Comedy Through the Ages
The word"comedy"first appeared in Ancient Greece.It referred to stage plays with happy endings that made people laugh.In Shakespeare's time,comedy had amusing themes such as mistaken identity and romance-with a happy ending,of course.Some of Shakespeare's most famous comedies include Measure for Measure,The Merchant of Venice and All's Well That Ends Well-plays that modern audiences may find rather serious.In 19th century Victorian England,comedy acts with clowns were popular.
Modern comedy is considered to be any type of work that is intended to make us laugh. It has found its way from the stage into our homes through radio,television and more recently,the Internet.
Of course,what is considered funny in one culture-and even in one period of history - may not be considered funny in another.The Ancient Romans didn't think it was funny to laugh at oneself,while 16th-century Italians loved a good practical joke,even if they were the victim of it.Similarly,while in some cultures it is okay to make jokes about family members and death,in others this is considered very rude.A person's sense of humour is very much related to the social context in which they live.
Whatever our sense of humour,comedy has the ability to connect us and change the way we look at the world.Aristotle said that comedy was a good thing for society because it led to feelings of happiness.The popularity of different forms of modern comedy,such as cross-talk,stand-up,sitcom and comedy film,shows that people today love to laugh as much as the Ancient Greeks did!
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