Playboys and Killjoys: An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Comedy
by Harry Levin
2021-01-06 20:49:38
Playboys and Killjoys: An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Comedy
by Harry Levin
2021-01-06 20:49:38
Harry Levin--one of America''s major literary critics--offers a brilliant and original study of the whole world of comedy, concentrating on playwrights through the centuries, from Aristophanes and Plautus in classical times to Bernard Shaw and Bertol...
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Harry Levin--one of America''s major literary critics--offers a brilliant and original study of the whole world of comedy, concentrating on playwrights through the centuries, from Aristophanes and Plautus in classical times to Bernard Shaw and Bertolt Brecht and their recent successors.Viewing the comic repertory as a richly varied yet broadly unified whole, Levin provides a synthesis of theories and practice. Isolating two fundamental aspects of comedy--the ludicrous and irreverent "playboy," whom we laugh with, and the ridiculous and forbidding "killjoy," whom we laughat--he traces the dialectical interplay of these components throughout history and across various cultures and media. While mainly focusing on the plays and the stage, with discussions of such major dramatists as Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Moliere, and William Congreve, Levin also includes essays onsuch related topics as humor, satire, and games.
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