Comedy of Menace

                         ' Comedy  of  Menace' :- 

' Thinking Activity ' :- 

Hello readers! Here I am going to write down one another blog. This blog is inspired by Yesha Ma'am - Department of English, Bhavnagar University. This blog is a part of our thinking activity. In this blog I am going to deal with the question about - ' Write a detailed note on the Characteristics of Comedy of Menace. ' 

    As we are Studying about Theatre of Absurd and Different types of comedies. There are mainly Seven types of Comedies and Comedy of menace is one of them.The types of comedies are given as below or under..

   1. Sentimental Comedy 

   2. Comedy of Humours 

   3. Comedy of Errors

   4. Farce 

   5. High comedy and Low comedy 

   6. Comedy of manners

   7. Comedy of Menace

 So, These are the important and major Seven types of comedies. Let's try to discuss in brief about each type of the comedies. 

(1). Sentimental Comedy :- Sentimental Comedy is an 18th century dramatic genre which Sprang up as a reaction to the immoral tone of English Restoration Plays. In sentimental Comedies middle class protagonists triumphantly overcome a series of moral trials. These plays aimed to produce tears rather than laughter.

(2). Comedy of Humours :- Comedy of Humours was introduced by Ben Jonson in English drama. The Comedy of Humours was the natural expression of his genius. The term humour as used by Ben Jonson is based on an Ancient Psychological theory of Four fluids found in the human body. Ben Jonson 's comedies are called comedy of Humours because the Principal characters in all the comedies are victims of one human or the other. For Example , he uses Comedy of Humours in his play - ' Every Man in his humour.' 

 (3). Comedy of Errors :- Comedy of Errors is also one of the important types. 

( 4 ). Farce :- Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of Physical humour , the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense , satire, parody and mockery of real  life- situation, People, events and interactions.

 (5). High comedy and Low Comedy :- 

             High comedy or Pure Comedy is a type of comedy characterized by Witty dialogue, satire, biting humor, Wordplay or Criticism of life. The term High Comedy was coined in England in the Year 1877 by George Meredith for his Essay on Comedy.

          Low Comedy also known as lowbrow humor in association to Comedy is a dramatic or literary form of Popular entertainment without any Primary purpose other than to create laughter through boasting, drunkenness, Scolding Fighting , buffoonery and Other riotous activity. The term Low comedy was coined by John Dryden in his Preface to his Play - ' An Evening 's love'.

(6). Comedy of Manners :- Comedy of manners , Witty form of dramatic comedy that depicts and Often Satirizes the manners and affections of a contemporary society. A Comedy of manners is concerned with social usage and the question of Whether or not characters meet certain social standards.

      The Plot of Such a Comedy usually concerned with an illicit love affair or similarly scandalous matter is subordinate to the Play 's  brittle atmosphere , Witty dialogue on human foibles.

(7). Comedy of Menace :- Comedy of Menace is the body of plays written by David campton, Nigel Oennis , N.F.Simpson and Harold Pinter. The term was coined by drama critic Irving wardle who borrowed it from the subtitle of Campton' s play - ' The Lunatic View - A Comedy of Menace.' 

 

 

  Here The title - Comedy of Menace immediately brings contradictions to mind because comedy is generally something that makes people laugh and the word Menace implies something threatening. So, here one can easily understand that ; 

    • Comedy :- Laughter , Humour

    • Menace :- A Threatening fear in mind

     • Comedy + Menace = Comedy of Menace

 The term - The Comedy of menace is a tragedy with a  number of comic elements.It is a comedy which also produces an overwhelming tragic effect. Throughout the Play we are kept amused and yet throughout the Play we find ourselves also on the brink of terror. Some indefinable and vague fear keeps our nerves on an edge. We feel uneasy all the time even when we are laughing or smiling with amusement. This dual quality gives to the Play a unique character. 

   Now let us come back to our final question that what are the main and chief characteristics of the comedy of Menace. 

  • Chief characteristics of The Comedy of Menace :- 

 After Understanding the concept about Comedy of Menace we can also noticed that what are the chief characteristics of it. So here I observed some important points which one has to look upon while we are discussing about the term called - comedy of menace. 

 • Comedy of Menace is a type of humor that deals with dark subjects such as violence and suffering. 

   For Example:- In the Play - ' The Birthday Party ' by Harold Pinter. We can noticed the violence through the Characters of Goldberg and Macan.while Stanley weaber suffered because of that.

• It often features characters who are in Perilous or uncomfortable situations and uses irony, Sarcasm and Absurdity to create a sense of unease or discomfort in the audience while still being comedic.

• The humor in this type of comedy is often found in the contrast between the horrific subject matter and the absurdity of the situation.

 • The comedy of menace literally establishes the outer reality as a force of threatening to the inner space of an individual.

 • The situation and circumstances looks absolutely perfect and normal.

  • But One can find a kind of unsettling horror and uncomfortable feeling is set beneath the action in the Play. 

 • Language plays a significant role when it comes to the comedy of menace. 

  • It exposes the fear, Frustration and Violence of the characters through language.

 • The loss of Identity can be also observed in the comedy of menace. 

  For Example:- The powerful characters like - Goldberg and Macan attacks the weaker character for instance. Stanley Webber suffers from loss of Identity when he is attacked verbally. 

• The movement of facial expression and mental depression is depicted through comedy of Menace.

   Covering Comedy and Fear at the same time in a play that is a strange art practice in the comedies of menace. One of the most prominent authors who intermingles the two in his plays is - Harold Pinter. This type of comedies also known as Tragicomedy. Including Pinter's Play - The Birthday Party, there are some other works also by Harold Pinter which can be Categorised as a Comedy of Menace.

 1. ' The Room '  (1957) 

 2. ' The Birthday Party ' ( 1958)

 3. ' The Dumb Waiter ' ( 1960)

 4. ' The Caretaker ' (1960)

 5. ' The Homecoming '  ( 1965) 

 Among all this Plays by Harold Pinter. Let us discuss his Play - 'The Birthday Party' which can be seen as one of the best example of Comedy of menace. 

 • The Birthday Party as a Comedy of Menace :- 

Before we start discussion about how this play considered as a Comedy of menace , First it is very much important to know  about the author and his Play. 

 Harold  Pinter :-  Harold Pinter was a British Playwright, Screenwriter,  Director and actor. He was born on 10th October in the year 1930. A Nobel prize winner Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. Harold Pinter also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and Other's works. 

His Plays are noted  for their use of understatement, Small talk , reticence , and even silence to convey the substance of a character's thought. In the year 2005 Pinter won Nobel prize for literature. 

  ' The Birthday party ' :- 

The Birthday Party ( 1957) is the first full - length Play by Harold Pinter. This play first published on 28th April in the year - 1958. Originally written in English language. It is one of his best - known and most frequently performed plays. 

The Play has been classified as a Comedy of menace, Characterised by Pinteresque elements such as ambiguous identity, Confusion of time and Place and dark political Symbolism. 

 • Elements of Comedy of Menace in the Play ' The Birthday party'  :- 

One can find Comic as well as terrific elements in Harold Pinter 's play The Birthday party. This play has been described as a comedy of menace because the consistent flow of fear and horror is symbolically presented in Characters mind. ' Pinter actually exposes the State of modern man and the idea of fear that exists in human mind.' 

Stanley weaber who is a protagonist of this play. He is such a character who tries to protect himself from the outer society. Printer's play often does not give a brief description of the past of character 's life. As we also don't know that what happened with Stanley weaber in his past. The fear of Stanley is noticeable throughout the Play. 

 When Meg discovers that two strangers will come to stay at boarding house at that time Stanley behaved violently to Meg's announcement. Stanley actually reflects  modern man Isolation and a kind of fear that exists in modern man from being exposed to outer reality. The outer reality becomes a threat to their inner space which they like to avoid and disconnects easily.

 When Goldberg and Maccan asking questions to Stanley at that time also they were not giving Stanley a chance for even answering the questions. So that is how we can understand that how they both verbally attacked on Stanley weaber. As a audience and as a viewer we felt some kind of fear and Threatening effect that what will happen in the very next movement. Through their acting Characters what to create comic atmosphere but Inside they are very much in stress and in depression like our Protagonist- Stanley weaber. So that is how Comic + Terrible and fearful effect in one's mind that is one of the main Characteristics in this play.  

     

   The Feeling of Fear is very common in Harold Pinter 's plays. and especially In The Birthday Party the existential fear is very Present. Stanley Webber does not want to step out from the house because he had a fear of something which already happened in the past.  

 

  Let's sum up...

 Conclusion :- To conclude one can understand that Comedy of menace means the audience knows nothing about the characters and their past. But while watching it creates the atmosphere of suspense and menace. 

 I hope that this blog will be helpful to you..

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