Comedy ; Comic Pleasure; Nature of the Comic Pleasure

Essence of Comedy: From Merrymaking to Theatrical Delight

Etymologically, the word "comedy" has intriguing origins. Aristotle, in his work "Poetics," speculated that it could have emerged from "komas," denoting revelry and merrymaking, or from "komae," referring to the hamlets where these plays were staged. In a lighthearted manner, Aristotle suggested that comedians roamed from hamlet to hamlet, their lack of appreciation preventing them from entering the city. Setting aside this playful notion, the Oxford English Dictionary defines comedy as a stage play with a light and amusing character, culminating in a happily resolved plot. Comedy is closely associated with humorous behavior, wordplay, the elicitation of pleasurable feelings, the release of tension, and, of course, laughter. Through comic entertainment, we often encounter the exposure of incongruous, ridiculous, or even grotesque aspects of human nature. It adheres to a familiar structure of theatrical surprises that generates a sense of exhilaration within the audience. Numerous definitions emphasize the sadistic or egoistic elements present in human beings, employing stinging ridicule and exaggeration to criticize or condemn human foibles and faults. Above all, comedies were primarily written to amuse the audience by tapping into these various elements.

Essence of Comic Pleasure: Diverse Elements, Cultural Variances, and Stimulus Theories

Comedy, a realm of boundless delight, bestows upon us a unique and uproarious pleasure, distinguished by its multifaceted nature and cultural intricacies, in stark contrast to its tragic counterpart. The enigmatic question lingers: what are the origins of such mirthful amusement? At the crux of this inquiry lie two prominent 'stimulus' theories, each offering insight into the wellspring of comedy. The first theory, championed by Hobbes, Bergson, Meredith, and others, sheds light on our inherent satisfaction derived from feelings of superiority. It emphasizes our joyous indulgence in witnessing the misfortunes of others, as we gleefully laugh when observing their blunders – missteps that we ourselves could easily have avoided. The vast tapestry of comedic topics encompasses a wide gamut, spanning manners, eating habits, sexual desire, courtship rituals, racial and social disparities, grandiose displays of self-importance, physical inadequacies, deceit, and falsehoods, to name but a few. Join us as we embark on an exploration of the intricate nature of comic pleasure, unearthing its diverse elements and examining how they vary across cultures.

From Hobbes' Perception of Superiority to Jonson's Theory of Humors

Hobbes asserts that the source of laughter lies in the sudden realization of our own superiority, either through comparing ourselves to the weaknesses of others or recognizing our own foibles. However, it is important to note that a sense of superiority alone does not necessarily elicit comedy. For instance, in a race, the defeated runner is not automatically deemed comical. To tackle this quandary, Fielding, in the Preface to Joseph Andrews, proposes that the essence of comic inferiority resides in affectation. Building upon this notion, Ben Jonson presents a practical theory of comedy, rooted in an understanding of human physiology and psychology. According to Jonson, an imbalance of the dominant humor, known as the four humors, leads to an excessive temperament and peculiar behavior, forming the basis for comic characters. This explanation, referred to as the theory of the four humors, is vividly exemplified in Jonson's plays, Every Man in His Humour and Every Man Out of His Humour, through the idiosyncrasies of their characters.

Essence of Comedy Through Crafty Slaves, Foolish Masters, Love-Struck Teenagers, and Mischievous Coincidences

Imaginary world of stereotyped characters, crafty slaves, impossibly foolish masters, love-struck teenagers, greedy pimps, and pure-hearted prostitutes, mistaken identity and coincidence constitute the core of comic laughter. Even in some places boisterous characters, bawdy subplots, and sharp repartee take the upper hand.  Meredith , however, suggests that the comic spirit ,which is dependent on common sense , preys chiefly on folly ,which is the daughter of unreason and sentimentalism.

But this view adumbrated in An Essay on Comedy does not always hold true since there are many comic characters who are not fools Falstaff , although a supremely comic character rivals Iago and Hamlet in sheer intellectual ability , Bergson goes farther when  he declares that Laughter in a social gesture and that difference the object of laughter is its natural environment , Its appeal is to intelligence , pure and simple . He also feels that comedy lies in the insociability on the part of the man of laughs, and a certain automatism in the situation, the situation is mechanical and repetitious rather than living and flexible.

The other stimulus theory is that of contrast developed by Aristotle ,Kant , Schopenhauer  and others. This theory emphasizes  our delight  in many form of incongruity ,any difference between our ideas of thing and the thing themselves ,between what aught to be and what actually is. A comedy full of eccentric types ceases to be a cause of merriment.

Examining Physical Appearance, Language Misuse, and Sudden Situations as Sources of Laughter

Apart from these erudite theories about the nature of comic one may also venture to examine the actual causes on real life situations in the play itself which are the cause of comedy. In the first place, the mere physical appearance of a person may be a source of comedy though this would be the lowest possible kind. In the second the misuse or strange use of language can be the immediate cause for laughter. Mrs .Slip slop in Fielding’s novel and Mrs .Malaprop in The Rivals take great liberties in the English language some Shakespearean characters like Pistol and Dogberry are also famous for their misuse of language. In the third place, sudden situations of life may be genuinely and intrinsically funny. It is thus that our laughter is directed against a hypocrite, a miser, a snob, a bore, a braggart or a parasite .The most notable kind of such comedies of characters are in the comedies of humour that naturally fall under three types: Wildman, Trickster, or Fool. For example in Everyman in His Humour , Mrs Kately are excessively joyous,  Knowell’s  father is excessively moral and Bobadill the soldier is for too cowardly and boasting .  

 Ardhendu De

References

A history of English literature : Buchan, John, 1875-1940 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish00buch

Full text of “A History Of English Literature Vol. 3 Ed.1st.” (n.d.). Full Text of “a History of English Literature Vol. 3 Ed.1st.” https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.100288/2015.100288.A-History-Of-English-Literature-Vol-3--Ed1st_djvu.txt

An outline history of English literature : Hudson, William Henry, 1862-1918 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/outlinehistoryof00hudsuoft

A history of English literature : Compton-Rickett, Arthur, 1869-1937 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish00comprich

A short history of English literature : Saintsbury, George, 1845-1933 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofen00sain

ALBERT. (2000). History of English Literature (Fifth Edition) [English]. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Also Read:

• Essential characteristics of comedy which constitutes the comic spirit

•  Five Major Types of Comedy

• Difference Between Shakespeare’s Romantic Comedy and Comedy of Manner