A dramatic composition, or representation of a bright and amusing character, based upon the foibles of individuals, the manners of society, or the ludicrous events or accidents of life; a play in which mirth predominates and the termination of the plot is happy; -- opposed to tragedy.
COMPARISON: used to compare one thing with another CONFLICT: armed conflict between nations and identifiable groups of people (e.g. Christian militia in Lebanon). Use REBELLION when the object of conflict is overthrow of the existing government by rebels. CONGRESS: used for both the U.S. House and Senate.; may be used with major conflicts of federal legislation CONSTRUCTION: use for general stories about the industry; may include major construction projects, e.g. state roads; not a synonym for BUILDING. CONSUMER: links various stories about consumer issues. CONTAMINATION: non-environmental (as in food, medicines, drinking water and other consumables); use POLLUTION for environment. CONTEST: for all types of contests. CONTROVERSY: can be used for both controversial issues and people.
a film with elicits laughter or humor by celebrating or showing the eternal ironies of human existence; types include screwball, dark/black, farce, slapstick, dead-pan, parody, romantic comedy, etc. Example: See many examples in the genre section on comedy films
This term describes a play that is light in tone and designed to provoke laughter. The ancient Greeks are credited with inventing comedies as a way to comments satirically on domestic situations.
a literary work in which the central motif is triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion
the genre of dramatic literature treating trivial material superficially or amusingly or showing serious and profound material in a light, familiar, or satirical manner. Example: "The Devil and Billy Marshall," a comedy by Shel Silverstein, 1m.
A humorous, entertaining play with a happy ending.
Any play having a humerous content and a happy ending. The most effective comedy is usually that which is based on matters of local or topical interest. This means that comedy in general does not age or travel well. Many comedies have been written which, although they were a success on their release have since been lost and forgotten. Some comedies, however do stand the tests of time and geography and thus stand as a shining example to the genius of their creators. The best known of playwrights from the Edwardian era to have produced such timeless masterpieces is Oscar Wilde.
A comedy film may be a spoof, a satire, a romantic comedy, or any of a number of subgenres. The main criterion is humour. Note that other genre elements may appear dominant (western elements in Blazing Saddles, for example), but if laughter is the main aim, then comedy is the dominant genre in a film. For many critics there is a class structure to comedy, with the scatological humour at the bottom, then physical humour above that, followed by humour that uses language of great wit. But these divisions are not always so clear. The physical humour of Charlie Chaplin, for example, is at another level above much slapstick. But one thing that most comedies have in common is the very serious business of undermining or ridiculing social conventions. Whether we laugh at the stodgy matrons always getting their comeuppance in silent films in a not-so-subtle bit of class rebellion, or the biting satire of Dr. Strangelove with its lampooning of the military-industrial complex, comedy is a much more serious business than people often realize.
A drama in which society is temporarily disrupted by an individual or circumstance, which gives occasion for amusing and satirical situations. As part of the happy ending, order is restored and the disturbing influence is expelled from society.
n. a play or movie in which the characters interest and amuse us by their humour or wit and in which the action turns out well.
The lighter side of drama. The dramatic components that make us laugh.
A play that deals with treating characters and situation in a humorous way.
Popularly, a funny play; classically, a play that ends happily; metaphorically, a play with some humor that celebrates the eternal ironies of human existence ("divine comedy").
light and humorous drama with a happy ending
a funny story that does not make fun of the original story or characters
a kind of play or a movie that is funny or ends happily
an imitation of an action which is complete but not serious in language appropriately rich which by incidents exposing the ridiculous produces a catharsis of the unseemly emotions by which men are made ridiculous
a story constructed deliberately with laughs as the ultimate objective
a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character
a success, quite simply, if it makes people laugh
a tragedy seen from behind
The traditional plot of comedy is the reverse of tragedy. The protagonist, usually an ordinary person, has a problem. The plot of the play is an extrication from the problem and improvement of circumstances. The reversal of fortune is from bad to good; the falling action becomes a rising action with a happy ending.
scene and/or song selection is primarily based on humor, satire, or other forms of comedy.
(1) One of the three principal dramatic genres of Renaissance drama (the other two being History and Tragedy). In Shakespearean comedy, the action starts out with a problem, the problem intensifies through the first three acts, then a resolution occurs and all is well. Shakespearean comedies usually conclude with marriages. Although there is humor in comedy, the term refers to the happy endings. (2) Christian comedy (as in Dante's Divine Comedy refers to salvation or the possibility of salvation, which renders earthly misfortunes trivial by comparison.
a type of literature that represents the restoration to bliss; the literature of youth and the season of spring.
Any play which has a happy ending. Commonly refers to a humorous play.
In general, a literary work that is amusing and ends happily.
a humorous play which either offers a light, celebrational view of life or which makes its point through sharp ridicule and satire. Usually has a happy ending.
In television, sitcom is the most common form of comedy, literally where the humour arises from the situation that a group of characters find themselves in. Sitcoms often have "canned laughter" attached. In theatre, there are many types of comedy. One example is character comedy, which comes from a tradition known as commedia dell arte. A modern form of this is improvised comedy such as Theatre Sports.
a broad category of dramatic works that are intended primarily to entertain and amuse an audience. Comedies take many different forms, but they share three basic characteristics: (1) the values that are expressed and that typically present the conflict within the play are social and determined by the general opinion of society (as opposed to being universal and beyond the control of humankind, as in tragedy characters in comedies are often defined primarily in terms of their society and their role within it; (3) comedies often end with a restoration of social order in which one or more characters take a proper social role.
a drama with a happy ending or nontragic theme (see situation comedy and comedy of characters).
See Catharsis; Komos. Commedia dell' arte (Italian): The "comedy of masks", flourishing especially during the early Italian Renaissance. Conventional figures -- Pantalone, Pierrot, Columbine, recognizable by their costumes -- per- formed in dramas of which the actors were given the skeleton plot, but for which they improvised the words at each performance. Deceits wrought upon the old man, clowning, and amorous intrigue, in these plays, carried the tradition of the ancient Roman drama, as in Plautus*, on toward the beginnings of the modern theatre, as in Goldoni*.
