Discussing Comedy: An Interrogative Approach

Authors

  • Richard F. Hardin University of Kansas

Keywords:

comedy, approaches to teaching

Abstract

Rather than propose or endorse a single theory of comedy, this essay explores a wide variety of implications in sometimes-conflicting ideas on the subject. It groups questions under such topics as types of comedy, plot, social morality, and identity. These questions are drawn from a wide range of viewpoints both ancient and modern. It concludes with a brief checklist of questions for analyzing comedy.

Author Biography

Richard F. Hardin, University of Kansas

Richard F. Hardin has taught and published scholarly work on English renaissance literature and on the survival of classical literary traditions. His most recent book is Love in a Green Shade: Idyllic Romances Ancient to Modern, on the influence of the Greek romance Daphnis and Chloe on Renaissance and modern culture. His more recent articles on Plautus and Renaissance comedy have appeared in Comparative Drama, Renaissance Quarterly, Viator, and elsewhere. He retired from the University of Kansas in 2009.

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Published

2012-12-13