Aristophanes: The Tragic Development Of Comedy
The comedic development:
When one thinks comedy, the first impression that comes to mind may be a bundle of gags and pranks, or clever wording and bizarre situations that bring joy and laughter to its audience, or its victims (mostly). Deriving from Ancient Greece, comedy was first recognised as a genre when many playwrights started to satire political situations, which not only attracted masses of people but also influenced their views on political figures. As time passed on, so did comedy pass on from one generation to another, developing and ultimately becoming a form of art in and of itself. Soon comedians would take to the stage as professionals in comedy. Then came the development of the camera, which set up a whole new stage for modern …show more content…
Before the playwright Aristophanes arrived, Greek plays involving comedy had a terrible tendency to include a lot of obscene actions (Nick Hern Books, 1996). This wasn't as badly frowned upon by the ancient society as in today's standard, thus allowing many Greeks to overlook the bad for the good: the fun. While obscene, they were still quite humorous and had a positive effect on the viewers. Many playwrights thereafter would base their work on these plays, Aristophanes being one of the most famous, having scripted 40 plays (Nick Hern Books, 1996). But it wasn't Aristophanes that had changed comedy, he merely instigated the idea of change, and a well known philosopher developed that …show more content…
Analysing comedy even further, he deemed that comedy was divided into three primary sub genres: farces, satires and romantic comedies.
Plato had contradictory beliefs, teaching that comedy involves losing one's rational control and learning capabilities and as such had motivated the populace not to give in to the violent reaction their bodies produce (also known as laughter) and that comedy should be avoided (Comford, 1934).
While Plato may have had his reasons to avoid comedy (much like my mathematics teachers – which provokes an eerily similar impression) the masses had no trouble disregarding his mundane teachings for the comedic arts.
Comedy endured through the ages, stemming from the Ancient Greeks to the Sanskrit dramas, but it wasn't until comedy found its way into Elizabethan England, where the term comedy had an entirely different meaning in the Shakespearean theatres.
Modernising
When one thinks comedy, the first impression that comes to mind may be a bundle of gags and pranks, or clever wording and bizarre situations that bring joy and laughter to its audience, or its victims (mostly). Deriving from Ancient Greece, comedy was first recognised as a genre when many playwrights started to satire political situations, which not only attracted masses of people but also influenced their views on political figures. As time passed on, so did comedy pass on from one generation to another, developing and ultimately becoming a form of art in and of itself. Soon comedians would take to the stage as professionals in comedy. Then came the development of the camera, which set up a whole new stage for modern …show more content…
Before the playwright Aristophanes arrived, Greek plays involving comedy had a terrible tendency to include a lot of obscene actions (Nick Hern Books, 1996). This wasn't as badly frowned upon by the ancient society as in today's standard, thus allowing many Greeks to overlook the bad for the good: the fun. While obscene, they were still quite humorous and had a positive effect on the viewers. Many playwrights thereafter would base their work on these plays, Aristophanes being one of the most famous, having scripted 40 plays (Nick Hern Books, 1996). But it wasn't Aristophanes that had changed comedy, he merely instigated the idea of change, and a well known philosopher developed that …show more content…
Analysing comedy even further, he deemed that comedy was divided into three primary sub genres: farces, satires and romantic comedies.
Plato had contradictory beliefs, teaching that comedy involves losing one's rational control and learning capabilities and as such had motivated the populace not to give in to the violent reaction their bodies produce (also known as laughter) and that comedy should be avoided (Comford, 1934).
While Plato may have had his reasons to avoid comedy (much like my mathematics teachers – which provokes an eerily similar impression) the masses had no trouble disregarding his mundane teachings for the comedic arts.
Comedy endured through the ages, stemming from the Ancient Greeks to the Sanskrit dramas, but it wasn't until comedy found its way into Elizabethan England, where the term comedy had an entirely different meaning in the Shakespearean theatres.
Modernising