Comedy in Literature and Popular Culture

From Aristophanes to Saturday Night Live
1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-032-76324-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 244 Seiten, Format (B × H): 234 mm x 154 mm, Gewicht: 378 g

Comedy in Literature and Popular Culture: From Aristophanes to Saturday Night Live explores works of comedy from the past 2,500 years.

James V. Morrison discusses works including those of Aristophanes and Plautus, Shakespeare and Moliere, and modern comic writers, performers, and cartoonists, such as Thomas Nast, P. G. Wodehouse, Charlie Chaplin, and Jerry Seinfeld, asking the following questions:

- Is comedy a mirror of our lives? Is it “funny ’cuz it’s true?” Or is it funny because it ignores reality?

- Should we distinguish between the plot of a comic play and the jokes found in it? Are the jokes just there to make us laugh or are the jokes as essential as the plot?

- Do memories of satirical portrayals on the comic stage displace recollections of the historical person?

By juxtaposing works from different cultures and time periods, the book demonstrates a universal recourse to certain familiar techniques, situations, and characters.

This vibrant study offers a compelling analysis of comedy as a mode, form, and genre. It is an engaging read for students and scholars of comparative literature, literary history, media studies, and theater and performance.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Morrison, James V.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio Filmgattungen, Filmgenre
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Sport | Tourismus | Freizeit Humor
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Tanz Andere Darstellende Künste

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter One. The World of Comedy                                                                       

Chapter Two. Comic Heroes in Aristophanes and Heller’s Catch-22                     

Chapter Three. The Extreme Characters of Comedy                                               

Chapter Four. Socrates, Memory, and the Power of Comedy                                  

Chapter Five. Slaves, Masters, and Social Inversion                                                           

Chapter Six. Surrealism, Politeness Theory, and Comic Twins in Plautus and Shakespeare

Chapter Seven. Comedy in Tragedy: King Lear, The Bacchae, and Waiting for Godot

Chapter Eight. Modern Performance of Ancient Comedy: Aristophanes’ Frogs   

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

James V. Morrison is Professor of Classical Studies at Centre College in Kentucky, USA. His previous books examined Homer, Thucydides, and shipwreck narratives. He teaches courses on Greek and Latin languages and literature and Indo-European Linguistics.