Farce
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Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable.[1] Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense; satire, parody, and mockery of real-life situations, people, events, and interactions; unlikely and humorous instances of miscommunication; ludicrous, improbable, and exaggerated characters; and broadly stylized performances.
Genre
[edit]Despite involving absurd situations and characters, the genre generally maintains at least a slight degree of realism and narrative continuity within the context of the irrational or ludicrous situations, often distinguishing it from completely absurdist or fantastical genres. Farces are often episodic or short in duration, often being set in one specific location where all events occur. Farces have historically been performed for the stage and film.
Historical context
[edit]The term farce is derived from the French word for "stuffing", in reference to improvisations applied by actors to medieval religious dramas. Later forms of this drama were performed as comical interludes during the 15th and 16th centuries.[2] The oldest surviving farce may be Le Garçon et l'aveugle (The Boy and the Blind Man) from after 1266, although the earliest farces that can be dated come from between 1450 and 1550. The best known farce is La Farce de maître Pathelin (The Farce of Master Pathelin) from c. 1460, although, at some 1500 verses long, it is among the most unusual.[3] The entire repertoire of typically shorter pieces experienced a heyday in medieval and Renaissance France, where over 200 such comedies survive. Over 70 of these have been translated into English, many of which can be found in these anthologies:
- Axton, Richard, and John Stevens, trans. Medieval French Plays. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1971.
- Boucquey, Thierry, trans. Six Medieval French Farces. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1999.
- Denny, Neville, ed. and trans. Medieval Interludes. London: Ginn, 1972.
- Enders, Jody, ed. and trans. “The Farce of the Fart” and Other Ribaldries: Twelve Medieval French Plays in Modern English. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.
- Enders, Jody. “Holy Deadlock” and Further Ribaldries: Another Dozen Medieval French Plays in Modern English. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017.
- Enders, Jody, ed. and trans. Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries: Yet Another Dozen Medieval French Plays in Modern English. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022.
- Enders, Jody, ed. and trans. Trial by Farce: A Dozen Medieval French Comedies in Modern English for the Stage. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2023.
- Mandel, Oscar, trans. Five Comedies of Medieval France. 1970; rpt. Boston and London: University Press of America, 1982.
Spoof films such as Spaceballs, a comedy based on the Star Wars movies, are farces.[4]
Sir George Grove opined that the "farce" began as a canticle in the common French tongue intermixed with Latin. It became a vehicle for satire and fun, and thus led to the modern Farsa or Farce, a piece in one act, the subject of which is extravagant and the action ludicrous.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "farce | Dictionaries and vocabulary tools for English language learners | Wordsmyth". www.wordsmyth.net. Retrieved Mar 19, 2023.
- ^ Birch, Dinah, ed. (2009). The Oxford Companion to English Literature (7th ed.). OUP Oxford. p. 1043. ISBN 978-0191030840.
- ^ Hollier, Denis; Bloch, R. Howard, eds. (1994). A New History of French Literature. Harvard University Press. p. 126. ISBN 0674615662.
- ^ "farce". Vocabulary.com.
- ^ Grove, Sir George (1908). Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: McMillan. p. 8.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Grove, Sir George (1908). Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York, McMillan.
External links
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