COMEDY, a dramatic poem, represent ing some event in common life, which is supposed to take place among private in dividuals. Its object is to ridicule the vices and follies of mankind.
The unities of action, time and place, the division of the acts, the introduction of episodes,the intermixture of the scenes, are common to both tragedy and comedy. But in other essentials they differ : the one inspires terror and pity ; the other excites gaiety and mirth. The characters in tragedy are, kings, princes, tyrants, heroes ; those in comedy are, ridiculous people of quality, cits, valets, gossips, &c. The style also ,of the latter has its peculiar characteristics ; it should be simple, lively, familiar, and replete with sallies of wit, satire, and genuine humour.
As almost all the rules of dramatic poe try are constructed with a view to strengthen the resemblance of fiction to reality, they ought in comedy to be most minutely attended to ; because, as the scenes it represents bear a nearer affinity to real life, any defect in the resemblance is more readily discovered. Hence the necessity of truth in the delineation of character, of simplicity in the texture of the intrigue, of spirit and consistency in the dialogue, and of genuine nature in the sentiments. Hence, too, that grand requisite, the art of concealing art, in ma naging the progressive intricacy of the plot, which constitutes the illusion of theatrical representations. The intrigue of comedy does not consist in the con struction of a fable barely probable, but in a natural series of familiar events, de veloped in the most clear and impressive way. It may be of use, therefore, to trace the rise and progress of comedy, with its various revolutions, in order to examine the principles on which those rules are founded, and to point out their various applications.
On the waggon of Thespis, comedy was a mere tissue of ribaldry, uttered to the passing multitude by vintagers, with their faces stained with wine-lees. After the example of the Sicilian poets Epicoharmus and Phormis, Crates gave it a more regu lar form, and raised it to a more appro priate stage. Comedy then took for its
model the tragedy invented by Eschy lus, or rather both were founded on the poems of Homer. This epoch is, pro perly speaking, the origin of comedy among the Greeks ; they divided it into the old, the middle, and the new. The Athenian comedians at first produced sa tires in action, that is to say, they repre sented characters known and named, whose follies and vices they imitated. This was the old comedy.
To repress this licence, the laws for bad the mention of names. Neither the malignity of the poets, however, nor that of the spectators, lost any thing by this interdict. The resemblance of masks, dress, and gesture, designated public characters so well, that they were recog nized at sight. Thus, in the middle co medy, the poet, having no longer to dread the reproach of personality, was embold ened in his satirical attacks ; at the same time he was doubly sure of applause.; for, while feeding the malice of his audience by the blackness of his portraits, he af forded their vanity the gratification of guessing his originals. It was in these two pieces that Aristophanes so often triumphed, to the shame of the Athe nians.
Satirical comedy presented at first view many appearances of advantage. There are vices, against which the institu tions of a state provide no punishment. Self-interestedness, or incapacity in the administration of public affairs, ingrati tude, infidelity, breach of promise, the tacit and artful usurpation of the merit of another—all these escape the severity of law. Satirical comedy assigned to them a punishment the more terrible, as it was inflicted in a public theatre. There the guilty were arraigned, and the people sat in judgment. It was doubtless to main tain so salutary a species of terror, that the first satirical poets were not only to lerated, but even hired by the magistracy, as censors of the republic. Even Plato was led away by this apparent advantage, when he admitted Aristophanes into his banquet : if, indeed, the Athenian sati rist, and the Aristophanes of the banquet, are one and the same person, which may at least be fairly doubted.