is the third form of literature, being the most divorced
from a true mimesis. Tragedy is the truest mimesis, followed by epic poetry, comedy, and lyric
poetry. The genre of comedy is defined by a certain pattern according to Aristotle's definition.
Comedies begin with low or base characters seeking insignificant aims and end with some
accomplishment of the aims which either lightens the initial baseness or reveals the insignificance
of the aims.

Commedia dell'arte and Shakespearean, Elizabethan comedy

"Comedy", in its Elizabethan usage, had a very different meaning from
modern comedy. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy
ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried
characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than
Shakespeare's other plays.[15]

The Punch and Judy show has roots in the 16th-century Italian
commedia dell'arte. The figure of Punch derives from the Neapolitan
stock character of Pulcinella.[16] The figure who later became Mr.
Punch made his first recorded appearance in England in 1662.[17]
Punch and Judy are performed in the spirit of outrageous comedy —
often provoking shocked laughter — and are dominated by the
anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch.[18] Appearing at a significant period
Title page of the first quarto
in British history, professor Glyn Edwards states: "[Pulcinella] went
of Shakespeare's
Midsummer Night's Dream down particularly well with Restoration British audiences, fun-starved
(1600) after years of Puritanism. We soon changed Punch's name,
transformed him from a marionette to a hand puppet, and he became,
really, a spirit of Britain — a subversive maverick who defies authority,
a kind of puppet equivalent to our political cartoons."[17]

19th to early 20th century

In early 19th century England, pantomime acquired its present form which includes slapstick
comedy and featured the first mainstream clown Joseph Grimaldi, while comedy routines also
featured heavily in British music hall theatre which became popular in the 1850s.[19] British
comedians who honed their skills in music hall sketches include Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and
Dan Leno.[20] English music hall comedian and theatre impresario Fred Karno developed a form of
sketch comedy without dialogue in the 1890s, and Chaplin and Laurel were among the comedians
who worked for his company.[20] Karno was a pioneer of slapstick, and in his biography, Laurel
stated, "Fred Karno didn't teach Charlie [Chaplin] and me all we know about comedy. He just
taught us most of it".[21] Film producer Hal Roach stated: "Fred Karno is not only a genius, he is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 3/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

the man who originated slapstick comedy. We in Hollywood owe much to him."[22] American
vaudeville emerged in the 1880s and remained popular until the 1930s, and featured comedians
such as W. C. Fields, Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers.

20th century theatre and art

Surreal humour (also known as 'absurdist humour'), or 'surreal comedy', is a form of humour
predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, producing events and behaviours that are
obviously illogical. Constructions of surreal humour tend to involve bizarre juxtapositions,
incongruity, non-sequiturs, irrational or absurd situations and expressions of nonsense.[23] The
humour arises from a subversion of audience's expectations, so that amusement is founded on
unpredictability, separate from a logical analysis of the situation. The humour derived gets its
appeal from the ridiculousness and unlikeliness of the situation. The genre has roots in Surrealism
in the arts.[23]

Surreal humour is the effect of illogic and absurdity being used

for humorous effect. Under such premises, people can identify
precursors and early examples of surreal humour at least since
the 19th century, such as Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, which both use
illogic and absurdity (hookah-smoking caterpillars, croquet
matches using live flamingos as mallets, etc.) for humorous
effect. Many of Edward Lear's children stories and poems
contain nonsense and are basically surreal in approach. For
example, The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went
Round the World (1871) is filled with contradictory statements Edward Lear, Aged 73 and a Half
and odd images intended to provoke amusement, such as the and His Cat Foss, Aged 16, an 1885
following: lithograph by Edward Lear

After a time they saw some land at a distance; and

when they came to it, they found it was an island
made of water quite surrounded by earth. Besides
that, it was bordered by evanescent isthmuses with a
great Gulf-stream running about all over it, so that it
was perfectly beautiful, and contained only a single
tree, 503 feet high.[24]

In the early 20th century, several avant-garde movements, including the dadaists, surrealists, and
futurists, began to argue for an art that was random, jarring and illogical.[25] The goals of these
movements were in some sense serious, and they were committed to undermining the solemnity
and self-satisfaction of the contemporary artistic establishment. As a result, much of their art was
intentionally amusing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 4/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

A famous example is Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (1917), an inverted urinal signed "R. Mutt". This
became one of the most famous and influential pieces of art in history, and one of the earliest
examples of the found object movement. It is also a joke, relying on the inversion of the item's
function as expressed by its title as well as its incongruous presence in an art exhibition.[26]

20th century film, records, radio, and television

The advent of cinema in the late 19th century, and later radio
and television in the 20th century broadened the access of
comedians to the general public. Charlie Chaplin, through
silent film, became one of the best-known faces on Earth. The
silent tradition lived on well into the late 20th century through
mime artists like Marcel Marceau, and the slapstick comedy of
artists like Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean). The tradition of the
circus clown also continued, with such as Bozo the Clown in the
United States and Oleg Popov in Russia. Radio provided new
possibilities — with Britain producing the influential surreal
humour of the Goon Show after the Second World War. The
Goons' influence spread to the American radio and recording
troupe the Firesign Theatre. American cinema has produced a
great number of globally renowned comedy artists, from Laurel
and Hardy, the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Dean Charlie Chaplin as "The Tramp"
Martin and Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller during the (1921)
mid-20th century, to performers like George Carlin, Bill Cosby,
Joan Rivers, Robin Williams, and Eddie Murphy toward the
end of the century. Hollywood attracted many international talents
like the British comics Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore and Sacha Baron
Cohen, Canadian comics Dan Aykroyd, Jim Carrey, and Mike Myers,
and the Australian comedian Paul Hogan, famous for Crocodile
Dundee. Other centres of creative comic activity have been the cinema
of Hong Kong, Bollywood, and French farce.

American television has also been an influential force in world

Jim Carrey mugs for the
comedy: with American series like M*A*S*H, Seinfeld and The camera.
Simpsons achieving large followings around the world. British
television comedy also remains influential, with quintessential works
including Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, Dad's Army, Blackadder, and The Office. Australian
satirist Barry Humphries, whose comic creations include the housewife and "gigastar" Dame Edna
Everage, for his delivery of Dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, was described by biographer
Anne Pender in 2010 as not only "the most significant theatrical figure of our time ... [but] the
most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin".[27]

Eastern history

Indian aesthetics and drama

By 200 BC,[28] in ancient Sanskrit drama, Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra defined humour
(hāsyam) as one of the nine nava rasas, or principle rasas (emotional responses), which can be
inspired in the audience by bhavas, the imitations of emotions that the actors perform. Each rasa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 5/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

was associated with a specific bhavas portrayed on stage. In the case

of humour, it was associated with mirth (hasya).

Studies on comic theory

The phenomena connected with
laughter and that which provokes
it have been carefully investigated
by psychologists. They agree the
predominant characteristics are
incongruity or contrast in the
object and shock or emotional Jordan Peele at the
seizure on the part of the subject. Peabody awards
It has also been held that the
feeling of superiority is an
essential factor: thus Thomas Hobbes speaks of laughter as a
"sudden glory". Modern investigators have paid much attention
to the origin both of laughter and of smiling, as well as the
development of the "play instinct" and its emotional
expression.

Statue of La Comedie by Jules

George Meredith said that "One excellent test of the civilization
Toussaint Roux, Paris of a country ... I take to be the flourishing of the Comic idea and
Comedy, and the test of true Comedy is that it shall awaken
thoughtful laughter." Laughter is said to be the cure for being
sick. Studies show that people who laugh more often get sick less.[29][30]

American literary theorist Kenneth Burke writes that the "comic frame" in rhetoric is "neither
wholly euphemistic, nor wholly debunking—hence it provides the charitable attitude towards
people that is required for purposes of persuasion and co-operation, but at the same time
maintains our shrewdness concerning the simplicities of 'cashing in.' "[31] The purpose of the comic
frame is to satirize a given circumstance and promote change by doing so. The comic frame makes
fun of situations and people, while simultaneously provoking thought.[32] The comic frame does
not aim to vilify in its analysis, but rather, rebuke the stupidity and foolery of those involved in the
circumstances.[33] For example, on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart uses the "comic frame" to
intervene in political arguments, often offering crude humor in sudden contrast to serious news. In
a segment on President Obama's trip to China, Stewart remarks on America's debt to the Chinese
government while also having a weak relationship with the country. After depicting this dismal
situation, Stewart shifts to speak directly to President Obama, calling upon him to "shine that turd
up."[34] For Stewart and his audience, introducing coarse language into what is otherwise a serious
commentary on the state of foreign relations serves to frame the segment comically, creating a
serious tone underlying the comedic agenda presented by Stewart.

Forms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 6/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

Comedy may be divided into multiple genres based on the source of humor, the method of delivery,
and the context in which it is delivered. The different forms of comedy often overlap, and most
comedy can fit into multiple genres. Some of the subgenres of comedy are farce, comedy of
manners, burlesque, and satire.

Some comedy apes certain cultural forms: for instance, parody and satire often imitate the
conventions of the genre they are parodying or satirizing. For example, in the United States,
parodies of newspapers and television news include The Onion, and The Colbert Report; in
Australia, shows such as Kath & Kim, Utopia, and Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell perform the same
role.

Self-deprecation is a technique of comedy used by many comedians who focus on their misfortunes
and foibles in order to entertain.

Performing arts

Historical forms
Ancient Greek comedy, as practiced by Aristophanes and Menander
Ancient Roman comedy, as practiced by Plautus and Terence
Burlesque, from Music hall and Vaudeville to Performance art
Citizen comedy, as practiced by Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton and Ben Jonson
Clowns such as Richard Tarlton, William Kempe, and Robert Armin
Comedy of humours, as practiced by Ben Jonson and George Chapman
Comedy of intrigue, as practiced by Niccolò Machiavelli and Lope de Vega
Comedy of manners, as practiced by Molière, William Wycherley and William Congreve
Comedy of menace, as practiced by David Campton and Harold Pinter
comédie larmoyante or 'tearful comedy', as practiced by Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée
and Louis-Sébastien Mercier
Commedia dell'arte, as practiced in the twentieth century by Dario Fo, Vsevolod Meyerhold,
and Jacques Copeau
Farce, from Georges Feydeau to Joe Orton and Alan Ayckbourn
Jester
Laughing comedy, as practiced by Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Restoration comedy, as practiced by George Etherege, Aphra Behn and John Vanbrugh
Sentimental comedy, as practiced by Colley Cibber and Richard Steele
Shakespearean comedy, as practiced by William Shakespeare
Stand-up comedy
Dadaist and Surrealist performance, usually in cabaret form
Theatre of the Absurd, used by some critics to describe Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Jean
Genet and Eugène Ionesco[35]
Sketch comedy

Plays
Comic theatre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 7/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

Musical comedy

Opera
Comic opera

Improvisational comedy
Improvisational theatre
Bouffon comedy
Clowns

Jokes
One-liner joke
Blonde jokes
Shaggy-dog story
Paddy Irishman joke
Polish jokes
Light bulb jokes
Knock-knock joke

Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a mode of comic performance in which the performer addresses the audience
directly, usually speaking in their own person rather than as a dramatic character.

Impressionist (entertainment)
Alternative comedy
Comedy club

Events and awards

American Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards
Canadian Comedy Awards
Cat Laughs Comedy Festival
The Comedy Festival, Aspen, Colorado, formerly the HBO Comedy Arts Festival
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh Comedy Festival
Halifax Comedy Festival
Just for Laughs festival, Montreal
Leicester Comedy Festival
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
New Zealand International Comedy Festival
New York Underground Comedy Festival

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 8/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

HK International Comedy Festival

Lists of comedians
List of comedians
List of comedians#Comedy groups
List of stand-up comedians
List of musical comedians
List of Australian comedians
List of British comedians
List of Canadian comedians
List of Filipino comedians
List of Finnish comedians
List of German language comedians
List of Indian comedians
List of Italian comedians
List of Mexican comedians
List of Puerto Rican comedians

Mass media

Literature
Comic novel
Light poetry
Comedic journalism

Film
Comedy film
Anarchic comedy film
Gross-out film
Parody film
Romantic comedy
Screwball comedy film
Slapstick film

Audio recording
Comedy album

Television and radio

Television comedy
Situation comedy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 9/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

Radio comedy

Comedy networks
British sitcom
British comedy
Comedy Central – television channel devoted strictly to comedy
Comedy Nights with Kapil – Indian television program
German television comedy
List of British TV shows remade for the American market
Paramount Comedy (Spain)
Paramount Comedy 1 and 2.
TBS (TV network)
The Comedy Channel (Australia)
The Comedy Channel (UK)
The Comedy Channel (United States) – merged into Comedy Central.
HA! – merged into Comedy Central
CTV Comedy Channel – Canadian TV channel formerly known as The Comedy Network.
Gold
Sky Comedy – British comedy network
Comedy Gold – a Canadian comedy channel, the CTV Comedy Channel is a sister to it
Bip – Israeli comedy channel

See also

Comedy portal

List of comedy television series

List of genres
Lists of comedy films
Theories of humor
Women in comedy

Notes
1. Henderson, J. (1993) Comic Hero versus Political Elite pp. 307–19 in Sommerstein, A.H.; S.
Halliwell; J. Henderson; B. Zimmerman, eds. (1993). Tragedy, Comedy and the Polis. Bari:
Levante Editori.
2. (Anatomy of Criticism, 1957)
3. Marteinson, 2006
4. comedy (n.) (https://www.etymonline.com/word/comedy) "The old derivation from kome
"village" is not now regarded."
5. Cornford (1934)
6. Oxford English Dictionary
7. McKeon, Richard. The Basic Works Of Aristotle, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2001, p. 1459.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 10/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

8. Webber, Edwin J. (January 1958). "Comedy as Satire in Hispano-Arabic Spain". Hispanic

Review. 26 (1): 1–11. doi:10.2307/470561 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F470561).
JSTOR 470561 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/470561).
9. Herman Braet, Guido Latré, Werner Verbeke (2003) Risus mediaevalis: laughter in medieval
literature and art (https://books.google.com/books?id=6mqDEpy0YUsC&pg=PA1) p.1
quotation:

The deliberate use by Menard of the term 'le rire' rather than 'l'humour' reflects
accurately the current evidency to incorporate all instances of the comic in the
analysis, while the classification in genres and fields such as grotesque, humour and
even irony or satire always poses problems. The terms humour and laughter are
therefore pragmatically used in recent historiography to cover the entire spectrum.

10. Ménard, Philippe (1988) Le rire et le sourire au Moyen Age dans la littérature et les arts. Essai
de problématique in Bouché, T. and Charpentier H. (eds., 1988) Le rire au Moyen Âge, Actes
du colloque international de Bordeaux, pp. 7–30
11. Aristophanes (1996) Lysistrata (https://books.google.com/books?id=YhaawA_m9SEC&pg=PR
9), Introduction, p.ix, published by Nick Hern Books
12. Reckford, Kenneth J. (1987)Aristophanes' Old-and-new Comedy: Six essays in perspective (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=v9MSdTvbOFAC&pg=PA105) p.105
13. Cornford, F.M. (1934) The Origin of Attic Comedy (https://books.google.com/books?id=uhE9AA
AAIAAJ) pp.3–4 quotation:

That Comedy sprang up and took shape in connection with Dionysiac or Phallic ritual
has never been doubted.

14. "Aristotle, Poetics, lines beginning at 1449a" (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?looku

p=Aristot.+Poet.+1449a). Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
15. Regan, Richard. "Shakespearean comedy (http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/rjregan/rrScom.htm)"
16. Wheeler, R. Mortimer (1911). "Punch (puppet)" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclo
p%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Punch_(puppet)). In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica.
Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 648–649.
17. "Punch and Judy around the world" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/7949781/Punc
h-and-Judy-around-the-world.html). The Telegraph. 11 June 2015. Archived (https://ghostarchiv
e.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/7949781/Punch-and-Judy-
around-the-world.html) from the original on 2022-01-10.
18. "Mr Punch celebrates 350 years of puppet anarchy" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainmen
t-arts-17895716). BBC. 11 June 2015.
19. Jeffrey Richards (2014). "The Golden Age of Pantomime: Slapstick, Spectacle and Subversion
in Victorian England". I.B.Tauris,
20. McCabe, John. "Comedy World of Stan Laurel". p. 143. London: Robson Books, 2005, First
edition 1975
21. Burton, Alan (2000). Pimple, pranks & pratfalls: British film comedy before 1930. Flicks Books.
p. 51.
22. J. P. Gallagher (1971). "Fred Karno: master of mirth and tears". p. 165. Hale.
23. Stockwell, Peter (1 November 2016). The Language of Surrealism (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=KZhNDQAAQBAJ&q=Surreal+humour&pg=PA177). Macmillan Education UK. p. 177.
ISBN 978-1-137-39219-0.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 11/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

24. Lear, Edward (2004-10-08). Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets (http://www.gute
nberg.org/files/13650/13650-h/13650-h.htm#children).
25. Buelens, Geert; Hendrix, Harald; Jansen, Monica, eds. (2012). The History of Futurism: The
Precursors, Protagonists, and Legacies. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-7387-9.
26. Gayford, Martin (16 February 2008). "Duchamp's Fountain: The practical joke that launched an
artistic revolution" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3671180/Duchamps-Fountain-The-pr
actical-joke-that-launched-an-artistic-revolution.html). The Daily Telegraph. Archived (https://gh
ostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3671180/Duchamps-F
ountain-The-practical-joke-that-launched-an-artistic-revolution.html) from the original on 2022-
01-10. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
27. Meacham, Steve (15 September 2010). "Absurd moments: in the frocks of the dame" (http://w
ww.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/books/absurd-moments-in-the-frocks-of-the-dame-20
100914-15ar3.html). Brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
28. Robert Barton, Annie McGregor (3 January 2014). Theatre in Your Life (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=xeUbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA218). CengageBrain. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-285-46348-3.
29. "An impolite interview with Lenny Bruce" (http://www.ep.tc/realist/15/03.html). The Realist (15):
3. February 1960. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
30. Meredith, George (1987). "Essay on Comedy, Comic Spirit" (http://emotional-literacy-educatio
n.com/classic-books-online-b/esycm10.htm). Encyclopedia of the Self, by Mark Zimmerman.
Retrieved 30 December 2011.
31. "The Comic Frame" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233322/http://newantichoicerhetori
c.web.unc.edu/the-comedic-frame/). newantichoicerhetoric.web.unc.edu. Archived from the
original (http://newantichoicerhetoric.web.unc.edu/the-comedic-frame/) on 2013-12-30.
Retrieved 2015-11-06.
32. "Standing Up for Comedy: Kenneth Burke and The Office – KB Journal" (http://www.kbjournal.o
rg/biebel). www.kbjournal.org.
33. "History – School of Humanities and Sciences" (http://www.ithaca.edu/hs/history/journal/paper
s/sp02comedyandtragedy.html). www.ithaca.edu. Ithaca College.
34. Trischa Goodnow Knapp (2011). The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and
Strategies (https://books.google.com/books?id=OQ9Gu4-tYsQC&pg=PA237). p. 327.
Lexington Books, 2011
35. This list was compiled with reference to The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (1998).

References
Buckham, Philip Wentworth (1827). Theatre of the Greeks (https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ij
AZAAAAYAAJ). J. Smith. "The Theatre of the Greeks."
Kern, Edith G. (1980). The Absolute Comic (First ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
ISBN 978-0231049085.
Marteinson, Peter (2006). On the Problem of the Comic: A Philosophical Study on the Origins
of Laughter (https://web.archive.org/web/20080321015313/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/frenc
h/as-sa/editors/origins.html). Ottawa: Legas Press. Archived from the original (http://www.chas
s.utoronto.ca/french/as-sa/editors/origins.html) on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2007-12-10. The
Origins of Laughter (http://french.chass.utoronto.ca/as-sa/editors/origins.html) Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20200716142240/http://french.chass.utoronto.ca/as-sa/editors/origins.ht
ml) 2020-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
Pickard-Cambridge, Sir Arthur Wallace
Dithyramb, Tragedy, and Comedy , 1927.
The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, 1946.
The Dramatic Festivals of Athens, 1953.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 12/13
23/07/2024, 23:57 Comedy - Wikipedia

Raskin, Victor (1985). The Semantic Mechanisms of Humor. Springer. ISBN 978-90-277-1821-
1.
Riu, Xavier (1999). "Dionysism and Comedy" (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2000/2000-06-1
3.html). Bryn Mawr Classical Review.
Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane (2003). Tragedy and Athenian Religion. Lexington Books.
ISBN 978-0-7391-0400-2.
Trypanis, C.A. (1981). Greek Poetry from Homer to Seferis. University of Chicago Press.
Wiles, David (1991). The Masked Menander: Sign and Meaning in Greek and Roman
Performance. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-40135-7.

External links
Comedy (https://curlie.org/Arts/Performing_Arts/Comedy) at Curlie
A Vocabulary for Comedy (http://www.dbu.edu/mitchell/comedydi.htm) (definitions are taken
from Harmon, William & C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 7th ed.)

Learning materials related to Collaborative play writing at Wikiversity

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comedy&oldid=1235197010"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy 13/13