Preview

Comic Relief Through the Ages

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
869 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comic Relief Through the Ages
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episode interposed in the midst of serious or tragic elements in a drama. Comic relief often takes the form of a bumbling, wisecracking sidekick of the hero or villain in a work of fiction. A sidekick used for comic relief will usually comment on the absurdity of the hero's situation and make comments that would be inappropriate for a character who is to be taken seriously. Other characters may use comic relief as a means to irritate others or keep themselves confident.
William Shakespeare deviated from the classical tradition and used comic relief in Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet. The Porter scene in Macbeth, the grave-digger scene in Hamlet and the gulling of Roderigo provide immense comic relief. The mockery of the fool in King Lear may also be regarded as a comic relief.
In popular culture the character of C-3PO, featured in all six Star Wars films, is also considered to be used as comic relief. He is often found criticizing the desperate situation the other characters find themselves in, or being rescued from predicaments by his counterpart R2-D2. Also Han Solo is considered the comic relief of the Star Wars universe.
Les Misérables is a 2012 British epic romantic musical historical film produced by Working Title Films and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the musical of the same name by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg which is in turn based on the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo.In Les Misérables, the song "Master of the House" relieves much of the sadness shown before it in the musical.
In the Mortal Kombat series, notably in Mortal Kombat (2011 video game), Johnny Cage is an actor who believed the Mortal Kombat tournament was a movie set, and often tried to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In many stories we hear as young children, the main person in each story is always the hero. The hero saves the day, or gets the children from the burning building. Sometimes the hero saves the damsel in distress. Classic image of a hero but we forget that the hero does not do it alone. There is always one person that stands by the hero’s side and is a big contributor to the savings. With his/her size, attitude, and light-hearted humor, the sidekick makes his/her mark on saving the world.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Where's Potpan, that he helps not to take away? … Cheerly, boys; be brisk awhile, and the longer liver take all.” –First and Second Servant (Act I, Scene 5, 1-13)…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Comic Fools To create humor in drama, one must either make witty wordplay, create an amusing situation, or use physical comedy. Often jokes may be incorporated into a play, or a comic situation may result in a series of complicated antics. The tradition for some of these comic devices has been carried over for hundreds of years, dating back to Shakespeare in the 1600's.…

    • 913 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What is the term used to refer to a light hearted moment or phrase used to lift an audiecne to laughter?…

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Laughter In The 1800s

    • 79 Words
    • 1 Page

    Laughter was exclusive defined relatively then being one perceptible their event and he Is a ordinary person the characterize the sound of laughter. Then the assistant extracted laughter to recordings the Quality of left and right by selecting of the two and the file was label base on spectrographic representations. But the presence of avidable characteristic of most they flow for closed mouth voiced sound. The mixed mouth was use for burst the laughter they open and closed…

    • 79 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Humor appear’s to help people’s psychological and physical well being.” It says in Peter McGraw’s essay “The Importance of Humor Research.” It has been proven that it is good for your body to react in such a way to a funny situation but the psychological portion of it is hard to understand. When someone laughs, endorphins are released from the brain and are sent throughout the body creating the feeling of pleasure. It is a healthy alternative to any negative situation, whether it be negative or awkward it can be made easier with a joke here or…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Can every hero do everything on his own? From comic superheroes like Batman and Robin to athletes like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippin, the second banana has always been there to support the lead character. Depending on the situation, the contributions from a sidekick can be very beneficial but the need for one can also be in question. Heroes achieve success when they effectively complete quests and deal with adversity in addition to performing civic justice for the people who look up to them. Those three criteria's determine whether a sidekick is beneficial for heroes like Gilgamesh and Beowulf.…

    • 813 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Foils In Romeo And Juliet

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Shakespeare is an author that is known to pair comedy and tragedy together as foils. Susan Snyder, a scholar author has stated, “The source tales of Romeo and Othello would, I think, suggest quite readily to Shakespeare the possibility of using comic convention as a springboard for tragedy” (Snyder 123). In most of Shakespeare’s works, he uses elements of comedy to lead into a tragic event that will soon happened. Shakespeare also enjoys using tragedy to contrast the comedic elements in his writing. A large reason for the comedy contrasted to the tragedy is done in order to keep an audience entertained. According to Leech, “Shakespeare was bound to draw on his earlier treatments of love in comedy, but would need to make a major departure too” (Leech 1). In Romeo and Juliet, comedy and tragedy are used as foils of each other, which is shown through Mercutio’s…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The genre of comic books and the characters that are included in this fictional universe have taken an importance seat in American popular culture today. Comics can serve many purposes. Comics can be the favorite entertainment material that a person chooses to read. Comics can help someone pass the time as they take a break from a walk around their local mall, airport, or grocery store. The comic book can be the form of art a person enjoys the most in reading material because it serves not only as a visual stimulant, but also provides as a getaway from the realities of life.…

    • 4892 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    From listening to humorous books to watching funny television shows, laughing is always lifting up your spirits. Specific people that do stand-up comedy make bad moods better too. Some examples are Bill Cosby and Dave Barry. They both write funny essays too, like The Only Girl in the World for Me and Breaking the Ice. They are essays on how to find love and they are humorous. The Only Girl in the World for Me and Breaking the Ice have a lot in common as well differences like sense of humor, and types of tones used.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare successfully portrays (his purpose in relation to the values and expectations of the Elizabethan context) through stage play techniques such as, use of soliloquy, dramatic irony, and humour. He also uses language techniques such as visual imagery and sound imagery throughout his play to explore the villainous role and character of Richard which leads to the development of the key themes in his play, Richard III.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Les Miserables is the 5 longest-running Broadway shows of all time. It was also the first musical in ten years to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture since Chicago. People say that this musical about The French Revolution is a romantic tragedy but sadly only one of these things is true. While it may not exactly be about the historical revolution, it does have some similarities. Many of the songs from the musical can be related to The French Revolution.…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony has always been of vital importance to Shakespeare .He uses it as his aid in his plays because it builds up the anticipation of the consequences of the character‘s actions, reveals character and has also been used to comment on topical issues such as the gun powder plot and witchcraft, which king James I for whom the play Macbeth had been written and debuted for was deeply interested in. Shakespeare uses irony as a tool by which he combines treason and witchcraft to render a powerful play to the Elizabethan audience.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hero-Anti Hero

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman—what do all these characters have in common? They are all products of the human aspiration to be saved. The word hero is passed around too much these days. A hero is not a football player that scores the game-winning touchdown or the goaltender who saves his team from a loss. A hero is usually an ordinary person that did extraordinary things. A true hero is really never a hero at all; at least not in their own mind. However, there are various cases today in which we see the exact opposites of these characters, the anti-heroes. The anti-hero is one who cannot be classified as a hero, for that said character lacks natural heroic qualities. However, the anti-hero cannot be described as a villain either. Although this particular individual may have some of the personality flaws traditionally assigned to villains, the anti-hero may have heroic intentions to gain the sympathy of the audience. Anti-heroes can be awkward, obnoxious, passive, or dishonest—but they are always, in some way, flawed.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Romeo and Juliet

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages

    8. The humorous exchange between Peter and the musicians at the end of At Four is an example of comic relief. It lightens the mood after the grief-filled speeches that follow the discovery of Juliet’s body. If you were producing a stage or film version of Romeo Juliet, would you cut this passage, or do you think it serves an important purpose? Explain.…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics