Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Theatrical Genres

1. What does the word genre mean? It refers to a type or category of literature, in this case of drama, based on style, content, and purpose of the work. Theatre of course embraces a variety of generic types. The oldest genres are comedy and tragedy, from the Greeks and Romans, but there are many others. For example, what is the genre of Our Town? What are your favorite genres? Be sure you can define ALL of the types/genres in this chapter. 2. Your text notes on 82 that any subject can be adapted into any genre. It is the viewpoint that matters, as you see in the example of Arsenic and Old Lace. Two little old ladies who poison people is hilarious in the play and the 1944 film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev_v3xgxMTg 3. Tragedy: This reflects important people in a serious drama caught in calamitous circumstances; fear and apprehension result. Common questions for terrible experiences which are universal are asked in tragedies. Note this short scene from the Broadway Revival of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xXUp9KAlAc What about that scene is tragic? This play is a modern tragedy which does not use kings and queens, but still says that the suffering and injustice experienced by everyday people are as significant as those in a Shakespeare play. Your text notes too that certain historical periods lend themselves to tragedy and others to comedy. The time of the enlightenment, the 18th century, and the progress of the nineteenth century is seen in your text as happy-ish periods. Other periods however set a condition or climate for tragedy. We certainly saw that during and after the two World Wars in the twentieth century. Your text also notes two other periods in the westthe golden age of Greece (5th century BC) and the Renaissance (14th-17th centuries in Europe).

Chapter Five

In these eras, there were great accomplishments, and the individual was celebrated for his/her potential. Yet both periods not only dealt with humanism but also the cruelty of people. Look at this scene from Macbeth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNDWBWFrpjM Macbeth, Greek plays, and plays prior to the end of the 19 th century are viewed as traditional tragedies. They include: Tragic heroes and heroines who are extraordinary people, quite noble, important, and caught in a fateful web by the universe. The situation is irretrievable and cannot be righted. Responsibility must be accepted by the tragic hero or heroine. Verse is often used to represent the noble ideas of the subject. The effect is cathartic, pessimistic, and also affirmative in that balance is finally restored.

4. Comedy: The most popular genre, yet one which is seldom rewarded with an Oscar. Tragedy is easy, but comedy is tough, because it requires wit in the script and the actors, good timing, good ensemble playing, and a sense of energy and fun. This is humorous drama whose characters, actions, and events are intended to provoke amusement and laughter. Comedies may be laugh out loud or subtle, and they may deal with the same topics as tragedies. But they approach life with a smile and a sense of the ridiculous. There are several principles to comedy: Suspension of natural laws: As with the willing suspension of disbelief, comedy lets go of probability and logic and allows us to see silly people do silly things. When the comedy is physical, it is known as slapstick. Contrast between individuals and the status quo or social order: the assumptions about the way society works and the way individuals should behave leads to comedy. See the example of Moliere on 88. The comic premise: the idea or concept that turns the accepted notion of things upside down, as in Lysistrata. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX5IEDerc_g 5. And the forms or types of comedy? They include (see the definitions in the text and examples of each): Farce Burlesque Satirewatch this scene from Saturday Night Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne1EaiqbfQA

Chapter Five

Domestic comedy or situation comedy Comedy of manners Comedy of ideas

6. Heroic Drama: This is very serious drama which features heroic or noble characters, so it is like classical tragedy, but it often ends happily or at least optimistically and with hope. The protagonists go through serious challenges even if the play ends well. Many Asian dramas reflect heroic drama and have happy endings. But even tragic endings like Saint Joan or Cyrano de Bergerac somehow comfort us. 7. Melodrama:

Melodrama means what? See your text. It was made popular in France in the late 18 th century and really gained power in the 19th century. It often used music to indicate the mood of a scene. This type of drama features stock characters and ends happily. Consider the programs on television which are essentially melodramatic, like soap operas. 8. Domestic or Bourgeois Drama: With the rise of the industrial revolution, and the development of a middle class who could pay for theatrical entertainment and wanted to see themselves, dramas about ordinary people rather than kings and queens became popular. These works lead to modern drama in Ibsen, Miller and Williams, and tend to address family life. Can you think of an example? 9. Tragicomedy: This mixed genre presents comedy in opposition to tragedy or serious drama, or vice versa. You dont know whether to laugh or cry. The film The Royal Tenenbaums is something of a modern tragicomedy. Shakespearean plays frequently mix comic elements with tragedies or serious dramas. The important point is that there is a fusion of the two genres. The text also discusses various kinds and gives you examples:

Chapter Five

Shakespearean tragicomedy, also known as problem plays, mix the two genres. See the example in the text, and also consider Twelfth Night and Malvolio. See this scene with Judi Dench: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxftRZ_Uzq0

Modern tragicomedy of the last 100 years lends itself to this mixed approach to the world. Anton Chekhovs work is mentioned in the text. Think of a contemporary film which makes you both laugh and cry. Theatre of the absurd became popular after WWII, reflecting the emptiness of life and presenting serious problems in a comic and nonsensical way.