199- ] English Literature

199- ] English Literature

 Poetry

Poetry in a sense settled down from the upheavals of the romantic era and much of the work of the time is seen as a bridge between this earlier era and the modernist poetry of the next century. Alfred Lord Tennyson held the poet laureateship for over 40 years and his verse became rather stale by the end but his early work is rightly praised. Some of the poetry highly regarded at the time such as Invictus and If—  are now seen as jingoistic and bombastic but Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade was a fierce criticism of a famous military blunder; a pillar of the establishment not failing to attack the establishment.

It seems wrong to classify Oscar Wilde as a Victorian writer as his plays and poems seem to belong to the later age of Edwardian literature, but as he died in 1900, he was most definitely Victorian. His plays stand apart from the many now forgotten plays of Victorian times and have a much closer relationship to those of George Bernard Shaw's, many of whose most important works were written in the twentieth century.

The husband and wife poetry team of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning conducted their love affair through verse and produced many tender and passionate poems. Both Matthew Arnold and Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote poems which sit somewhere in between the exultation of nature of the romantic Poetry and the Georgian Poetry of the early twentieth century. Arnold's works harks forward to some of the themes of these later poets while Hopkins drew for inspiration on verse forms from Old English poetry such as Beowulf.

The reclaiming of the past was a major part of Victorian literature with an interest in both classical literature but also the medieval literature of England. The Victorians loved the heroic, chivalrous stories of knights of old and they hoped to regain some of that noble, courtly behavior and impress it upon the people both at home and in the wider empire. The best example of this is Alfred Tennyson's Idylls of the King which blended the stories of King Arthur, particularly those by Thomas Malory, with contemporary concerns and ideas. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood also drew on myth and folklore for their art with Dante Gabriel Rossetti contemperaneously regarded as the chief poet amongst them, although his sister Christina is now held by scholars to be a stronger poet.

Victorian Poetry:

It produced three great poets- Tennyson, Browning and Arnold. Tennyson is the most representative poet of the age. He represents Victorian conflict and compromise.He is a great lyric poet. His lyricism is deep rooted and dominates all of his poems. It makes his poetry sweet and smooth. His lyric can be divided into many parts like personal, dramatic, patriotic and musical lyrics or songs. Among Tennyson’s personal lyric “ In Memorium” is very important. It is a collection of lyrics composed on the death of his bosom friend Arthur Hallam. Tennyson’s dramatic lyrics are in the form of dramatic monologues. Tennyson is admired as a pictorial artist. His description of the nature is highly sensuous. Robert Browning is known for his dramatic monologues and philosophy of hope. Browning is the greatest writer of dramatic monologues. All of his monologues deal with different aspects of love. Mathew Arnold is regarded as the greatest elegiac poet of Victorian age. He contributes a number of elegies but the following five are of great merit:

(i) Thyrsis

(ii) Rugby Chapel

(iii)The Scholar Gipsy

(iv)A Southern Night

(v) West Minister Abbey

Robert Browning (1812–1889) and Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892) were notable poets in Victorian England. Thomas Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life, but did not publish a collection until 1898 . The poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889) was published posthumously in 1918. Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) is also considered an important literary figure of the period, especially his poems and critical writings. Early poetry of W. B. Yeats was also published in Victoria's reign. It was not until the last decades of the 19th century that any significant theatrical works were produced, beginning with Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas of the 1870s, George Bernard Shaw's (1856–1950) plays of the 1890s, and Oscar Wilde's (1854–1900) The Importance of Being Earnest.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning became acquainted first by reading each other's poetry and both produced poems inspired by their relationship. Both Matthew Arnold and Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote poems that sit somewhere in between the exultation of nature of the romantic Poetry and the Georgian Poetry of the early 20th century. However, Hopkins's poetry was not published until 1918. Arnold's works anticipate some of the themes of these later poets, while Hopkins drew inspiration from verse forms of Old English poetry such as Beowulf.

The reclaiming of the past was a major part of Victorian literature with an interest in both classical literature and also medieval literature of England. This movement can be traced back to Letitia Elizabeth Landon, especially her poetry collections, such as  The Troubadour , and  The Golden Violet with its Tales of Romance and Chivalry. The Victorians loved the heroic, chivalrous stories of knights of old and they hoped to regain some of that noble, courtly behavior and impress it upon the people both at home and in the wider empire. The best example of this is Alfred Tennyson's Idylls of the King, which blended the stories of King Arthur, particularly those by Thomas Malory, with contemporary concerns and ideas. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood also drew on myth and folklore for their art, with Dante Gabriel Rossetti contemporaneously regarded as the chief poet amongst them, although his sister Christina is now held by scholars to be a stronger poet.

Pre-Raphaelite poetry Or Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood: The Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood is also known as the Ore-Raphaelites. It was a group of English painters, poets and critics, founded in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who reacted against the artificiality of the art of the period. They wanted to return to the purity and simplicity of the Italian art of the 13th and 14th century (before Raphael). There were seven members in this “brotherhood”. The PreRaphaelite defined themselves as a reform-movement. They were influenced by the ideas of the art critic John Ruskin, who considered art as a way to react to the ugliness of modern, urban life. The main characteristics were: fidelity to nature, sensuality, use of non-industrial materials, re-evaluation of medieval religion and legends. The main representatives were:

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones . William Morris created the Arts and Crafts Movement, which designed and manufactured a great variety of objects for interiors (stained glass, wallpapers, tapestries, rugs etc…). They used handicraft and simple decoration in reaction to industrial machinery. The Pre-Raphaelite movement

influenced the Aesthetic Movement. It originated in France, following the ideas of The Ophelia Gautier; it was a reaction against the materialism and the strict moral code of the bourgeoisie. Aesthetes were not interested in political and social matters but isolated themselves in a world of beauty and art. Their motto was “art for art’s sake”, which means that art doesn’t have any moral aim but it’s an end in itself. The followers of Aesthetics led

an unconventional life, full of sensations and excess (they wanted to be different from the working masses and they also rejected the Victorian moral values). The main representative in Britain was Oscar Wilde.

Naughty Nineties: The last decade of the nineteenth century is characterized by “naughtiness”. “Victorianism” is a complex collection of several values, and the revolt of the nineties against Victorianism is also quite complex. This revolt has three points. First, it repeats the old revolutionary formula of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, in a new setting. Secondly, it worships power than beauty. And thirdly, it challenges the older values of art and

life. In the literature of the nineties two distinct tendencies are exposed: the pessimistic tendency and Continental tendency. In the poetry of the nineties, we consider Robert Bridges and Hardy as representatives poets. The most prominent novelist of the period is Thomas Hardy. The last years of 19th century witnessed a dramatic revival. The most vigorous drama of the age was concerned with social and domestic problems and was considerably influenced

by Ibsen. Oscar Wilde’s plays have the tone of social criticism. Shaw is doubtlessly , the greatest of all the dramatists of this period.

Victorian Compromise in Tennyson

Victorian compromise is a combination of the positive and negative aspects of the contemporary issues of Victorian era. The Victorian era is well-known for its enrichment of knowledge in science, expansion of empire and growth of economy, conflict between the science and religion, conflict between aristocracy and democracy etc. All Victorian writers, in some way or other, give expression to this conflicts and consequents. Some of the Victorians clung to the old faith and condemned the ‘new-fangled opinions’, others went over to the side of science, and still some others tried to draw some sort of compromise between the two conflicting forces. Tennyson can be classed with the third group, the one which stood for what is often called “The Victorian Compromise”. The problems of the day are wonderfully depicted in the writing of the poets of this era. Poets like Arnold of nineteenth century started to hold a very pessimistic view about the Victorian crisis; he seems to express only a negative attitude toward his contemporary age. But we see a quite dissimilar attitude in Alfred Lord Tennyson. Unlike Arnold, he expressed a

compromising attitude to his age and its intricate problems. We find in his Ulysses, The Lotos Eaters, The Charge of the Light Brigade, holds such a sort

of view which is supposed to find a middle ground. He is neither too melancholic like Arnold nor too optimistic like Robert Browning. He tries to portray in his poems a real and clear picture of the problems of contemporary age in an implicit way. In fact the poem , “The Charge of the Light Brigade” which is based upon the Crimean war describes the marvelous courage of the British soldiers and pays homage to them. In his political opinions Tennyson shared the views of an average Victorian who believed in the golden mean, a compromise between democracy and aristocracy. He believed in slow progress and shunned revolution.In the field of sex, The Victorians permitted indulgence in sex but restricted its sphere to happy married life. Tennyson reflects this spirit of the age in his love poems by pointing out that true love can be found only in married life. In Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot” we are

introduced to ‘two young lovers’ walking together in the moonlight, but we are at once reassured by the statement that these two lovers were ‘lately wed’

In the Victorian age, there was a huge conflict occurred especially because of Darwin’s theory between science and religion. Darwin suggested that humans are actually originated from the apes. This struck the Orthodox, and moved the faith of people in religion what was contemporarily coming forward by the writings of then thinker. But Tennyson himself was too greatly affected by the development of science to remain an orthodox Christian yet still was not so much affected as to turn an unqualified agnostic. Because of the quality to look for a middle ground, Tennyson is considered as a compromising craftsman who does neither yield to the crisis of his age nor possess a carefree attitude towards the problems, rather keeps compromising and finding a solution.

  

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24- ] American Division Literature .

Some Literary Terms .

Characterization .

Characterization is character development in a story . It can be accomplished through many different methods or techniques . Disclosure of character through stereotyping , exposition , the character’s actions , words and thoughts , the words of others and the use of setting . In exposition the author tells the reader about the character or exposes the character . This may include descriptions of the person’s background , motivating forces , personality traits , relationships and physical characteristics .

Kinds of Characters .

1-] Flat Character:  It is only described without the kind of details you would need to see him or her as an individual .The character does not develop.

The roles are often played by “extras” , although sometimes named stars . They assume these roles as “ cameo” spots . An example is “ servants” ,  “ apprentices” etc.

2-] Round Character :  In extreme contrast to the flat character , the round character is three-dimensional , complex and extremely lifelike . Unlike the flat character , the round character is complex and changes or grows in the course of the story . Generally , the main characters are round . Naturally, shades of “ flatness” or “ roundness” abound along the continuum between these two extremes with the plot and the intent of the writer largely dictating the degree to which a character is developed .

3-] Stock Character:  A conventional stereotype character . The stock character is expected to appear in certain literary forms , such as the “ villain” in the melodrama and “ the prince charming” in fairy tales . A stock character is one that is frequently used in literary traditions , but who does not necessarily represent a particular class or group .

4-] Type Character : A type character embodies or exhibits the characteristics of a particular class or group of people . A type character may be very individualized and unpredictable in personality and action and still be representative of the class or group to which he or she belongs . Television situation comedies , as well as more serious shows abound with type characters . “ Dr. Quinn” in “ Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman” is a type who represents the professional women who were forerunners of the 20^th century women’s movements .

5-] Stereotype Character :  Unlike the type character , the stereotype is predictable one who is repeated without variation and who is “ tall , dark and handsome” . The stock character is a stereotype that arises from certain literary conventions , but stereotype may also be the product of political and social trends and national moves , as well . Look for a moment nation’s perception of a “ hero” . A hero is traditionally portrayed as someone who is honorable and brave . Writers of certain literary forms have for many years characterized high-ranking military and political leaders [ princes , kings , knights , generals , soldiers and presidents ] as men of honor and respect , willing to sacrifice self for country . They became heroes who were given stereotypical characteristics : tall , handsome , brave , strong and brilliant military strategists and ingenious survivalists whether in jungles or deserts . Even those who were not-so-handsome or not-so-tall would still under fire exhibit the stereotypical characteristics of a hero . Such stereotypes depend upon a perception of military and political leaders as true heroes worthy of the honor and respect they receive .

The Four Humors .

A well-balanced person has all four humors in balance . The concept of humors is based on early theories of physiology . There are [ according to old theories of cosmology ] four elements in the universe . The humors need to be in balance because if any one humor predominates , it can lead to sickness and disease and can affect personality . The following summarizes these theories .

Element	Characteristics	Humor	Personality
earth	cold , dry	black / bile	melancholic  depressed , gloomy, gluttonous , sentimental
air	hot , moist	blood	sanguine cheerful , hopeful , amorous
fire	hot , dry	yellow bile	choleric angry , vengeful , impatient ,
water	cold , moist	phlegm	phlegmatic stoic , apathetic , impassive , dull , cowardly
A person was said to be of a sanguine personality , for example if that humor was predominant .

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23 - ] American Division Literature .

Mark Twain

Some Literary Terms .

1-] The Setting :

It refers in a literary selection to :

A-] Geographical location :  This includes area or region , the general locale , descriptions of architecture , flora and fauna , floor plans , furniture arrangements , weather conditions and so forth .

B-] Time: This may refer to a  historical period , time of day , season of the year , projection into the future , period of life or even a nonexistent time [ used extensively in the science fiction genre ] .

C-] Socioeconomic conditions : These are revealed generally in those of the characters [ their occupations , family lives , life styles and social interactions ] and the surrounding society .

2-] Mood : It can refer to an emotional state , especially as projected by the characters in the work :[ Eric is in a happy / a foul mood ] . Moods can change within the work . For example  , the tone of Swift is satiric , whose mood was angry and indignant  when he put pen to paper .

3-] Atmosphere : The setting , the tone of the author and speaker and / or the characters and the feelings of the author blend together to give the work its atmosphere – that prevailing and pervasive ambience that gives the reader the basis for expectation . Atmosphere is often described using such terms as “ mysterious ,” “ gloomy,” “ horrifying ,” “intellectual” and other expressions .

4-] Style : It is defined as the way in which the writer uses literary elements to express his / her attitude . Traditionally , literary scholars labeled style in terms at levels : High or grand style .

                            Middle or mean style .

                            Low or base [ plain ] style .

5- Character .

  How do you define character traits ?

 A person’s temperament , disposition and distinctive personal and social traits can be viewed as a function of his or her : 1-] attitudes . 2-] emotional states . 3-] response mechanisms  and 4-] intrinsic values .

All these elements combine to make an individual’s personality . Within each of these areas is a continuum of traits that range [ based on cultural and family traditions as well as on personal perceptions ] between two extremes .

1-] Attitudes : A character’s attitudes in terms of character are his or her mental positions or feelings with regard to self , other people , objects or a subject .

2-] Emotions :  The emotions of a character are his or her intense feeling . These emotions of a character may include states of excitements , states of emotional attachment or dissociation states of stability or instability , states of emotional insulation , states of emotionalism and degrees of emotional appeal .

 Here are some clues to a character’s emotional state :

1-] Reference to degrees of stimulation and exhilaration might reflect his or her state of excitement .

2-] Reference to a character’s [ negative or positive ] transference of feelings , identification with others , introjection or projection might reflect his or her state of attachment ; and references to schizophrenia , multiple personalities , split personalities , double or dual personalities , disorganization , disconnection and personality disintegration might relate to the character’s state of dissociation .

3-] References to his or her feelings of inferiority , inadequacy , moral deficiency  , emotional immaturity , lability , or pathological mendacity might reflect the character’s lack of stability – a state of instability.

4-] References to signs of escapism [ flight and withdrawal  , isolation , defense mechanism , fantasy [ dreamlike thinking ] , sublimation , rationalization and negativism might reflect a character’s state of emotional insulation .

5-] References to anxiety , hysteria , melancholia , depression , preoccupation , apathy , lethargy , stupor , euphoria ,indifference , detachment or elation might reflect his or her state of emotionalism .

6-] References to the character’s nature in terms of his or her demonstrativeness , sensationalism or sense of  the dramatic melodrama ] might influence the perception for the reader [ or self-perception ] of that character’s degree of emotional appeal .

           Of course , certain attention must be paid to psychologically based inferences and direct characterizations that reflect a character’s defects in the areas of personality [ including pathological personality types such as mal-adjustesd , inferiors , perverse , antisocial , sociopathic , psychotic , alcoholic , masochistic and so forth and social adjustment [ assaultive reactions and antisocialism , among others ] . In order to fully appreciate and to adequately identify the emotional state [ s ] of a literary character , then , sometimes requires some familiarity with symptoms of neuroses[ such as traumatic anxiety ,obsessive-compulsive , occupational , fright, phobic ] psychosomatic disorders [ such as bulimia ] , disturbances in emotions [ such as anxiety or hysteria ] , thoughts[ such as delusions or mental blocks ] and psychomotor disorders [ such as convulsions or twitching ] and mental states  [ such as amnesia , sommambulism and trances ] .

Positive emotions include fervor , ardor , cordiality , vehemence , gusto , zeal , responsiveness , demonstrativeness , insipidity , mush ,mawkishness .

Negative emotions include soulessness , callousness , frigidity , untouchability , obduracy , imperviousness , apathy , listlessness , unimpressionability .

Words connotative of hopelessness include desperation ,despondent , forlorn , irretrievable , irrevocability , incorrigible and disconsolate .

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22- ] American Division Literature .

The Following is a Sample of Such Groupings .

1-] Pastoral Literature .

 A life apart from the urban main stream ; rural setting , country people . It includes :

1-] Pastoral poems :  Poems about shepherds and rural life [ many written between 1550 and 1750 ] .

2-] Pastoral elegies :  Poems using pastoral imagery to mourn a death .

3-] Pastoral drama :  [ It is also called pastoral plays ] plays that use shepherds and the conventions of pastoral poems .

4-] Pastoral romance :  Shepherds and pastoral conventions in a long prose narrative [ for example “ Rosalynde” by Thomas Lodge ] .

2-] Literature of The Absurd .

Poems , prose and plays that emphasize an existential sense of isolation , using such devices as black humor [ morbid and grotesque humor ] to show the writer’s view of the absurdity of life .

                                           3-] Escape Literature .

Poems , prose and plays with the main purpose to allow the reader to escape real life .

4-] Genteel Tradition .

American poems and plays that stress conventional correctness .

5-] History Literature .

Poems , prose and plays based on history [ prose forms can include historical fiction and historical novels ] .

6-Local Color Writing .

Predominantly American poems , prose and drama based on regionalisms such as dialect , dress and geographical setting .

7-] Folklore .

Folklore was not used as a literary term until the 19^th century , and it refers to many different genres that include a people’s traditions . These traditions of course are filled with customs , beliefs and rituals . As a result , they have given rise to innumerable formula plots , conventions motifs and literary traditions .

Folklore includes [ to name a few ] : popular ballads , cowboy songs , stories , riddles . nursery rhymes and legends .

American Division Literature [ 21 ]

21- ] American Division Literature .

Drama .

Chronicle Play .

Other forms of drama can be classified as either tragedy or comedy . One example is the chronicle play . Based on the 16^th century chronicles [ historical records ] , these Elizabethan dramas were characterized by enactments of battles , funerals and other historical events . Some incorporate the elements of the romantic comedy ; others are clearly tragedies . Yet a third group of chronicle plays called the history play is not comic nor tragic . Perhaps the most famous examples of chronicle plays are based on Chronicles of England , Scotland and Ireland by Raphael Holinshed , first published in 1578 . These chronicles became a major historical source for 13 of Shakespeare’s plays . Also based in part on Holinshed’s Chronicles are Shakespeare’s “King Lear ,” “ Cymbeline” and “Macbeth”.

Restoration Heroic Drama .

Its form can be tragedy or tragicomedy . These were with settings in exotic places , such as Morocco , feature a hero torn between love and duty . The dialogue is often in heroic couplets and overflowing with hyperbole .

Heroic dramas can include a sinister , evil male antagonist [ a villain ] who may be the father of the heroine and an equally evil female antagonist [ a villainess ] who tries to win the protagonist’s affections .

The Melodrama .

A form that is most often a comedy , and it can also be an element in a tragedy. The melodrama means “ a play with music” and was used in a period of English history when in the 19^th century plays were allowed to be performed only in Patent Theaters “ a monopoly” due to the Licensing Act , but musicals could be performed anywhere . By adding music and song , these dramas could be legally performed .

Pantomime .

It is drama acted out without words . These mixtures of drama and dance were popular in England in the 1700s , but were especially enjoyed in Elizabethan drama as single episodes used for dramatic effect in spoken drama . This use is called the dumb show . The pantomime as a form has survived through silent films and such comedic actors as Charlie Chaplin and Red Skelton .

 As you study form in literature , you will doubtless encounter many trends , movements , themes and conventions that group certain works from prose , poetry and drama together .

American Division Literature [ 20 ]

20- ] American Division Literature .

Genres of Drama .

One cannot look at the genre of drama played out on English and American stages without first looking at the history of drama in England – more specifically the Elizabethan popular theater .

  The early church in England in celebrating Christmas and Easter developed special music in which choir groups would musically respond to one another . Sometimes a soloist would answer the choral group or vice versa . This back-and-forth musical conversation eventually suggested to the early church the concept of dialogue . Soon , costumes and settings were added and people began to “act out” their roles in dramas . Crowds grew in number . Eventually the secular communities became involved , starting festivals at which dramatic episodes were enacted in cycles of plays . the subjects for these “ mystery” or “ miracle” plays were still based on events in the Bible and production fell into the hand of various trade guides .

        Secular involvement began to be reflected in these productions – at first minor changes like adding comic or tragic scenes that are not in the Bible ; but eventually they became completely secular works . The first formal tragedy written and enacted in England was in 1561 – Gorboduc by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton in the tragedy of blood tradition of Seneca , a first-century stoic philosopher .

        Drama can take two different fundamental forms under which many other genres fall : tragedy and comedy .

Tragedy .

   In a tragedy , the protagonist [ the tragic hero or heroine ] is overcome in the conflict and meets a tragic end . The tone is serious and builds in the audience a fatalistic sense of the inevitability of the outcome and as a result is sometimes frightening . Yet the inescapable aspects of the catastrophe serve as a catharsis that somehow inexplicably purges the viewer of pity and fear . The Significance , then is not that the protagonist meets with an inevitable catastrophe , but rather the degree to which he or she deals with the conflict and the tragedy with dignity , courage and honor .

The Basic Elements of Tragedy .

1-] Mode :  Narrative . 2-]Protagonist : a tragic hero , honorable , high character , a person of conscience . 3-] Catastrophe :  the tragic conclusion of the conflict – usually death of the hero or heroine . 4-] Catharsis : the purging of feelings of pity and fear through the vehicle of the play .                 5-] Spectacles : grand displays used to grasp the attention of the audience .

6-] Reversal :  the point when the protagonist’s situation changes from good to bad . 7-] Hamartia : the protagonist’s fatal error or the mistake made       [ for whatever reason ] that leads to his/her downfall . 8-] Recognition : simultaneous with the reversal , the protagonist’s recognition of the truth of the situation .The protagonist begins in a state of happiness and falls into a state of unhappiness or death .

Kinds of Tragedies .

1-]Classical Tragedies : are those written by ancient Greeks and Romans , those written about the ancient Greeks and Romans and those written in the style and form of those written by the ancient Greeks and Romans .

2-]Romantic Tragedies : are those that are not classical and include many of the tragedies written in the Elizabethan England .

3-] Revenge Tragedies : are characterized by 1-] Senecan technique .

2-] Plot line father revenges son at direction of son’s ghost or son revenges father at directions of father’s ghost . 3-] Sensationalized murders [ the most extreme called “ tragedy of blood”] .

4-] Domestic Tragedies : are tragedies in which the main characters are everyday people , who undergo disasters common to man .These are also called bourgeois tragedies .

 Comedy .

Some Characteristics Common to Many Forms of Dramatic Comedy :

1-] Purpose : to amuse the viewers . 2-] Problems facing the protagonist interesting to the viewer , but not threatening . 3-] Subject : generally a somewhat realistic view of people’s lives , including the disparities between what they should be and what they are . 4-] Emotional Involvement of Audience :  It is a balance between two elements : 1-]A superficial involvement based on relevance to their own lives and on familiarity .2-] Detachment arising from less involvement with the fate of the protagonist as contrasted to the high levels of emotional involvement of the audience with the fate of the tragic protagonist  . 3-] Intellectual laughter . 4-] Style : friendlier as contrasted to the exalted style of tragic drama . 5-] Includes a sustained plot . 6-] Uses humor . 7-] Laughter involved by a good-natured look at the inconsistencies in human nature of life . 8-] Uses wit [ the bright intelligent use of words to invoke laughter .

A-] Low Comedy : It is just plain fun with jesting and clownish behavior .

B-] High Comedy :intends the laughter to be at the characters – at their ridiculous conduct or attitudes  - laughter that is intellectual , but not mocking.  The  degree to which humor is used , the form it takes and the manner of presentation are fundamental to it .

Comedy can take many forms and examples of each can be found in any age . Yes , some forms were more prevalent on a certain literary periods .

1-] Sixteenth Century [ particularly Elizabethan England ] .

Romantic comedy :

2-] Seventeenth Century .   Realistic Comedy .

3-] Eighteenth Century .  Comedy of manners [ sentimental] .

4-] Nineteenth Century .  Burlesque , operetta .

Romantic Comedy .

The plot revolves around a love story with a happy ending . Shakespeare’s  “As You Like IT”is a notable example of the romantic comedy .

Notice :  A peculiar characteristic of the romantic comedy is that the heroine often will pretend [ for whatever reason ] that she is a man . An interesting reversal on the convention is the trend in the modern “ romantic comedy” to have the hero mask as a woman [ e.g. Tootsie , Mrs. Doubtfire  ] .

 Realistic Comedy .

     A reaction that began late in the 16^th century against romantic comedy . This form is based on real life , usually in London and is characterized by a cynical tone and extensive use of satire . An example is Ben Jonson’s “The Alchemist” . Jonson joined George Chapman to introduce a new form of realistic comedy called “ the comedy of humors” Those plays focus on the humor or predominant character trait of the protagonist : melancholic , sanguine , choleric and phlegmatic .

Comedy of Manners .

    A realistic form practiced during the Restoration [ late 17^th century ] and later in the 19th century ] and later for two revivals [ late in the 18^th century and again late in the 19^th century ] . Its name is indicative of its subject : the contrived , self-conscious manners of society . The characters tend to be stereotypes , with heavy use of satire , clever dialogue , and forbidden illicit love . The comedy of manner is also called Restoration Comedy .

Sentimental Comedy .

Reacting to the immorality extant in the comedies of manners . This form came to be called “ reformed comedy” that aimed to restore virtue to the comic stage . The result was a form steeped in sentimentality with “ perfect” heroes and contrived plots that destroyed the dramatic reality of the plays . “The Conscious Lovers” by Richard Steele is an example .

Burlesque .

It uses an elevated style for a base subject of a base style for an elevated subject .In drama , this form of comedy has many devices available , including song and dance  routines and bawdy humor . An often cited example of burlesque in drama is “ The Beggar’s Opera" by John Gay .

Operetta .

It is called also the “ comic opera” . This colorful musical production such as those of Gilbert and Sullivan , blends dialogue with singing in plots that are often romantic .

Other Forms of Dramatic Comedy .

1-] Comedy of Intrigue .                                                                                 It is [ also called the comedy of situation ] in which the twists and turns of the plot line supersede the characters  involved in the situations .

2-] Farce Comedies  in which farce [ low comedy when the humor is based on the silliness of the situation ] is central to the play . The characters generally are exaggerated stereotypes who get into unbelievable situations that often result in “ slap-stick” comedy . “ Charlie’s Aunt” by Brandon Thomas [1892 ]is a farce .

3-] Court Comedies .  They are written for royal command performances in which a clever style and light tone work together with a plot somewhat devoid of action and with elements of mythology and contrasting characterization .

4-] Commedia dell’arte .  In it stock characters [ played by Italian actors ] were given a scenario or main idea of the plot and improvise the dialogue . Although Italian in origin , those improvisations greatly influenced Elizabethan dramatic comedy .

5-] Satiric Comedy . In it satire is used to make ridiculous the root causes of social problems , particularly  dysfunctional political policies , social customs and contemporary thinking .

6-] Tragicomedy , Neither writers nor critics have found all plays to fit neatly into either the comic or the tragic mold . Both forms can properly include elements of the other , sometimes to the point that they are called tragicomedy . This form was used in Elizabethan and Jacobean England and is characterized by inclusion of both characters from the higher classes usually found in tragedy and characters from the lower classes found in comedy .

The tragicomedy as a dramatic form is attributed to Beaumont and Fletcher in the first decade of the 17^th century . Shakespeare’s “ The Winter’s Tale” and Killingrew’s “ The Prisoner” are both tragicomedies .

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19- ] American Division Literature .

Dramatic Elements .

         A playwright’s understanding of structure is not complete without a sense of awareness of the many techniques and devices – dramatic elements – available to create various effects .Here are just a few :

1-] Foreshadowing :

Hints at the future that can build anticipation and tension in the audience .

2-] Flashbacks :

Descriptions or enactments of past events for the purpose of clarifying the situation , usually as it relates to the conflict .

3-] Intrigue :

A scheme designed by one of the characters , the success of which depends on another character’s innocence or ignorance of the situation . The usual result is complication in the plot .

4-] Suspense :

Once the audience has a sense of expectation , events happen that are not expected .

5-] Reversal also called peripety  when the main character either fails or succeeds .

6-] Discovery :  When the main character finally realizes the reality of the situation .

7-] Deus ex machina :  Once referring to the Greek practice of physically lowering a "god” to the stage at the end of the play to solve all the problems , today it refers to a contrived element in the plot used to resolve a problem .

8-] Monologue :

 When an actor delivers a speech in the presence of other characters who listen , but do not speak .

9-] Three Unities :

Although not adhered to by many playwrights , French and Italian critics of the 16^th and 17^th centuries believed that a play needs three unities to achieve verisimilitude [ believability ] :

1-] Unity of action [ first suggested by Aristotle ] .

2-] Unity of place [ a single location ] .

3-] Unity of time [ the play portraying no longer than a 24-hour period ] .

10-] Dramatic conventions :

The elements of a play that the audience knows merely represent reality , but is willing to accept them as real for the sake of the story : Italians in Italy speaking English , the stage set representing a real location in time and space etc.

11-] The aside :

When an actor speaks directly to the audience , however , the rest of the actors on stage supposedly cannot hear him or her . The aside was used in Renaissance drama to let the audience know the actor’s inner feelings and was used in the 19^th century to interject elements of comedy or melodrama .

12-] Soliloquy :

When an actor delivers a speech when he or she is alone , expressing thoughts.

13-] Relief scenes :

They allow the audience to relax briefly in the tension of the drama and balcony scenes . Ex. Romeo and Juliet .

Comic relief scenes are widely used in English drama . Sometimes , their purpose is to ease tension , but also they can add a sense of poignant sadness .

14-] Music : A mainstay of the musical drama , however , early tragedies had both dancing and choral singing . Also back ground music is used extensively to set the mood and tone . Music can help psychologically establish the setting.  For example native drums for Africa and Italian opera for Italy .

16-] Setting :  The setting of a story refers to the time and place of the story and of the socioeconomic background of the means necessary to translate the story to the audience .

     In the theater , this translation depends greatly upon illusion – using lights , costumes , props and so forth to allow the viewers to suspend reality for a brief time and to accept the story as real .

    For the religious plays and classical drama enacted in Elizabethan and Jacobean theaters of the 16^th and the 17^th centuries , there were very few props and painted backdrops . Playwrights depended upon trapdoors , some sound effects , music , mechanical contrivances [ to raise and lower characters]  and dialogue to establish the setting of the story . Due to lack of sufficient lighting , there were no evening performances and only “ special” characters [ representing , for example , animals and royalty ] in the almost all-male acting troupes wore costumes . The stage was in an open-air public theater that included an area for some of the audience to stand and galleries with seats also available .

    The Puritans closed the English theaters in 1642 , however , when they reemerged in 1660 [ the Restoration ] , they had a new look , a new subject and a new audience . The religious plays and classical dramas of Elizabethan Theater gave way to the bright and colorful Comedies of Manners [ influenced by French and Italian Neoclassicism ] , with actresses playing female roles , prose dialogue and audiences that were predominantly upper classes and royalty . The Restoration saw a change in the theater itself , with an indoor construction that included balconies . The approach of the 1800s [ and well into the 19^th century ] brought a reaction against the rules of Neoclassicism and the Age of Reason . This less restrictive style and attitude ushered in Romanticism . The plays of the period are loosely structured and characterized by tragic love affairs , the use of dramatic effects such as intrigue and dialogue written in poetry rather than prose [ although the melodrama – also a product of the 19^th century literary world and considered to be of less literary value – was usually written in prose with the hero overcoming the obstacles by the end of the play ] .

   People soon tired of the idealism of Romanticism and as the century progressed , they began to turn to Realism , especially as seen in the plot         “ formulas” of Eugene Scribe [ French ] . The plays of realism lost the freedoms of their predecessors in favor of highly structured forms and prose dialogue with the plot trying to mirror real life . Naturalism emerged , whose playwrights presented a more victimized portrait of the lower classes in plays that focused on that victimization rather than on the structure of the plot . Experimental theaters emerged in which attempts were made to make the play seem so real as to make the audiences temporarily forget that they were watching a play .

       The cycles of innovation and reaction against those innovations continued as the symbolists reacted against the harshness of naturalism by using symbolism to convey meaning and as the expressionists reacted against realism for writing plays aimed at psychologically calling for social change . Some of their drama became quite didactic [ as in epic theater ] . Also , around this time the theater of the absurd emerged – a strange blend of satire , symbolism and dream imagery . Despite these reactions however , forms of realism have been carried into the modern theater as have a variety of other forms , and styles . The settings of modern plays incorporate a wider range of costumes , props , sets and other materials to convey the story to the audience.