Comedy, in its modern sense, differs from tragedy in having a happy ending, and from farce in containing some subtlety and character-drawing. The word, meaning ‘revel-song’ from the Greek
comos and
ode, was applied to the satiric plays of
Aristophanes and also to the
fabulae of
Terence and
Plautus. By medieval times it merely indicated any tale with a happy ending, particularly one written in a colloquial style and dealing with the love affairs of lesser folk. The Renaissance brought the term back to the theatre, but without its former satiric connotation. Comedy by its very nature resists translation, for it depends far more than tragedy on local and topical interest; innumerable comedies, successful in their own day, have soon been forgotten.
The Comedy of Humours, as practised by
Jonson and
Fletcher, was influenced by classical models. The Comedy of Intrigue, subordinating character to plot, originated in Spain and was practised in England by Mrs Aphra
Behn. With it may be classed Romantic Comedy, which also came from Spain and reached its highest point in France during the Romantic Revival led by Victor
Hugo and the elder
Dumas. It is marked by exaggeration and violence and by an overpowering use of local colour, costume, and scenery. The Comedy of Manners originated in France with
Molière's Les Précieuses ridicules (1658), and Molière himself said that ‘the correction of social absurdities must at all times be the matter of true comedy’. Pushing it to its logical extreme, he produced the Comedy of Morals—the correction of abuse by the lash of ridicule—of which the greatest exemplar is
Tartuffe.
In England, the Comedy of Manners is represented by the plays of
Congreve,
Farquhar,
Vanbrugh, and
Wycherley, later classed as Old Comedy but now generally known as
Restoration Comedy. The Comedy of Manners revived under Sheridan with much with and less indelicacy, but even Sheridan tended to be influenced by the prevalence of Sentimental Comedy, a type of pathetic play best represented by the work of
Steele, which reflected the sensibility of the rising 18th-century middle class. In France this led to the
comédie larmoyante which, after blurring the distinction between tragedy and comedy and ousting them from the stage, was in its turn eclipsed by the
drame bourgeois.
In the English-speaking theatre comedy during the 19th century was virtually replaced by
farce; modern playwrights such as Alan
Ayckbourn, Michael
Frayn, Neil
Simon, and Tom
Stoppard use verbal wit and robust humour to examine basically serious contemporary topics. The lack of true comedy is supplied by frequent revivals of plays by
Wilde and
Coward (perhaps the last writers of English comedy) and Restoration comedies.
The playing of comedy makes heavy demands on the actor, who must be able to suggest elegance, leisure, and a nimble wit. Its broader forms may demand great mobility of countenance and a command of dialect. All comedy acting needs an impeccable sense of timing. In the 19th century comedy was regarded as a specialized art and comedian and tragedian rarely trespassed on each other's territory; but the ability to succeed in both fields is now highly regarded.
For Greek comedy see
OLD,
MIDDLE, and
NEW comedy.