comedy: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

Poster for "The Path of Flowers," a farce-comedy play by Valentin Katayev; stylized figure with flowers.

A male actor in a yellow jumpsuit stands in front of a small group wearing donkey ears; another actor kneels, clapping his hands. Text on screen reads, "Bottom's transformation: A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Two male actors cling to a female actor on stage. Text on screen reads, "Lovers' quarrel: A Midsummer Night's Dream"

An actor in a spritely costume sits in a cloth swing against a dark background. Text on screen reads, "A Midsummer Night's Dream: Puck's Final Monologue."

Know about the use of innuendo and double entendre in British comedy

Watch episode 31 of The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1962

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Topics

screwball comedy marivaudage satire stand-up comedy comedy of manners farce slapstick New Comedy satyr play sentimental comedy Novel tragedy short story epic romance saga mirror for princes parable manga fable

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Key People

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

English author

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Ben Turpin

American comedian

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Olaf Poulsen

Danish actor

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Bud Abbott

American actor

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John Ritter

American actor

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Lou Costello

American actor

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Lupino Lane

English actor

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Danny Thomas

American comedian and actor

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Charles J. Correll

American comedian

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Chico Marx

American actor

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Gummo Marx

American actor

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Harpo Marx

American actor

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Zeppo Marx

American actor

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Kevin Hart

American actor and comedian

Portrait painting of French dramatist Moliere, shown with long curly hair, a mustache, and wearing a richly detailed robe, by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse after Pierre Mignard.

Molière

French dramatist

Life-sized plaster sculpture Seated Voltaire by Jean-Antoine Houdon shows Voltaire draped in a robe, seated with a thoughtful expression and a ribbon crown, against a dark background.

Voltaire

French philosopher and author

Woody Allen speaking into a microphone with hands raised beside his face during a press conference, against a red background.

Woody Allen

American director, writer, and actor

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Frank Capra

American film director

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw

Irish dramatist and critic

Portrait of American dramatist Eugene O'Neill in 1936, showing him in a suit and tie with a serious expression and a neatly groomed mustache.

Eugene O’Neill

American dramatist