(E) THE COMEDY . TYPES OF COMEDY ~ Literary Hunt

(E) The Comedy

M.H. Abrams defines a comedy, "A comedy is a work in which the materials are selected and managed primarily in order to interact and amuse us; the characters and their discomfitures engage our delighted attention rather than our profound concern. We feel confident that no great disaster will occur, and usually, the action turns out happily for the chief characters." Thus it is a drama characterized by romantic love, humour, satire, pleasantry and cross love leading to a happy denouement. The fortune may play a cruel role in comedy temporarily. However, everything is set right in the end.

• Types of Comedy

Comedy may also be either classical or romantic like a tragedy. The comedies which observe the classical rules are called classical comedies while the comedies which ignore the classical rules are called romantic. Comedies are further divisible into several kinds. Some important kinds are as follows :

(i) Romantic Comedy: It is basically a love comedy that always ends in the happy marriage of true lovers. Many problems and obstacles may come in the way of true love, but these are finally removed towards the end of the play. The lovers often take resort to some beautiful resort of Nature, as the Forest of Arden in As You Like It, or the fairy-haunted wood in A Midsummer night's dream. The problems and injustices of the ordinary world are magically resolved enemies reconciled, and true lovers united. Some Romantic Comedies.are also therein which the central theme is not loved, but humour, light satire and fun of contemporary life under the cover of the love theme.

SOME IMPORTANT ROMANTIC COMEDY

Sn. No	Dramatist	Title of Romantic Comedy
1	Shakespeare	Measure for Measure; Two Gentlemen of Verona; The Comedy of Errors; The Taming of the Shrew; Love's Labour Lost; A Midsummer Night's Dream; All's Well that Ends Well; As You Loke It; The Merchant of Venice; Twelfth Night; The Tempest; Pericles
2	John Lyly	Eupheus; The Anatomy of Wit
3	Thomas Lodge	Rosalynde
4	Robert Greene	Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay Orlando Furioso
5	George Peele	The Wisdom of Dr Doddypoll Willy Beautiful

(ii) The Comedy of Humour: Principally it was adopted and practised by Ben Jonson. In this comedy, humour is used in the classical sense having four primary fluids-blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy. The mixture of these fluids determines the physical state or character of 'a person. The excess of anyone fluid (humour) may make him 'sanguine' (cheerful), phlegmatic (calm), choleric (ill-tempered) or melancholic (sad). All the characters in the play have one or the other humour. Therefore, each major character becomes eccentric or an object of ridicule in one way or the other. This gives the playwright a clue to satirize men and manners of his day.

SOME IMPORTANT COMEDIES OF HUMOUR

Sn.no	Dramatist	Title
1	Ben Jonson	Every Man in his Humour; Every Man Out of His Humour; The Fountain of Self-love; The Poetaster or His Arraignment; The Mosque of Beauty; Alchemist; Volpone on the Fox; Bartholomew; The Silent Women; Sejanus His Fall; The Devil Is An Ass
2	George Chapman	Eastward Ho; Humorous Day's Mirth
3	John Day	Humour Out of Breath
4	John Marston	Malcontent
5	Anonymous	Every Woman in Her Humour

(iii) The Comedy of Manners and Sentimental Comedy: We know that the theatres in England were closed down during the Common-wealth in 1642. All dramatic activities had almost come down to a standstill during this Puritannic Age. In 1660, on the Restoration of King Charles II, the Theatres were reopened. Charles II brought with him low morals and high fashions of the French Court and social life. The low moral values and highly artificial and foppish social customs and manners had their impact on the Restoration drama and dramatists. The comedies which exhibited these social manners came to be known as The Comedy of Manners or the Restoration Comedy.

The Comedy of Manners deals with the

relations and intrigues of gentlemen and ladies living in high society. It relies on comic effect on the.wit of the dialogues, repartees and witty.conversation. It also has a ridiculous violation of social conventions by stupid characters, jealous husbands,.intriguing wives and foppish dandies. These comedies characterize in situations arising out of infidelity in love and marriage.

SOME IMPORTANT COMEDIES OF MANNERS

Sn.no	Dramatist	Comedy of Manners
1	John Dryden	All For Love; The Rival Ladies; Love Triumphant
2	George Farquhar	The Beaux Stratagem; The Recruiting Officer
3	William Wycherley	Love in Wood; The Country; The Gentleman; Dancing Master
4	John Vanbrugh	The Helper; The Confederacy; The Provoked Wife
5	William Congreve	The Way of the World; The Old Bachelor; Love for Love; The Double Dealer
6	Thomas Otway	Orphan; Don Carlos; Alcibiades
7	John Etherege	The Comical Revenge; She Would If She Could; The Man of Mode
8	Nathaniel Lee	Nero; The Rival Queens; Sophonisba

SENTIMENTAL COMEDIES

Sn.no	Dramatist	Sentimental Comedies
1	Richard Sheridan	The Rivals; The School For Scandal
2	Oliver Goldsmith	The Good Natured Man; She Stoops to Conquer
3	Richard Steele	The Funeral; The Lying; The Tender; The Conscious Lovers

(E) THE COMEDY . TYPES OF COMEDY

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