Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Understand the definition and historical context of comedy.
• Identify major theories of comedy.
• Distinguish between different types of comedic expression.
• Engage with academic perspectives on humour.

What is Comedy?

Comedy can be a lot of things, clever wordplay, wild slapstick or painfully awkward silences but for this course, we’ll keep it simple; comedy is the art of making people laugh while often saying something about the world. Whether through storytelling, performance, or a perfectly timed eyebrow raise, comedy shines a light on the weird, messy and ridiculous parts of human nature. It exaggerates, flips expectations, and calls out life’s contradictions in the best way possible.

This first module takes a slightly academic approach to exploring comedy as a genre, with the aim of providing you with a solid foundation of knowledge to build on as you progress through the rest of the course.

The Foundations of Comedy

Types of Humour - Humour can be verbal, physical, situational, or conceptual.

Conflict & Contrast – Comedy often emerges from opposing forces, such as chaos vs. order, logic vs. absurdity, or expectation vs. reality.

Exaggeration – Characters, actions, or ideas are often pushed to extremes to highlight their silliness or truth.

Timing & Delivery – Effective comedy relies heavily on the pacing of jokes, the buildup of tension, and the precise moment of release.

Social Commentary – Comedy often critiques norms, taboos, and power structures in subtle or overt ways.

Origins and Evolution

Comedy comes from the Greek 'komoidia', basically an ancient party with punchlines. In classical theatre, it was one of the two big dramatic genres (the other being tragedy), and unlike tragedy, it wrapped things up with joy instead of body counts.

Over the centuries, comedy has evolved from stage satire to novels, films, sitcoms, stand-up, and, eventually, bite-sized viral memes and reels. Whatever its medium, comedy always does two fundamental things; it makes us laugh, and it makes us see ourselves a little more clearly.

Please open the attached Theories in Comedy Explored document at the bottom of the page as you work through this part of the lesson.

Major Theories of Comedy

Superiority Theory

We laugh because we feel superior to others. Humour arises when someone else’s misfortune, ignorance, or mistakes make us feel elevated.

Relief Theory

Comedy allows for the release of psychological tension. Humour acts as a safe outlet for expressing taboo or repressed ideas.

Incongruity Theory

Humour arises from the mismatch between expectation and reality. The punchline of a joke defies logic in an unexpected way.

Assignment

Using the Major Theories of Comedy resource (Superiority Theory, Relief Theory, Incongruity Theory); choose a TV show, film, or stand-up comedy performance for each theory and analyse how that comedic work reflects the ideas of the theory.

For each theory, write a response that includes:

• A brief explanation of the theory in your own words
• A specific example (TV episode, scene, film, or stand-up set)
• An analysis of how the comedy in that example reflects the theory
• Why the humour is effective or impactful within that context

Academic Resources & Further Reading

• Morreall, John. Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
• Critchley, Simon. On Humour. Routledge, 2002.
• Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton University Press, 1957.
• Bakhtin, Mikhail. Rabelais and His World. Indiana University Press, 1984.
• Palmer, Jerry. Taking Humour Seriously. Routledge, 1994.
• Kuipers, Giselinde – Good Humor, Bad Taste: A Sociology of the Joke (2006)
• Carroll, Noël – Humour: A Very Short Introduction (2014)

If you're feeling extra academic you can also take a look at these journals:

• Humor: International Journal of Humor Research
• The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism