Comedy: A Geographic and Historical Guide (Two Volume Set)

Comedy is a fundamental part of the human experience. Collecting the work of today's leading scholars, Maurice Charney presents 40 essays on the many forms that comedy has taken throughout history. Ranging from the comic plays of ancient times to Renaissance and Restoration comedies, from Commedia dell'Arte to stand-up performers, from trickster tales to television sitcoms, these surveys trace the evolution of the comic genre. Chapters on geographically based traditions (American regional humor, Irish comedy, Spanish comedy, etc.) contribute a multicultural understanding, while essays on such topics as Irony, Satire, and the Comedy of Philosophy examine the theoretical aspects of comedy. A glossary for important figures and terms will be of added value to readers of this wonderfully eclectic collection.

Comedy is a fundamental part of the human experience. Collecting the work of today's leading scholars, Maurice Charney presents 40 essays on the many forms that comedy has taken throughout history. Ranging from the comic plays of ancient times to Renaissance and Restoration comedies, from Commedia dell'Arte to stand-up performers, from trickster tales to television sitcoms, these surveys trace the evolution of the comic genre. Chapters on geographically based traditions (American regional humor, Irish comedy, Spanish comedy, etc.) contribute a multicultural understanding, while essays on such topics as Irony, Satire, and the Comedy of Philosophy examine the theoretical aspects of comedy. A glossary for important figures and terms adds even more to this wonderfully eclectic collection.

Editor Maurice Charney brings his lifetime of scholarship on comedy and drama to these volumes, which collect new essays from today's leading scholars on the subject of comedy in its many forms.

Comedy has striven to be taken seriously as a genre ever since Aristotle wrote about tragedy, though it comprises more than half of the world's literature. Thus Charney (English, Rutgers U.), the author of books on the history and theory of comedy, introduces 40 chapters on the many guises that comedy has taken in the major Anglo- American and European traditions. Chapters include references and further readings. V.1 mainly treats aspects of American (including African-American) humor, English comedy through the Victorian era, and contemporary French comedy. V.2 covers the comedy traditions of several major European countries, plus contemporary queer comedy, stand-up comedy, and television sitcoms. V. 2 contains the cumulative index, contributor bios, and a glossary of key terms and figures. Not illustrated. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

MAURICE CHARNEY is Professor of English at Rutgers University and the author of several books on the history and theory of comedy, including Comedy High and Low. A former president of the Shakespeare Association of America, Charney has authored All of Shakespeare, How to Read Shakespeare, and Shakespeare on Love & Lust.