Clowns: A Panoramic History of Fools and Jesters, Medieval Mimes, Jongleurs and Minstrels, Pueblo Indian Delight Makers and Cheyenne Contraries, Harlequins and Pierrots, Theatrical Buffoons, etc.

by John H. Towsen

A pictorial and textual account of the evolution of clowning shows that clowns, usually identified with the circus, have played important roles in other forms of entertainment such as theatre, folk dances, and rituals and rodeos

Genres: History, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1976

Reviews

[Ciaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisitely detailed book about the history and evolution of clowns as we know them. I learned far more about the harlequinade, commedia d'ell arte, and the many many types of clowns than I had expected. I also learned a little bit about myself in the process. Clowns are wonderful souls. Tragically maligned, but they serve an important role.

[Stephen Hegedus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clowns was an awesome read. A sense of humanity is ever-present in the tradition of clowning: people have always found the same things entertaining. People have always sought out performances that burlesque their rituals, or that impress them with seemingly-impossible feats of acrobatics. It was delightfully surprising to learn of how much of modern comedy was directly taken from clowning. In the commedia dell'arte, the clowning tradition of the Italian renaissance, stock characters with familiar names as Harlequin, Pierrot & Scaramouch are put into absurd scenarios in short-form sketches, reminiscent of today's sitcoms like Seinfeld, or Spongebob. One interesting comparison between this tradition and today's sitcoms is in a popular sketch called "The Tooth-Puller", where Harlequin, playing the role of a dentist, subjects the other characters to outrageous, expensive dental procedures for his own gain. This is literally (S8E19) a Seinfeld episode! These sketches would frequently end in what were known as Harlequinades, slapstick chase scenes, full of pranks and acrobatics, reminiscent of the build-up and absurd chases in Scooby-Doo.

In a way, Clowns left me feeling sad. Historical clowns were spiritually rich, intelligent performers, who were well-versed in poetry, in physicality, in the ability to read a room and the individuals in it. They were quintessentially human. Though I recognize the absurdity in saying so, I really believe that there's a sincerity demanded by the role of Clown... a curiosity for life, or a joie de vivre, that drives them to dissect the world around them in the pursuit of comedy. I don't see that kind of sincerity in the world around me. Optimization of today's micromedia for mass consumption is not only eroding the basics of human storytelling, such as narrative structure, by replacement with instant-gratification content designed to maximally engaging, but it is actively averse to the humanity found in the tradition of clowning. There is no improvisation, or wisdom, or endearing imprecision in a Mr. Beast video, nor in an ad contrasting the electrolyte content of a Lunchly™ to comparable brands. It feels as if the world is headed towards the complete victory of this boundlessly-accessible, anodyne form of media. Though, I made my Discord profile picture a photo of Otto Griebling looking distressed... so who's to say?