Essays (1 Viewer)

[Cinnamon93]

I Need help writing an essay on black comedy and about that the themes at the heart of he plays are about the cruelty we show to others, or somthing like that. Please help

 

[Absolutezero]

Black Comedy is all about the manipulation and exploitation of the tragic, for comic effect. They don't necessarily need to be about cruelty, though its often a contributing factor in many cases.

Consider Catch 22 for example, a quintessential Black Comedy text. The tragic nature of war and its effects on the individual are reduced to comedy, through hyperbole and the ridiculous farcial presentation of events. While the content is tragic, the effect is humorous. Hence, Black Comedy.

All that being said, what is the text you are studying?

 

[Cinnamon93]

I'm studying "The Shape of Things" and "Leuitenant of Inishmore"

 

[Absolutezero]

I haven't read either plays, but from what I can gather.

Leuitenant of Inishmore: Look at the extremity of the violence inflicted, compared to the situations that set it off. The incongruency between them yields the Black Comedy.

The Shape of things: The juxtaposition between the events that are happening to Adam, and the actual reality of why they are happening causes the Black Comedy.