Comedy

A drawing of Mark Twain on stage.

Artist's rendering of Mark Twain. (Image courtesy of America's Library.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

21L.421

As Taught In

Spring 2008

Level

Undergraduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This course looks at comedy in drama, novels, and films from Classical Greece to the twentieth century. Focusing on examples from Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Molière, Wilde, Chaplin, and Billy Wilder, along with theoretical contexts, the class examines comedy as a transgressive mode with revolutionary social and political implications. This is a Communications Intensive (CI) class with emphasis on discussion, and frequent, short essays.

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Other OCW Versions

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Related Content

Wyn Kelley. 21L.421 Comedy. Spring 2008. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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