Comedy: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #341

by Matthew Bevis

To consider comedy in its many incarnations is to raise diverse but related questions: what, for instance, is humour, and how may it be used (or abused)? When do we laugh, and why? What is it that writers and speakers enjoy - and risk - when they tell a joke, indulge in bathos, talk nonsense, or encourage irony?
This Very Short Introduction explores comedy both as a literary genre, and as a range of non-literary phenomena, experiences and events. Matthew Bevis studies the classics of comic drama, prose fiction and poetry, alongside forms of pantomime, comic opera, silent cinema, popular music, Broadway shows, music-hall, stand-up and circus acts, rom-coms, sketch shows, sit-coms, caricatures, and cartoons.
Taking in scenes from Aristophanes to The Office, from the Roman Saturnalia to Groundhog Day, Bevis also considers comic theory from Aristotle to Freud and beyond, tracing how comic achievements have resisted as well as confirmed theory across the ages.
This book takes comedy seriously without taking it solemnly, and offers an engaging study of the comic spirit which lies at the heart of our shared social and cultural life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comedy, Literature, Philosophy, Humor

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2012

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, indeed as it says, a very short introduction. The pressure on the author is enormous, and I think that is one of the reasons why it isn't thoroughly *enjoyable* to read. The reader senses the pressure on the writer to compact things. It also means that ideas are rushing at you furiously and overwhelm the reader (the amount of research that has gone into it is obviously outstanding). This is both a good and a bad thing. I would think for the person who read it to get 'a very short introduction' without having read much comic novels or having had enough experience of 'the comic' (or its sister 'the tragic') the effect would be bewildering. However for any person who has been sufficiently exposed it should make him/her go 'ah hah!' and there is the satisfying moment of clarity. Further reading is also provided. I overall enjoyed it, if only because I labour under the pretension of falling under the second category of reader.

[amy hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

good but dense as hell

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This introductory guide examines comedy in a broad fashion, covering literary, historical, philosophical, and – to a limited degree – its psychological dimensions. The book investigates the shifting meaning of the word “comedy” and the changes in media and mechanisms through which it’s been conveyed. So, if you’re concerned (or hoping) that this book is simply an accounting of comedy as the literary genre counter to tragedy, that’s not the case. It discusses not only literature and drama, but also standup comedy and other devices by which humor is conveyed, and it uses “The Simpsons” as well as “Candide” and “Don Quixote” as examples to get points across.

This VSI guide does have a little bit of overlap with the “Humour: VSI,” but where that book focuses heavily on the theory of what makes something humorous, this book addresses that subject in a much more superficial way. On the other hand, this book spends more time looking at comedy from ancient times onward and how its ways have changed since the age of the classics. This guide also peers more beyond the cognitive and philosophical aspects of humor to how elements such as physicality, persona, and even death play into comedy.

It is a scholarly introduction, so one shouldn’t expect a laugh riot, but it is a more entertaining read than if it only looked at comedy as the literary mode opposed to tragedy. If you wish to develop further insight into the many facets of comedy, it’s worth checking out.

[Stan Bobbitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn just how long comedy has been around. I like to imagine even cavemen possessed a sense of humor. I can see them chuckling over a comrade who tripped over a fallen log or inadvertently stepped in a hole.
This short read doesn't go quite that far back but it does take us from third century Aristophanes to twenty-first century sitcom.
It examines popular music, pantomime, stand-up comedy, and well as a myriad of other forms of comedy including silent cinema, music-hall, and cartoons.
Matthew Bevis takes a serious look at comedy without being glum.

[Monur B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dost Kitap ve Yayınevinin, Kültür Kitaplığı serisinden çıkan ve insana genel önbilgiler sunacağı izlenmi veren bu küçük kitaplar artık tam bir hayal kırıklığı olmaya başladı. Komedya isimli bu kitapta entel laf salatalarından başka bir şey yok ve çeviri de aynı kafada. Bu okumaya verilen zamana yazık.

[Marcos Pensive · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got nothing out of this book, and found all of it uninteresting. The few interesting things it has to say are mired in dry, unclear language and endless references and name-dropping, never slowing down to explain any one idea clearly.

[Poorva Goel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, simple, pleasant read.

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Comedy A Very Short Introduction by Matthew Bevis which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book is part of a series of about 300 books where an expert writes roughly 150 pages about a particular subject as an introduction. This book is about the history of and what makes comedy. The earliest comedies were plays written in ancient Greek that tended to be quite eloquent and wordy. Nowadays our comedies are very different but still difficult to give an exact definition. The best comedies were probably made in films in the later silent era and the early talkies of the 30's and 40's. The film studios enjoyed a monopoly on very creative people in that which later dwindled a little. This book tends to look mostly at films by people like the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton who were all experts at this. It also has links to many of these films on YouTube. There is some plays featured from various periods and a little on what makes them tick as well as some classic more recent films like Groundhog Day where Bill Murray must live the same day over and over again. Of course initially he gets up to things like stealing and having sex with women because there are no consequences but gradually realizes living the same day is meaningless. Another classic film albet from the silent era it looks at is The General starring Buster Keaton where there is a wonderful where he has his heart broken by a girl and is so focused on being upset he fails to notice the ledge of the train he is sat on is travelling. It is often regarded as one of the greatest silent films ever made and the name general refers to the steam train featured in the film. Many people regard Buster Keaton although a little lesser known as Charlie Chaplin as being just as great a comedian and like him he directed and scripted his own films. I did enjoy this book which is like a celebration of what is funny more than anything and is an interesting read.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 1: In the beginning...
Chapter 2: Getting physical
Chapter 3: In and out of character
Chapter 4: Plotting mischief
Chapter 5: Underdogs
Chapter 6: Taking liberties
Chapter 7: Beyond a joke
Chapter 8: Endgames

It's something of a stereotype about works of scholarship that they are never as entertaining or interesting as the thing they attempt to analyse. The author of this book mercifully transcends this, although he is painfully conscious of his own non-funniness. He makes up for this by liberally quoting from good examples of his subject matter. The end result is both pleasing and informative.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was more of a self-indulgent ramble through the author's favourite writers and theorists from Aristophanes to Beckett than a cogent introduction to comedy. You'll get a smattering of the major theories about comedy, but I felt I could only make any sense of it because of having already read some literary theory and psychological perspectives on the topic before.

[Frank Ashe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the VSI series. Bevis gives a comprehensive guide to what makes comedy, the philosophy of comedy, and its practise.