Comedy

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes the use of comedy within the entertainment business. The paper specifically compares two plays - George Bernard Shaw's Victorian-era comedy "Candida" and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The School for Scandal". The paper discusses each of these plays in detail and focuses on the use of comedy within them.

From the Paper:

"Shaw presents a play that is designed to teach as well, however, although Shaw holds up a far less socially acceptable model for his viewers to embrace. The characters are not immediately humorous in as broad a fashion as Sheridan's caricatures, even though the Shaw comedy does aspire to a didactic purpose. "Candida" tells the tale of the Reverend James Morell who is happy in his marriage to a woman named Candida. "Get a wife like my Candida; and you'll always be in arrear with your repayment." (Act I) Morell speaks some of the common, conventional notions about morality, marriage, and loving one's wife that would likely have been embraced by Shaw's Victorian audience. This creates a sense of connection between the audience and the conventional characters that Sheridan lectured his audience overtly to feel."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Shaw, George Bernard. "Candida." Online Literature. 30 Nov 2005.
• http://www.online-literature.com/george_bernard_shaw/candida/
• Sheridan, Richard Brinsely. "The School for Scandal." World Wide School. 30 Nov 2005. http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/plays/TheSchoolforScandal

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