What is Comedy?
Comedy- This dramatic work, using the means of satire and humor, ridiculing the vices of society and man, reflecting the funny and low; any funny play. According to Aristotle, the difference between tragedy and comedy is that one seeks to imitate the worst, the other the best people than the current ones.
Comedy figures prominently in all literary trends from antiquity to modern times. In Russia, this genre was actively developed by classicists in the 18th century, although it was considered much lower than epic and tragedy. Nevertheless, it was Russian literature of this period that achieved perhaps the greatest success in national comedy (D.I. Fonvizin). IN XIX century The most outstanding comedies in world literature were created in Russia by A.S. Griboyedov, N.V. Gogol, A.N. Ostrovsky and A.P. Chekhov. It is noteworthy that Ostrovsky called all kinds of plays comedies, including such dramatic ones as Talents and Admirers, Guilty Without Guilt; A.P. gave his Chaika the subtitle comedy. Chekhov, and in the Cherry Orchard, it was with a comedic beginning that he tried to smooth out the sadness of saying goodbye to the passing past. In the literature of the 20th century, Mandate and N.R.’s Suicide are rightfully considered the best examples of comedy. Erdman and plays by M.A. Bulgakov.
The following genre-thematic types of comedies are distinguished: ancient comedy (a cult drama dedicated to Dionysus, performed by a choir and actors); comedy-ballet (a dramatic form created by J.-B. Moliere, who included comedies in the action ballet scenes); domestic comedy(most common name comedies on themes Everyday life); comedy of masks or commedia dell'arte (the main element of the genre is the collective creativity of actors who acted not only as performers, but also as authors of plays, and each brought something new, using their professional and cultural experience); comedy of ideas (plays in which various theories and ideas are discussed in a witty manner); comedy of intrigue or sitcom (a genre of comedy based on a complex plot with several lines and sharp turns of action); comedy of manners (a genre in which the main attention is paid to the manners and behavior of heroes living according to certain social and ethical rules); comedy of cloak and sword (a genre of Spanish comedy that gets its name from the costumes of the main characters - nobles endowed with self-esteem, faith and devotion to the king); satirical comedy(a form of comedy created to expose and ridicule the vices and stupidity of society); sentimental comedy (puritanical sensitive drama); tearful comedy (the content of such a comedy was of a moral and didactic nature, and touching sentimental scenes replaced the comic ones); learned comedy (a genre widespread in Italy in the 16th century, which arose as a result of imitation of ancient comedy, using the traditions of action-packed Italian short stories); comedy of characters (here exaggerated one-sidedness was depicted human qualities- deceit, hypocrisy, boasting, etc.).
A type of drama (see), in which the moment of effective conflict or struggle of antagonistic characters is specifically resolved. Qualitatively, the struggle in Kazakhstan is different in that it: 1. does not entail serious, disastrous consequences for the fighting parties; ... Literary encyclopedia
COMEDY- (Greek komodia, from komos cheerful, and ado I sing). Dramatic performance depicting negative sides life, ridiculing the shortcomings and vices of society. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910.… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
Comedy- COMEDY. Comedy depicts a dramatic struggle that arouses laughter by evoking in us a negative attitude towards the aspirations, passions of the characters or the methods of their struggle. The analysis of comedy is associated with the analysis of the nature of laughter. According to Bergson (“Laughter”... ... Dictionary of literary terms
COMEDY- COMEDY, comedy, women. [Greek comodia]. 1. A dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot (lit., theater). Ostrovsky wrote many comedies. Comedy of manners. Comedy of characters. || Presentation of such a work on stage (theater). IN… … Dictionary Ushakova
Comedy TV- Entertainment Television LLC ... Wikipedia
comedy- See spectacle, deception, breaking a comedy... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. comedy spectacle, deception; humor, masquerade, farce, tonadilla, hypocrisy, acting, acting, comedy,... ... Synonym dictionary
COMEDY- (from the Greek komodia), a genre of drama in which action and characters are interpreted in comic forms; the opposite of tragedy. Based on the principle of organizing the action, comedies are distinguished: sitcoms, based on a cunning, intricate intrigue (Comedy ... ... Modern encyclopedia
COMEDY- (from the Greek komodia) a genre of drama in which the action and characters are interpreted in comic forms; the opposite of tragedy. Based on the principle of organizing the action, comedies are distinguished: situa-tions based on a cunning, intricate intrigue (Comedy of Errors... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
comedy- and, f., COMEDY comédie f. outdated Theater building, theater. Where to see the Royal Majesty: She deigns to often stay in comedy. 1738. Farson 22. And to stop quarrels and fights at this comedy from the team, put a cake. 1751. Memorial. cult. 1986 154.… … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language
COMEDY- COMEDY, and, female. 1. A dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot. Musical room 2. trans. Pretense, hypocrisy in any form. actions. Breaking the comedy (colloquial neod.). 3. Same as hilarious (colloquial). | adj. comic, aya, oe (to 1 value) and... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
COMEDY- female a dramatic performance or composition for the theater, where society is presented in a funny, funny way. | * A funny incident or incident. People say: break the comedy, or pitch. make a comedy, do funny things. Comes with us... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
Books
- Comedy of the city of St. Petersburg, Daniil Kharms. “The Comedy of the City of St. Petersburg” is the Daniil Kharms Theater, namely, a collection of the author’s dramatic creations (both poetic and prose), where each text (81 in total) reveals... Buy for 430 rubles
- Comedy. Tragedy, Boris Akunin. "Comedy. Tragedy" is a literary experiment, a turnaround book by Boris Akunin. The book includes two plays: "The Mirror of Saint-Germain" ("Comedy") and "Hamlet. Version" ("Tragedy"),…
In general, drama refers to works that are intended to be staged. They differ from narrative ones in that the presence of the author is practically not felt and they are built on dialogue.
Genres of literature by content
Any is a historically established and developed type. It's called a genre (from the French genre- genus, species). In relation to the different ones, four main ones can be named: lyrical and lyroepic, as well as epic and dramatic.
- The first, as a rule, includes poetic works of the so-called small forms: poems, elegies, sonnets, songs, etc.
- The lyric epic genre includes ballads and poems, i.e. large forms.
- Narrative examples (from the essay to the novel) are examples of epic works.
- The dramatic genre is represented by tragedy, drama and comedy.
Comedy in Russian literature, and not only in Russian literature, was quite actively developed already in the 18th century. True, it was considered of lower origin compared to epic and tragedy.
Comedy as a literary genre
A work of this type is a type of drama where some characters or situations are presented in a funny or grotesque form. As a rule, it exposes something with the help of laughter, humor, and often satire, be it human vices or some unsightly aspects of life.
Comedy in literature is the opposition to tragedy, at the center of which there is certainly an insoluble conflict. And its noble and sublime hero must make a fatal choice, sometimes at the cost of his life. In a comedy, the opposite is true: the character is absurd and funny, and the situations in which he finds himself are also no less absurd. This distinction arose in antiquity.
Later, in the era of classicism, it was preserved. The heroes were portrayed by moral principle kings and burghers. But nevertheless, comedy in literature set itself such a goal - to educate, ridiculing shortcomings. The definition of its main features was given by Aristotle. He proceeded from the fact that people are either bad or good, differ from each other either in vice or virtue, therefore the worst should be portrayed in comedy. And tragedy is designed to show those who are better than those existing in real life.
Types of comedies in literature
Funny dramatic genre, in turn, has several types. Comedy in literature is also vaudeville and farce. And according to the nature of the image, it can also be divided into several types: comedy of situations and comedy of manners.
Vaudeville, being genre variety this dramatic look, is a light stage performance with entertaining intrigue. In him great place dedicated to singing couplets and dancing.
The farce also has a light, playful character. His progress is accompanied by external comic effects, often to please coarse taste.
A sitcom is distinguished by its construction on external comedy, on effects, where the source of laughter is confusing or ambiguous circumstances and situations. Most striking examples Such works are “The Comedy of Errors” by W. Shakespeare and “The Marriage of Figaro” by P. Beaumarchais.
A dramatic work in which the source of humor is funny morals or some exaggerated characters, shortcomings, vices can be classified as a comedy of manners. Classic examples of such a play are “Tartuffe” by J.-B. Moliere, “The Taming of the Shrew” by W. Shakespeare.
Examples of comedy in literature
This genre is inherent in all areas of fine literature, from Antiquity to modernity. Russian comedy has received special development. In literature, these are classic works created by D.I. Fonvizin (“Minor”, “Brigadier”), A.S. Griboedov (“Woe from Wit”), N.V. Gogol (“Players”, “The Inspector General”, “Marriage”). It is worth noting that their plays, regardless of the amount of humor and even dramatic plot, and A.P. Chekhov was called a comedy.
The last century was marked by classic comedy plays created by V.V. Mayakovsky, “The Bedbug” and “Bathhouse”. They can be called examples of social satire.
A very popular comedian in the 1920-1930s was V. Shkvarkin. His plays “The Harmful Element” and “Someone else’s Child” were readily staged in various theaters.
Conclusion
The classification of comedies based on the typology of the plot is also quite widespread. We can say that comedy in literature is a multivariate type of dramaturgy.
So, according to this type, the following plot characters can be distinguished:
- domestic comedy. As an example, Moliere’s “Georges Dandin”, “Marriage” by N.V. Gogol;
- romantic (P. Calderon “In My Own Custody”, A. Arbuzov “Old-Fashioned Comedy”);
- heroic (E. Rostand “Cyrano de Bergerac”, G. Gorin “Til”);
- fairy-tale-symbolic, such as “Twelfth Night” by W. Shakespeare or “The Shadow” by E. Schwartz.
At all times, comedy’s attention has been drawn to everyday life and some of its negative manifestations. Laughter was called upon to fight them, cheerful or merciless depending on the situation.
Comedy is for a long time one of the two main genres of drama - funny and “low”, as opposed to tragedy; subsequently every funny play. Aristophanes is called the father of comedy (about 445 - 385 BC). According to Aristotle, the difference between tragedy and comedy is that “one strives to imitate worse, the other better people than those of today” (Poetics). If the action of the tragedy almost always took place in the distant past and the Greek theater used masks and buskins, literally lifting tragic heroes above ground, then this was not required for comedy. The worst, says Aristotle, she imitates “not in all their meanness: after all, what is funny is<лишь>part of the ugly. In fact, the funny is a certain mistake and ugliness, but painless and harmless... Compose<комедийные>the legends of Epicharmus and Formius became<открытие>came first from Sicily, and among the Athenians the first Crates left the iambic spirit and began to compose legends general meaning"(1449). Those. the first comedians (Cratet - around 450 BC) began to write not in the spirit of accusatory iambics directed against harmful vices and specific individuals, but ridiculed a relatively harmless and widespread “ugliness”. Perhaps Aristotle did not attach importance to comedy of great importance, wrote little about her. According to another version, the part of his “Poetics” dedicated to comedy has been lost. From the 4th century AD a fragment of Aelius Donatus “On Comedy and Tragedy” and his comments on Terence, which influenced literary thought up to the 17th century. The rejection of the ancient heritage led to the disappearance of comedy (as well as tragedy) in the Middle Ages, although in grassroots literature there was a comic genre of drama - farce. Beginning with the late Renaissance, poets restored the lost original meaning of the term. The treatise by F. Robortello (“On Comedy”, 1548) is specially dedicated to comedy. According to Yu.Ts.Scaliger (“Poetics”, 1561), a comedy is “a dramatic work, eventful, with happy ending, written in simple style" The opinion, indirectly going back to the theoretical position of Aristotle, about the absence of “danger” in Latin comedy is disputed - “not only dangers, but also losses in comedy befall pimps, and rivals in love, and slaves, and masters.” The beginning of the comedy is “turbulent and confusing” characters- “people of low origin” (Literary manifestos of Western European classicists). L. Castelvetro, in his interpretation of Aristotle’s “Poetics” (1570), clarified that grief and damage in comedy are not too serious, and joy “arises when a certain person or people close to him are acquitted of accusations of shameful act, or get rid of a shame from which there seemed to be no escape, or gain something dear, a person or thing, that was lost by them, or achieve the fulfillment of love desires.”
Parallel to the theoretical developments of the genre in Italy by the mid-16th century based on traditions folk theater a “comedy of masks” was formed, making extensive use of buffoonery, i.e. techniques of external comedy, which were previously present in ancient mimes, in Aristophanes, in medieval interludes and farces (similar techniques are found in Shakespeare, Moliere, in the 18th century they were in demand in Italian opera buffa, then in French vaudeville; in the 19th century, elements of farce and slapstick are found in N.V. Gogol, in the 20th century - by V.V. Mayakovsky). In Italy in the 16th century there was also a “learned comedy”; Comedy and tragedy come to French literature with the work of the Pleiades. At the end of the Renaissance and in Baroque literature, comedy flourished in England (Shakespeare) and Spain (comedies of “cloak and sword”: F. Lope de Vega Carpio, Tirso de Molina, P. Calderon). In all respects, practice has departed far from ancient and Renaissance theory. Emerging classicism sought to achieve their correspondence. In the early 1570s, J. de La Taille called for “the introduction and assimilation of true tragedies and comedies, which, despite all efforts, have not yet taken root among us” (Literary Manifestos of Western European Classicists). The classic French comedy was created by Moliere, who remained the most popular writer in France in the 20th century. He also introduced the genre high comedy"("Misanthrope", 1666). But Moliere's cheerful comedies did not suit the strict adherents of classicism. N. Boileau ( Poetic art, 1674) advocated simplicity comedic images and consistent imitation of nature. Moliere, in his opinion, went into buffoonery in order to be recognized by the vulgar crowd. The English comedy of the Restoration period (1660-88) with virtuoso brilliance and cynical frankness depicted love affairs as the only meaning and content of life (J. Etheridge. She would if she could, 1668; W. Wycherley. Love in the Wood, 1671; W. .Congreve Paths social life, 1700), which was condemned by Puritan English criticism (J. Collier’s book “A Brief Essay on the Immorality and Impiety of the English Stage,” 1698). In the 18th century, in England, and then in France, Germany and Russia, the tearful comedy appeared, in which lovers of the “depraved” comedy of the restoration found the same pleasure as supporters of moral drama (“Prudent Lovers”).
Russian neophytes who joined the European literary tradition in the 18th century, sometimes had a negative attitude towards French comedy as unoriginal (“list”, not original). V.K. Trediakovsky recognized only Greek comedy as a model and believed that a comedian needs a lot of experience: “To write a comedy, you need almost twice as much art as tragedy.” For classicists, comedy is much lower than epic and tragedy, primarily because it is more difficult to achieve verisimilitude. However, Russian literature of the 18th century achieved perhaps its greatest success in national comedy, although it complied with the external norms of classicism (D.I. Fonvizin).
For romantics, with their penchant for genre ambiguity, comedy is generally alien. S. T. Coleridge, in his article “Classical and Romantic” (1818), proposed “finding a new name for Shakespeare’s plays. This is not a tragedy or a comedy in the ancient sense, or both, but a phenomenon of a different kind, not just something more or less different from them, but different in nature - it is romantic dramas or dramatic novels" (Coleridge S.T. Selected Works). The Romantics, again after D. Diderot, who called for social situations to be shown on stage rather than characters, recognized the decisive role of characters for comedy. In the preface to the drama “Ruy Blas” (1838), V. Hugo argued for an intermediate genre, considering the difference between tragedy and comedy in subject matter obvious: “Drama has... something in common with tragedy due to the depiction of passions in it and with comedy due to the depiction of characters in it... Corneille and Moliere would have existed independently of each other if Shakespeare had not been between them, holding out to Corneille left hand, and to Moliere the right. This is how both opposite electricity of comedy and tragedy converge, and the spark that flares up from this is drama” (Literary Manifestos of Western European Romantics). Earlier, Madame de Staël, also speaking out in favor of a comedy of characters, emphasized that, unlike the author of a tragedy, who shows a person in general, “the writer of a comedy, if he wants to win the approval of the people, must know a certain era, a certain nation, certain morals: the viewer cries over depicting human nature and laughs at the depiction of human habits” (Steel J. de. On literature considered in connection with social institutions).
Despite these recommendations, Western European comedy of the 19th century did not achieve such success as in the 16th-18th centuries, being a frankly conventional genre, one-sided for romanticism and realism. The most outstanding comedies of the 19th century were created in Russia by A.S. Griboedov, Gogol and A.N. Ostrovsky. If traditional tragedy had by that time become dilapidated and faded away, comedy continued to develop. Ostrovsky, who democratized Russian theater and created mostly happy endings to suit the taste of the general public, called comedy all kinds of plays, incl. very dramatic and sensitive: “Talents and Admirers” (1882), “Guilty Without Guilt” (1884), etc. A.P. Chekhov gave the subtitle “comedy” to his “The Seagull” (1896), most likely in order to prevent it perception in an overly sentimental way, and in “The Cherry Orchard” (1904) he tried to compensate with humor for the sadness of saying goodbye to the passing past, in fact creating a tragicomedy. Chekhov's “comedy of moods” constitutes a certain parallel in the West to B. Shaw’s “comedy of ideas”: the abundance of action that distinguished the old comedy has finally ceased to be an obligatory property of the genre.
Soviet literature rejected the best examples of comedy(“Mandate”, 1925, and “The Suicide”, 1928, N.R. Erdman, plays by M.A. Bulgakov), but in the genre of drama the comic has found quite wide application. IN foreign literature comedy has gained a lot genre modifications: social comedies, tragicomedies, tragifarces (in the dramaturgy of the absurd). However, to the fore literary life In the 20th century, comedy doesn't usually come out.
The word comedy comes from Greek komoidia, komos - cheerful procession and oide, which means song.
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If you are already frankly tired of films stuffed with hackneyed, vulgar jokes, then this selection will be like a breath of clean air.
website brings to your attention 12 witty comedies that make the viewer not only laugh, but also think. In addition, they charge you with positivity and help you relax.
Burn After Reading
Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton
A retired CIA agent decided to start writing his memoirs and suddenly - such a failure - he lost a disk with secret data in the gym locker room. There he is found by the short-sighted coach Chad and, together with his friend Linda, begins to blackmail the unfortunate agent. As a result, no one understands what is happening, but each character continues to pursue his line. A comedy film with a completely unpredictable plot and incomparable humor.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Chazz Palminteri
Paul Vitti is an influential mafioso, sort of Godfather, who suddenly began to lose his nerves. All the gangsters under his charge are terrified: how to help the boss? Very opportunely, Ben Sobol, an ordinary psychoanalyst, appears on the stage. Now he must urgently conduct therapy sessions with Paul, who is trying in vain to cope with depression. Overall, dangerous work.
Shaun of the Dead
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran
Everything in Sean's life is going wrong: he is 29 years old and works as a salesman in a store. household appliances, quarrels with his roommates, and his girlfriend leaves him. And then, as luck would have it, a zombie epidemic covers all of London. Sean and his friend Ed go on the warpath to save loved ones and survive themselves. A brilliant British comedy with absurd humor and a touch of tragedy. Also in the picture you can see an interesting metaphor, according to which we are all a little zombie.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen
Harry is an unlucky thief who accidentally presses the alarm button in a toy store. Escaping from the crime scene, he ends up auditioning for a detective film. He is invited to Hollywood. To prepare for the role, Harry goes on a mission with a private investigator, after which he finds himself drawn into the investigation of a real murder. A sparkling crime comedy, during which some incredible nonsense happens, but it’s funny and interesting to watch.
Intolerable Cruelty
Cast: George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Billy Bob Thornton
A charming wedding swindler in the person of Catherine Zeta-Jones is trying to fool another rich man, but through the efforts of a brilliant lawyer, the hero of George Clooney, she ends up screwed. The impoverished young lady hatches an insidious plan for revenge, and the unsuspecting Clooney continues to admire this femme fatale. An ironic film with its own special charm and unique humor.
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Ian McShane, Woody Allen
The deceased British journalist Joe, even after death, cannot forget about his work. While in purgatory, he learns sensational news about a killer from London. But how to tell the world about this? With the help of an American student journalist, Sondra, who came to England, with whom Joe contacts during a performance by a magician. Sondra rushes in pursuit of a sensation. A light, elegant movie that will put you in a good mood.
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis
Cast: Kad Merad, Dani Boon, Anne Marivin, Zoe Felix
Philippe, a postmaster in the south of France, is doing everything he can to get his job transferred to paradise near Marseille. But for a minor violation he is exiled to Berg in Northern France for 2 years. For people from the south, the north is a polar region with creatures that speak an incomprehensible language. However, Philip discovers a wonderful place there, hospitable people and new friends. A charming film with sophisticated and sweet French humor.
Anger Management
Cast: Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, Luis Guzman
The ordinary humble clerk was terribly unlucky. A guy accused of assaulting an airplane flight attendant is sentenced to treatment from a psychiatrist. But it seems that his psychiatrist is a little out of his depth himself. And how can one learn to manage anger in the company of such a crazy mentor? A film that charges you with positivity and makes you happy great game actors.
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh
Miles, a failed writer working school teacher literature, takes its best friend, released by actor Jack, on a tour of California wineries. This journey will open their eyes to many things and perhaps even change their lives. Slow, lively, funny, sometimes sad, sometimes philosophical - a great film to brighten up a cloudy evening.