Modern vs. Traditional

Forms Of Comedy

Farce:a comic dramatic work using horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations. A form of farce is slapstick. Slapstick is a form of physical humor that involves clumsy movements, falling, and hitting
Burlesque
Satire
Domestic Comedy
Comedy of Manners
Comedy of Ideas

Tragedy is a serious drama involving important personages caught in calamitous circumstances. As a result, the audience experiences distress and anxiety for the characters who are suffering, and they applaud the courage they used to overcome the situations. Tragedy is broken up into two distinct forms: traditional and modern.

Traditional tragedy originated in the 5th century B.C.E. in ancient Greece and was prevalent in some European Nations during the Renaissance. Written in verse, or poetry, this form has a hero, or heroine who is an “extraordinary character.” An extraordinary character is defined as a king, queen, general, or a person of nobility, so in essence an individual of a higher social stature. The hero or heroine often serves as representations of culture or society. Traditional tragedy the characters often get trapped in a series of tragic, and unexpected circumstance. This often leaves the character helpless until they find their “honorable avenue of escape.” After finding the avenue of escape, the characters often undergo an acceptance stage, where they take full recognition for their actions and accept their fate for what it is. Accepting their fate is shows the hero or heroine’s willingness to suffer and often helps them identify the fault that led to the sudden turn of events. Traditional tragedy often teaches moral and house an abundance of meaning. Examples of traditional tragedy: Hamlet by Shakespeare, Antigone by Sophocles, and A Doll House by Henrik Isben. Modern Tragedy originated in the late 19th century. This form of tragedy is the complete opposite of traditional theatre. The main characters in a modern tragedy are not part of nobility or the elite group of high class citizens. The are just your average everyday people. and can relate to the "Modern age." The language that is used in modern tragedies, is prose , and focuses heavily on non-verbal expressions. The nonverbal expression include many elements such as light, sound, and gestures to help communicate a meaning. "Subtext" as noted by Stanislavsky helps portray a story through text without having it explicitly noted in the text. Examples of modern tragedies in todays society is A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.