the.com/comedy
tragedy plus time, weaponized — the only art that disarms a room by making it gasp-laugh
means A form of drama or entertainment intended to amuse, typically with a light tone and a happy ending, or more broadly anything that provokes laughter.
from From Greek kōmōidia, a marriage of kōmos (a revel — the riotous, wine-soaked processions in honor of Dionysus) and aoidos (singer), so a comedy was literally 'a song of the revelers.' It traveled into Latin as comoedia and reached English via Old French in the late medieval period. The Greeks paired it neatly against tragōidia ('goat-song'), and the two masks — one grinning, one weeping — have stood guard over theater doors ever since.
- masks origin
- Greek theater used grinning masks for crowds to read
- deadly laughter
- Greek playwright Chrysippus reportedly died laughing at his own joke
- rule of three
- jokes land best with two setups, one twist
- oldest joke
- a Sumerian fart gag dates back to 1900 BC
the office — nbc sitcom about dunder mifflin paper company that ran 2005-2013 with 201 episodes
dave chappelle show — comedy central sketch series that aired 2003-2006, revolutionized stand-up on television
monty python — british comedy group from 1969-1974 that created absurdist sketches and cult films like holy grail
i love lucy — cbs sitcom 1951-1957 starring lucille ball, first major female-led comedy series