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clown

Clowns

Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary | 1986 | Copyright

114. Clowns

  1. Bardolph “coney-catching rascal”; follower of Falstaff. [Br. Lit.: Merry Wives of Windsor ]
  2. Bertoldo medieval jester, butt, and buffoon. [Ital. Folklore: Walsh Classical, 54–55]
  3. Dagonet fool at the court of King Arthur, who knighted him. [Br. Lit.: Barnhart, 303]
  4. Feste playful fool. [Br. Lit.: Twelfth Night ]
  5. Geddes jester in the court of Mary Queen of Scots. [Scot. Hist.: Brewer Handbook, 380]
  6. Gobbo, Launcelot a “wit-snapper,” a “merry devil.” [Br. Lit.: Merchant of Venice ]
  7. harlequin comic character in commedia dell’arte; dressed in multicolored tights in a diamond-shaped pattern. [Ital. Drama: NCE, 1194]
  8. Hop-Frog deformed dwarf ; court fool. [Am. Lit.: “Hop-Frog” in Portable Poe, 317–329]
  9. Jocus Cupid’s companion and fool. [Rom. Lit.: Psychomachia ]
  10. Joey after Joseph Grimaldi, famous 19th-century clown. [Am. Hist.: Espy, 45]
  11. Jupe a clown in Sleary’s circus. [Br. Lit.: Hard Times ]
  12. Kelly, Emmett (1897–1979) foremost silent, sad-faced circus clown. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 83]
  13. McDonald, Ronald hamburger chain’s Pied Piper. [Am. Culture: Grinding ]
  14. Merry-Andrew Andrew Borde, Henry VIII’s> physician. [Br. Hist.: Wheeler, 241]
  15. Pagliacci clown Canio stabs his unfaithful wife and her lover. [Ital. Opera: Osborne Opera, 233]
  16. Patch court fool of Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Handbook, 380]
  17. Touchstone a “motley-mined,” “roynish” court jester. [Br. Lit.: As You Like It ]
  18. Yorick jester in the court of Denmark. [Br. Lit.: Hamlet ]

Clumsiness (See AWKWARDNESS, INEPTITUDE.)
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"Clowns." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Clowns." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500123.html

"Clowns." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500123.html

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clown

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

clown a comic character usually distinguished by garish makeup and costume whose antics are both humorously clumsy and acrobatic. The clown employs a broad, physical style of humor that is wordless or not as self-consciously verbal as the traditional fool or jester. Clownish figures appear in the farces and mimes of ancient Greece and Rome as foils to more serious characters. Probably the most famous clown, the arlecchino, or harlequin, grew out of the Italian commedia dell'arte in the late Middle Ages. The acrobatic harlequin wore a mask and carried a slapstick, which he repeatedly employed on other characters. One of these, the bald-headed, white-faced French character, Pierrot, had by the 19th-century developed into the now classic lovesick, melancholic clown. The modern clown's costume developed in Germany and England during the 18th-century with the evolution of such popular characters as Pickelherring, whose costume included oversized shoes, waistcoats, hats, and giant ruffs around his neck. One of the first circus clowns, established by Joseph Grimaldi in the early 1800s, was the "Jocy" character, a comically self-serving clown who alternated between arrogant gloating and cringing cowardice. Hard economic times, as during the Great Depression, made popular the hobo clown, best exemplified by Emmett Kelly. By that time, however, motion pictures, especially the films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton , began to supplant the live clown acts, relegating clowning to a circus sideshow entertainment.

Bibliography: See H. Sobol, Clowns (1982); C. Gaskin, A Day in the Life of a Circus Clown (1987).

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Clown

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | | Copyright

Clown, in Elizabethan days a composite comic character, who might be a simpleton, a knave, or a Court Jester. Shakespeare provides examples of all three with Costard in Love's Labour's Lost, Autolycus in The Winter's Tale, and Touchstone in As You Like It. One of the formative elements of the clown was the Old Vice of the liturgical drama. The best-known players of clowns in Shakespeare's day were Tarleton and Kempe. The modern clown dates from the early 19th century, being a purely English character developed in the harlequinade by Grimaldi, the source of the clown's name of Joey and of his traditional costume. Once seen in theatres and music-halls, clowns are today found mainly in the circus, where their slapstick is elaborated with mime, skilful acrobatics, and juggling. (See also GROCK.)
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Clown." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Clown." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Clown.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Clown." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Clown.html

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clown

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

clown / kloun/ • n. 1. a comic entertainer, esp. one in a circus, wearing a traditional costume and exaggerated makeup. ∎  a comical, silly, playful person: I was always the class clown. ∎  a foolish or incompetent person. 2. archaic an unsophisticated country person; a rustic. • v. [intr.] behave in a comical way; act playfully: Harvey clowned around pretending to be a dog. DERIVATIVES: clown·ish adj. clown·ish·ly adv. clown·ish·ness n.

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clown

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

clown rustic, ill-bred man; fool or buffoon, esp. on the stage. XVI. perh. of LG. orig.; cf. NFris. klönne, klünne clumsy fellow, klünj clod, lump, and the like.
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T. F. HOAD. "clown." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "clown." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-clown.html

T. F. HOAD. "clown." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-clown.html

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clown

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

clown •brown, Browne, clown, crown, down, downtown, drown, frown, gown, low-down, noun, renown, run-down, town, upside-down, uptown •crackdown • clampdown • Ashdown •markdown • letdown • meltdown •breakdown, shakedown, takedown •kick-down • thistledown • sit-down •climbdown • countdown •Southdown •godown, hoedown, showdown, slowdown •put-down • touchdown • tumbledown •comedown •rundown, sundown •shutdown • eiderdown • nightgown •pronoun • Jamestown • Freetown •midtown • Bridgetown • Kingstown •shanty town • Georgetown • Motown •hometown • toytown • Newtown •Charlottetown • Chinatown

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Clowns? Alastair Campbell is far more terrifying.(Features)
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 5/13/2010
Clowns' message is no laughing matter Teens warn children about drugs.(Neighbor)
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 4/4/2000
Clowns demonstrate high level of art
Magazine article from: Ontario Birchbark; 3/1/2004

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