Index of Materials on Dramatic Comedy

NAVIGATION:

Index of Material for "Dramatic Comedy"

The deal: B for being there, prepared. Two freebies, then -.2. Above: an essay.

Theoretical Articles:
Each student should choose one of the following and report back on Wednesday. The report should last no more than seven minutes. It should begin with a quick summary of major points. It should emphasize one or two ideas which you found persuasive, and which you believe would be useful in a discussion of a dramatic comedy. For example, there is a character called a blocking character . . .

Shakespeare on Comedy, etc.
Prologue to Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour (1598)
Molière's Preface to Tartuffe. -- 1669
"Concerning Humour in Comedy" (1695). This is a letter by William Congreve, author of The Way of the World, to John Dennis, a playwright and critic.
from "On the Essence of Laughter, and, in General, on the Comic in the Plastic Arts" (1855) by Charles Baudelaire.
from "Laughter" [1900], by Henri Bergson
C.L. Barber, "The Saturnalian Pattern in Shakespeare's Comedy," The Sewanee Review, Vol. LIX, No. 4 (Autumn, 1951), pp. 593-611. Reprinted in Robert W. Corrigan, Comedy: Meaning and Form (San Francisco: Chandler, 1965), 363-377.
"The Comic Rhythm" (PDF) from Susanne Langer's Feeling and Form [1953]
"The Meanings of Comedy" (1956) (PDF) by Wylie Sypher, as reprinted in Comedy: Meaning and Form, ed. Robert W. Corrigan, San Francisco (Chandler Publishing, 1965), pp. 18-60.
"Comic Fictional Modes" from Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism (1957) (PDF)
"The Mythos of Spring: Comedy" from Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism (1957) (PDF)
"Toward a Theory of Comedy" (1963) (PDF) by Ruth Nevo.
"Farce" [1964], by Eric Bentley.

For the opening lecture:

Extracts from Johnathan Culler's 1982 book on Deconstruction.
"Kenneth Branagh's 'Much Ado About Nothing' and Romantic Comedy" (PDF) by Celestino Deleyto.
Selection from Freud's Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious. (1916).
Link to "Kill Claudio" scene of Much Ado About Nothing
my article, "'Kill Claudio!': A Laugh Almost Killed by the Critics." published in Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Vol. XI, No. 1 (Fall 1996), pp. 101-110.

The Schedule:

Monday, March 28: Lecture on what to expect in the class.
Wednesday, March 30: Student comments on the theory of comedy.
Monday, April 4: As You Like It appreciation.
Wednesday, April 6: As You Like It analysis.
Monday, April 11: Volpone appreciation.
Wednesday, April 13: Volpone analysis.
Monday, April 18: The Way of the World appreciation.
Wednesday, April 20: The Way of the World analysis.
Monday, April 25: The Rivals appreciation.
Wednesday, April 27: The Rivals analysis.
Monday, May 2: The Importance of Being Earnest appreciation.
Wednesday, May 4: The Importance of Being Earnest analysis.
Monday, May 9: Major Barbara appreciation.
Wednesday, May 11: Major Barbara analysis.
Monday, May 16: The Cherry Orchard appreciation.
Wednesday, May 18: The Cherry Orchard analysis.
Monday, May 23: Loot appreciation.
Wednesday, May 25: Loot analysis.
Monday, May 30: Memorial Day Holiday
Wednesday, June 1: The Homecoming appreciation. Essay Draft Due (via e-mail)
Wednesday, June 8, 2 p.m.: The Homecoming analysis. Revised Essay due.

From the Discussion of Comic Theory in the class of March 30, 2011
my class notes
Ms. Carroll's excellent notes on C.L. Barber

AYLI Laugh Lines (Power Point)

Discussion Questions for April 6

Lydia Languish's Novels.