Applies the recent `return to history' in film studies to the genre of classical Hollywood comedy as well as broadening the definition of those works considered central in this field.

The fifteenth-century discovery of Plautus’s lost comedies brought him, for the first time since antiquity, the status of a major author both on stage and page. It also led to a reinvention of comedy and to new thinking about its art and potential. This book aims to define the unique contribution of Plautus, detached from his fellow Roman dramatist Terence, and seen in the context of that European revival, first as it took shape on the Continent. The heart of the book, with special focus on English comedy ca. 1560 to 1640, analyzes elements of Plautine technique during the period, as differentiated from native and Terentian, considering such points of comparison as dialogue, asides, metadrama, observation scenes, characterization, and atmosphere. This is the first book to cover this ground, raising such questions as: How did comedy rather suddenly progress from the interludes and brief plays of the early sixteenth century to longer, more complex plays? What did “Plautus” mean to playwrights and readers of the time? Plays by Shakespeare, Jonson, and Middleton are foregrounded, but many other comedies provide illustration and support.

An exploration of wit, witlessness and social and comic conventions in the plays of Shakespeare, Jonson and their contemporaries.

British comedy cinema has been a mainstay of domestic production since the beginning of the last Century and arguably the most popular and important genre in British film history. This edited volume will offer the first comprehensive account of the rich and popular history of British comedy cinema from silent slapstick and satire to contemporary romantic comedy. Using a loosely chronological approach, essays cover successive decades of the 20th and 21st Century with a combination of case studies on key personalities, production cycles and studio output along with fresh approaches to issues of class and gender representation. It will present new research on familiar comedy cycles such as the Ealing Comedies and Carry On films as well as the largely undocumented silent period along with the rise of television spin offs from the 1970s and the development of animated comedy from 1915 to the present. Films covered include: St Trinians, A Fish Called Wanda, Brassed Off, Local Hero, The Full Monty, Four Lions and In the Loop. Contributors: Melanie Bell, Alan Burton, James Chapman, Richard Dacre, Ian Hunter, James Leggott, Sharon Lockyer, Andy Medhurst, Lawrence Napper, Tim O’Sullivan, Laraine Porter, Justin Smith, Sarah Street, Peter Waymark, Paul Wells

Table of contents: Martha Bayless, 'Merriment and Entertainment in Anglo-Saxon England: What is the Evidence?'; Christopher Crane, 'Taking Laughter Seriously: The Rhetoric of Humor in Middle English Drama, Sermon Exempla and Spiritual Instruction'; Paul Hardwick, 'Making Light of Devotion: The Pilgrimage Window at York Minster'; Dana Symons, 'Comic Pleasures: Chaucer and Popular Romance'; Christian Sheridan, 'Funny Money: Puns and Currency in the Shipman's Tale'; Laurel Broughton, 'From Buttfaces to Turd Bowling: Physical Humor in the Margins'; Sandra M. Hordis, 'Gender and Dialogic Laughter in Malory's Morte Darthur'; Miriamne Ara Krummel, 'Getting Even: Uneasy Laughter in The Play of the Sacrament'; Peter G. Beidler, 'Realistic Stage Comedy in Chaucer's Miller's Tale'; Elaine C. Block, 'Fooling Apes and Aping Fools on Misericord Carvings'.

"Now a BBC America TV series event"--Cover.