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Exploring the World of Comedy: A Quiz on Its Forms and Influences

This quiz explores various aspects of comedy, including its genres, notable figures, and historical context. Test your knowledge on political satire, Commedia dell'arte, and the philosophical discussions on laughter.

#Comedy #Literature #Theatre #Performing Arts #Philosophy #Satire

1 ________ and political satire use ironic comedy to portray persons or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of humor.

2 Commedia dell'arte, as practiced in the twentieth-century by ________, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Jacques Copeau

3 Comedy of intrigue, as practiced by Niccolò Machiavelli and ________

4 Farce, from Georges Feydeau to Joe Orton and ________

5 ________, as practiced by Aristophanes and Menander

6 [4] ________, in his Poetics, states that comedy originated in Phallic songs and the light treatment of the otherwise base and ugly.

7 Comedy is one of the original four genres of literature as defined by the philosopher ________ in his work called Poetics.

8 It has also been held that the feeling of superiority is an essential, if not the essential, factor: thus ________ speaks of laughter as a "sudden glory".

9 Citizen comedy, as practiced by Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton and ________

10 ________, from Music hall and Vaudeville to Performance art

💡 Interesting Facts

  • after the cult comedy show Mystery Science Theater 3000 was cancelled, the writing staff created an animated comedy/fantasy miniseries for the Sci Fi Channel website called Edward the Less.
  • despite $170m spent on security, Australian comedy group The Chaser managed to enter the restricted zone of the 2007 APEC Summit in a fake motorcade.
  • the Jacobean play The Widow's Tears is thought to be the last comedy written by George Chapman.
  • a Balzac comedy was inspired by an academic squabble over the claim that Spaniard Blasco de Garay built the first steam powered ship in 1543.
  • The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, a western variety and comedy series, was cancelled by ABC in 1962 after 13 weeks.
  • Edward Laurillard produced musical comedies in London and New York in the early 20th century, in partnership with George Grossmith, Jr..
  • Newman and Baddiel in Pieces was the final show on which the comic partnership of Robert Newman and David Baddiel worked together before going their separate ways.
  • Ensign O'Toole, a 1962–1963 NBC military comedy series starring Dean Jones, was filmed aboard the USS Frank E. Evans, which was thereafter destroyed following a collision.
  • CBS's Harts of the West featured Beau Bridges and his father, Lloyd Bridges, in a comedy/western set at the fictitious Flying Tumbleweed Dude Ranch in Nevada.
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