What is comedy?
Comedy is a literary genre applied to type of dramatic work which provides amusement or provokes laughter. It is commonly applied to plays and movies.
(Stewart, 1994).
What is humour?
Humour can be used as a literary device that intends to make a reader or audience laugh, or be amused. It is often found in literature, theatre, movies, and advertising.
(Literary Devices, 2013).
There are many different types of humour, including:
- witty wordplay
- satire – in the form of irony, sarcasm, exaggeration, ridicule and caricature
- parody
- slaptick
- absurdist humour
Read this article for a quick overview:
Cohen, S. (2017). Humor. In World Book Student. Retrieved from https://www.worldbookonline.com/student-new/#/article/home/266980
Watch. This program looks at the purposes and use of humour, and shows how a writer/performer uses knowledge of the audience to create humour.
Bolden, P. (Producer). (1996). Humour [Video file]. Retrieved from ClickView database.
Watch. This video offers a few tips and tricks for finding the funny in your writing.
TED-Ed. (2016, February 9). How to make your writing funnier – Cheri Steinkellner [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNTxSBgDNp4
Teacher’s Note: The videos on this page are G or PG rated.
The Sitcom/ Situation Comedy
“Situation comedy, also called sitcom, or television comedy involves a continuing cast of characters in a succession of episodes. Often the characters are markedly different types thrown together by circumstance and occupying a shared environment” (Britannica, 2018).
Examples:
British Sitcoms
- The Blackadder – Season 1
- Fawlty Towers – a great example that uses word play, slapstick and situational comedy.
- Mr Bean. Find more videos at Mr Bean’s You Tube Channel
- The Vicar of Dibley
American Sitcoms
- Alexia & Katie (available on Netflix)
- Friends
- Hannah Montana
- Modern Family
- Seinfeld – eg. scenes from The lady who only wears one dress
- The Simpsons
Australian Sitcom
- Kath and Kim
- Mother and Son (an Australian classic sitcom) – The Budgie
Commedia Dell’Arte
“Commedia dell’arte is a comic theatrical genre that evolved in 16th-century Italy and went on to enjoy success throughout Europe. Performances, which consisted of improvisations based around skeletal scenarios, employed stock characters such as Pantaloon, Il Capitano, Il Dottore, and the Zanni, all of whom were distinguished by masks and emblematic costumes.”
(Drama Online, 2018).
Commedia dell’Arte: A Historical Overview
The World of Commedia dell’Arte
Commedia Dell Arte directed by Antonia Fava (You don’t have to the foreign language to get the idea of the scene and how the humour has been created).
Shakespeare’s Comedy
Humour can be found all throughout Shakespeare’s plays.
An introduction to Shakespeare’s Comedy
The Life & Times of William Shakespeare – #ShakespeareLives from Slurpy Studios Animation on Vimeo.
The main characteristics of Shakespearean plays: comedy, tragedy, history.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – #ShakespeareLives from Slurpy Studios Animation on Vimeo.
Shakespearean comedy from ClickView.
This program discusses the wit and social satire in Shakespeare’s plays, while stressing the essential seriousness of great comedy.
Taming of the Shrew: Comic structures
Visual / Slapstick Comedy
ClickView –
Visual Comedy – Lecture by Rowan Atkinson (50mins)
YouTube –
- Mr Bean Sketches – eg The Exam … and try Mr Bean’s playlist of sketches here
- Charlie Chaplin – The Mirror Maze (the Circus) view more Charlie Chaplin videos from the Charlie Chaplin Official channel
Comedy Sketches/ Skits
Writing Comedy sketches:
Clickview – Just Write: Comedy Sketch
YouTube –
- Monty Python Flying Circus eg The Argument Clinic
- Walliams and Friends eg Fussy Masterchef
- Medieval helpdesk (Norwegian language with English subtitles)
StandUp Comedy
ABC Splash. (2012, Nov 22). How to be funny [Video file]. Retrieved from http://abcspla.sh/m/2101290
ABC Splash. (2013, April 10). Hitting the funny bone with comedian Josh Thomas [Video file]. Retrieved from http://abcspla.sh/m/1248901
joeywagnerlman. (2011, Nov 23). Joey Luthman Stand Up – Age 14 1/2 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQJLT08He_Y
The late show with Stephen Colbert. (2016, Jan 7). Jerry Seinfeld does his best tight five [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=984VkHzXl8w
The New York Times. (2012, Dec 20). Jerry Seinfeld Interview – How to write a joke[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWxXyCfW5s
Wit – Wordplay and Verbal Humour
“Wit is the clever manipulation of words in either speech or writing and is commonly referred to as a play on words. A lot of jokes we tell in everyday life rely on unusual wordplay for their humour” (Schill, 1996).
- Puns – created by using key words which are homophones, that is, words which have more than one meaning.
- Malapropism – the comical misuse of a word is mistake for a similar sounding word
Jokes
- K-Zone Magazine – Awesome Jokes
- Sydney Morning Herald – Vegetable Jokes for kids – School Jokes for Kids – Fruit Jokes for Kids
ABC Splash. (2015, Mar 10). Andy Griffiths’ writing tips [Video file]. Retrieved from http://abcspla.sh/m/1950586
Teaching Resources
BBC. (n.d.). Comedy classroom: having a write laugh. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/467GldwvNTT17S5khjpbss/secondary-teaching-resources
On this page you’ll find downloadable classroom resources which include fact sheets on each of the three comedy categories with plenty of writing tips that you can share with your students, and student facing slides. We’ve also provided a comedy toolbox and comedy glossary for you to photocopy and give to students to refer to whilst working on their comedy writing.
British Council. (n.d.). Shakespeare and comedy. Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/shakespeare-comedy
Curriculum coorperation. (n.d.). Talk about Laugh: situation comedies. Secondary lesson plan. Treieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/talk_about_laugh_-_situation_comedies.pdf
Nicholson, C. (n.d.). Humor Writing: Getting Students Started in Creating Their Own Laughs. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/humor/teacher/humorwriting.htm
http://resources.eduqas.co.uk/Pages/ResourceSingle.aspx?rIid=1068
Situation comedy. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from Britannica School database.
Literary devices. (2013). Humor. Retrieved from https://literarydevices.net/humor/
Schill, J. (1996). On purpose: Studying written, oral and visual language in context. Port Melbourne, Vic.: Heinemann.
Stewart, K. (1994). A glossary of literary terms (2nd ed.). Perth, W.A.: Batavia.