What is Comedy? Types, Elements & Manners of Comedy & Sentimental Comedy

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Comedy

Comedy in drama refers to the presence of humorous elements or situations within a dramatic narrative. While drama typically focuses on serious or intense themes, the inclusion of comedy serves to lighten the mood, provide comic relief, or offer a contrast to the serious elements of the story. Comedy in drama can take various forms, including witty dialogue, humorous characters, situational comedy, or slapstick humor.

The use of comedy in drama serves several purposes. Firstly, it can provide a break from intense or emotionally charged scenes, allowing the audience to relax and experience a lighter moment. This helps to create a balance and prevent the story from becoming too heavy or overwhelming.

Secondly, comedy can be used as a tool to explore complex or sensitive topics in a more accessible and relatable manner. By infusing humor into the narrative, playwrights or screenwriters can engage the audience and encourage them to think about serious subjects from a different perspective. Comedy can serve as a vehicle for social commentary, satire, or critique, allowing the audience to reflect on important issues while being entertained.

Furthermore, comedy in drama can also deepen the emotional impact of a story. By juxtaposing comedic moments with serious or tragic events, the contrast can enhance the emotional resonance of both. The audience’s investment in the characters and their journey may be heightened as they experience a wide range of emotions, from laughter to sadness, within the same narrative.

Ultimately, comedy in drama adds layers and complexity to the storytelling by incorporating humor alongside serious themes. It enriches the overall experience for the audience, providing entertainment, emotional depth, and a more nuanced exploration of the human condition.

Examples of Comedy

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen: This classic novel is a romantic comedy that follows the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy as they navigate misunderstandings, social conventions, and their own prejudices.
“Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes: Considered one of the greatest works of fiction, this novel is a humorous satire that follows the adventures of Don Quixote, a delusional knight-errant, and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare: This Shakespearean comedy portrays the intertwining stories of fairies, lovers, and amateur actors in a magical forest. It explores themes of love, mistaken identities, and the power of imagination.
“Catch-22” by Joseph Heller: Set during World War II, this satirical novel follows the absurd experiences of a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier named Yossarian. It exposes the bureaucratic madness and illogical rules of war.
“The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde: A witty and farcical play, it satirizes Victorian society’s conventions and hypocrisy. The plot revolves around mistaken identities, double lives, and clever wordplay.

These are just a few examples, but there are many more delightful comedies in literature that have entertained readers throughout the years.

Comedy of Manners

Introduction

This genre refers to English Comedies written and performed in the Restoration Period from 1660 A.D. to 1710 A.D. It is an entertainment form which satirizes the manners and affections of social class or of multiple classes. A manner is a method in which everyday duties are performed.

As compared to the tragedy of the Restoration Age, this genre achieved greater distinction and shame. It was the most characteristic product of Restoration Literature & reflects the spirit of the age more comprehensively than its prose and poetry.

Dryden was the first to write Comedy of Manners with his Wild Gallant, which was a failure. He wrote several other Comedies of Manners also which were more successful.

Comedy of Manners Characteristics

It depends upon the dramatists capacity to present the unemotional treatment of sex.
It is rich with wit and satire and gives the image of the time.
The heroine is more important and interesting than the hero in the Comedy of Manners
Both hero and heroine are well dressed, self-possessed and witty.
Whereas throughout its long career, English Tragedy has always accepted foreign influences, English Comedy has been less influenced by them. But Restoration Comedy of Manners took a good deal of continental spirit.
The manners which the Comedy of Manners shows were not the manners of all the classes of Restoration Society; they were rather the manners of the upper class only.
This genre is characterized by realism (art), social analysis and satire. These comedies held a mirror to the finer society of their age. These comedies are thus true pictures of the noble society of the age.
One feature of the Restoration comedy which has been often criticised and almost as often defended is its immorality.
This genre held a mirror to the high society of the Restoration Age. The society was immortal and so was its image represented by the comedy.
Most comedy writers liked the presentation of scenes and acts of sexual rudeness.
The introduction of the actresses for the first time on the stage lowered the morality level. These actresses were mostly women of easy virtue.
The writers of the Comedy of Manners gave much more importance to the wit and polish of their dialogues than to their plot-construction; which, in the views of Aristotle, "is the soul of a tragedy and a comedy too."
The dialogue of the Comedy of Manners is witty, polished and crisp.
The Way of the World by William Congreve is an example of Comedy of Manners

Elements of a Comedy

Having roots in the Latin word "Comedia" which means to reveal some information while singing. Well to most people the definition of comedy is a lot different. "Even though the element so revelation and song may be included, they are not fundamental to every piece of comic work."

In fact, today comedy is a form of dramatic construction that enlists and narrates mundane happening of the world with a humorous flair or even eccentric flavours.

Its tone is light and amusing and usually ends with merrymaking and happy resolution. In a lot of ways, if "tragedy" represents demise and death, comedy stands for vitality and life.

Obviously, the design of the comedy is to entertain it can employ a range of elements and devices to trigger that response from the audiences/readers.
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It often involves laughing at other's mistakes and errors but requires a sense of intelligent use of observation and critique. It is not supposed to be abusive or hot-tempered but playful and accepting of human vulnerabilities.

Elements of Comedy

Among its various elements, some important ones are:

Substance: It refers to the material of the comedy, its text and words. The stories and characters used in a comedy from the pith of it. Use of scathing and penetrating punch words and understandable sentences can help create a winning comedy.
Expression and communication: This is also a pertinent pillar of any good comedy. The ability of the writer to express and elicit sentiments and feelings of the characters is crucial to get the same investment and response from the readers and audiences. Until the message or text of the comedy is not clear and moving, it will not push the reader into a state of delirious enjoyment. Hence, the ability to express and communicate with the readers in essential to not just make comedy good but in some cases, even divine (E.g. Dante, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare etc.).
The originality of humour: If you are trying to copy some one's funny jokes, they won't sound funny coming out of your mouth for sure. Humour needs to be creative and unique as an old joke does not get too many new laughs.
Timing and Rhythm: This is the most crucial element of any comedy. There are rhythm and pattern of every comedy. Its words work as beats and if the writer misses the beat the comedy loses its impact. The use of exact words at the exact moment of times and situations can be the difference between people laughing because of the writing or on it.
Intelligent writing: Comedy is a hard genre to do well. It is often said that making some cry or feel desperate is easier than making them forget their miseries and break into a smile and laughter. This necessitates a level of intelligence and keen observation skills. A comedy writer has to force the reader's mind to engage with what he is writing. Only with active and intellectual engagement will a comedy gain and earn deserved laughs. Just crass or abusive representation of other's faults will not cause the reader to laugh at their follies. It needs to be more ingenious and constructive in nature.
Setting: This refers to the staging and designing of the comedy. As comedy is a direct and lively conversation with the reader, it needs proper and smart staging in order to connect with the readers. Familiar characters and regular everyday situations can really invest the reader in the text of the comedy.

Types of Comedy in Drama

From visually stimulating to sophisticated and literary refined, Comedy as a genre has numerous different forms of types. With the passage of time, some forms become less popular as the acceptance and popularity of some new form goes up. Therefore, when classifying comedies we start with the classical forms of it:

Types of Comedy

Low and High Comedy: While low comedy is a simple and physically more expressive form, it is also easier to understand and caters to a larger number of readers. High Comedy is a more refined and sophisticated form of comedy. It appeals on a more intellectual and literary level with heavy usage of witty dialogues, historical and literary references and artistic representations. Example of High comedy would be Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest while low comedy would be Laurel and Hardy.

Comedy of Morals: Comedy of Morals is a popular form of high comedy where morality and comedy are fused to evolve a discussion about right and wrong. In these characters are put through various moral challenges. Also, different characters represent different, oral stances and thus question the themes of sin and blessing, good and evil, crime and punishment etc.

Situational Comedy: Situational Comedy involves use of a well-crafted sequence of events and plot twists which create moments of hilarity. This format is also called a comedy of intrigues.

Comedy of Ideas: Comedy of Ideas is a form of high comedy where ideas are represented through particular personalities and characters and there is usually a clash or collision between differing ideas or point if views.

Slapstick: Slapstick, as low comedy, is all about falls and knockdowns, collisions and catapults. This form is full of physical activity and is enjoyed by almost all sorts of audiences and of all ages. Television shows like Mr Bean are excellent examples of such form of comedy.

Farce: Farce is a form of comedy where all logic is suspended and anything bizarre is welcomed. It involves insane and unrealistic conditions, action and audacious situations. This format is a good mix of both low and high comedy.

Satire: Satire is a widely popular format where things and situations are criticized and ridiculed to earn a few laughs. In terms of tone, it is a cynical form and draws laughter in the hypocritical actions and mistakes of people, institutions etc.

Parody: Parody is a form where imitation is done with a humorous twist. Things, individuals and situations are reenacted with a new age production and unfamiliar effects which brings fresh comic flavour to old stories. Travesty as a genre is similar to parody where a serious issue or event is reproduced with a comic flavour and humorous tone.

Burlesque: Burlesque employs caricaturization of ideas to invoke humour. This means that important ideas are dismissed while unimportant ideas are regarded disproportionately.

Stand-up: Stand-up as a sub-genre has become a new favourite as performing arts and comedy have seemed to become indistinguishable. This involves a single person performing comical acts in front of a microphone or camera in order to earn a few laughs from the live or recorded audience.

Black Comedy: Black Comedy differs mainly in terms of the subject matter it tackles and discusses. These include issues of gravity and intense scrutiny like politics, society, religion etc. This requires an in depth understanding of prevalent social phenomena and expert control over language. This genre is also called tragic comedy.

Others

There are some revitalized forms of comedies as well that basically evoke a certain and specific emotional response from the readers. These include Romantic Comedy (themes of comedy and romance), Musical Comedy (confluence of music and comedy), etc.

Apart from these, Theatre of the Absurd, Vaudeville, Variety shows, Comedy of Humor, Commedia dell�arte etc are historical formats which have dwindled and almost extinct in terms of production except some unique settings like Broadway, Italian theatre etc.

Sentimental Comedy

Introduction

In the 1800s, in Britain, a new form of drama emerged, known as The Sentimental Comedy of 18^th century was, in fact, a reaction against the Comedy of Manners which was popular during the Restoration Period.

The Comedy of Manners was characterized by light-hearted fun, rude and severe dialogues. The aim of the writers of Comedy of Manners was to make fun of holy characters.

Middle-class morality was ridiculed and the writers made an attempt to bring virtue and virtuous characters were satirized. The Sentimental Comedy of the age was a reaction against the Comedy of Manners.

In this comedy, laughter and humour were completely driven out and in place of comedy, sadness was introduced. The Sentimental Comedy lacked the true spirit of comedy, comparatively.

Sentimental Comedy Characteristics

Humour was replaced by pathos and humorous situations in pathetic situations.
Writers introduced characters from the middle-class life characterized by virtue without any gain of vice in them.
The writers of Sentimental Comedy were moralists and wanted to teach morals through the medium of their plays.
The Sentimental Comedies were really moral comedies and a sense of morality and virtue governed them from beginning to end.
The dialogues were neither severe nor sparkling.
It remained popular for nearly half a century.
It drove out genuine comedy from the English Stage.
It provided moral lectures in place of entertainment.
It awakened tears instead of laughter.
It was characterized by emotions of pity and sympathy and lacked wit or humour.
It was serious from beginning to end and was entirely removed from the realities of life.
Its characters were not real men and women, but the production of minds of playwrights.
The keen observations and realistic touches which had always brightened the earlier comedy completely disappeared.

Thus it is misnomer to call it a comedy. It is rather a homily of dialogue.

Literary Terms What is Comedy? Types, Elements & Manners of Comedy & Sentimental Comedy

What is Comedy? Types, Elements & Manners of Comedy & Sentimental Comedy