chapter four theatrical genres power point
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Chapter 4
Genre A French word meaning “category” or “type” Oldest and best-know genres are:
▪ Tragedy▪ Comedy
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Traditional Tragedy Tragic Heroes and Heroines
▪ A person of stature—king, queen, general▪ Stand as symbols of an entire culture or society▪ Trapped in a fateful web of tragic circumstances
Tragic Fate Acceptance of Responsibility Tragic Verse The Effects of Tragedy
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Modern Tragedy No queens or kings as central figures Written in prose rather than poetry Probe the same depths and ask the same
questions
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Characteristics of Comedy Suspension of Natural Laws Contrast Between Individuals and the Social
Order The Comic Premise
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Forms of Comedy Farce
▪ Thrives on exaggeration▪ Has no intellectual pretensions▪ Aims are entertainment and laughter▪ Has excessive plot complications▪ Humor results from ridiculous situations as well as
pratfalls and horseplay
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Forms of Comedy continued Burlesque
▪ Relies on knockabout physical humor, gross exaggeration, and occasional vulgarity
▪ Historically, it was a ludicrous imitation of other forms of drama
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Forms of Comedy continued Satire
▪ Uses wit, especially sophisticated language; irony; and exaggeration to expose or attack evil and foolishness
Domestic Comedy▪ Usually deals with family situations▪ Found in TV situation comedies
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Forms of Comedy continued Comedy of Manners
▪ Concerned with pointing up the foibles and peculiarities of the upper class
▪ Uses verbal wit
Comedy of Ideas▪ Uses comic techniques to debate intellectual
propositions such as the nature of war, cowardice, and romance
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Heroic Drama Serious drama that has heroic or noble
characters and certain other traits of classic tragedy
Has a happy ending Assumes a basically optimistic worldview
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Melodrama Means “song drama” or “music drama” Originally comes from the Greek Made popular by the French “Music” refers to the background music that
accompanied these plays
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Melodrama continued Relies on surface effects that create
suspense, fear, nostalgia, etc. Heroes and heroines are clearly delineated
from villains Has easily recognizable stock characters Virtue is always victorious Has a suspenseful plot
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Domestic Drama Deals with people from everyday life instead
of kings, queens, and nobility Common themes are:
▪ Problems of society▪ Struggles within a family▪ Dashed hopes▪ Renewed determination
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Tragicomedy▪ Point of view is mixed▪ Prevailing attitude is a synthesis, or fusion, of the
serious and the comic
Shakespearean Tragicomedy Modern Tragicomedy
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