Comedy

Comedy is the use of humor in the performing arts. It also means a performance that relies heavily on humor. The term originally comes from theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. The humor, once an incidental device used to entertain, is now an essential aspect of a comedy.

Origins

Comedic Theater

• Greek festivals of Dionysus/Roman Bacchus
• Aristophanes
• Plautus
• Terence
• William Shakespeare
• Moliere
• Oliver Goldsmith

Comedic Theory