Abstract
The paper comments that the play, "The Comedy of Errors" is much more than a simple comedy or farce as it is usually seen; it is rather a profound meditation on human life, and the way in which errors blind men and keep them from the truth. The paper concludes that Shakespeare's play is a profound meditation on the human condition as a progression from error, illusion and confusion, towards ultimate truth and enlightenment.

From the Paper
"The passage thus contains a few key elements for the interpretation of the play: first of all, the words "transformation", "error", "deceit" and the phrase "earthy-gross conceit" all hint at the main theme of the play: the plane of the human life is seen as a farcical game, in which the mortals are generally erring and confusing the truth with illusion. The play is thus much more than a simple comedy or farce as it is usually seen; it is rather a profound meditation on human life, and the way in which errors blind men and keep them from the truth. Men are generally "smothered in errors", "feeble" and "weak", in the hands of the divine will."

Tags:Shakespeare, comedy, of, errors

Abstract
In this paper, the dream sequence in Canto IX of Dante's Divine Comedy is explained as a visionary prefiguring of the upward aspiration of a soul seeking salvation.

From the Paper
"Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" is considered the greatest epic poem in Italian literature. This Christian allegory about the soul's journey through the afterlife bridges the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance and has had a profound influence on both Western literature and Christian dogma. Dante's Inferno: Dante describes his journey through the land of the dead in a first person narrative written in terza rima lines of eleven..."

Tags:Dante, Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, salvation

Abstract
This paper discusses Dante's placement of sinners and star crossed lovers and the characters of Francesca, Paolo, Pia del Tolomei, and Cunizza da Romano in the "Divine Comedy". The paper looks at Dante's inclusion of his own beliefs.

From the Paper
"In placing his various characters, Dante was moved by his own responses to stories of star-crossed lovers and great sinners, widely known in his own era by his personal experiences of life and love and by his desire to illustrate the various types of humans and their sins and corresponding punishment. He was further motivated by his desire to allow the great poet of Roman antiquity, Virgil, to speak for him or as a poetic voice standing in for his..."

Tags:Dante, Divine Comedy, Sinners, characters

Abstract
The paper examines both the structure and poetic symbols in Dante's epic poem "The Divine Comedy." The paper explains how he utilizes both in expressing the poem's themes.

From the Paper
"Dante's masterpiece, "The Divine Comedy" is an epic poem which traces man's quest to reach God and discover a true world order. Indeed as Dante travels through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven he undergoes a spiritual transformation as a result of his journey and finds answers to the moral questions that have nagged him. The poem functions as an allegory as it allows Dante to express both his political and religious views while teaching his readers a lesson in spiritual and moral matters."

Tags:dante, divine comedy, symbolism, structure, rhyme scheme, allegory, heaven, hell, purgatory, virgil, beatrice

Abstract
This paper argues that both tragedy and comedy are about the human condition versus the human being. The author uses Sophocles' "Oedipus, the King" and Chekhov's "The Bear" are used to support this position.

From the Paper
"In drama, tragedy and comedy are often considered polar opposites. It is often suggested that tragedy is more about a human being while comedy pertains mostly to the human condition. In other words, the tragic character is specific while the comedic character ..."

Tags:tragedy, comedy, drama, Chekhov, Sophocles, character, fate, free will

Abstract
This paper is written about comedy found in Christopher Durang works. In an effort to explore these three thematic elements within this playwright's work, two of his plays will be looked at very thoroughly. Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, a play first produced in 1979, will provide a look at these motifs in his early work; and Betty's Summer Vacation, a play that premiered in 1999, will balance this out with a look at his later work. However, examples from work throughout Mr. Durang's career will also be presented within the context of this paper.

Tags:disturbing comedy, durang

Abstract
This paper examines the role of women in Restoration comedy and what it expresses about the relations between men and women of the era and in modern society.

Tags:gender, patriarchy, sexuality, repression, control, power relations, marriage, feminism, comedy, Restoration

Abstract
Within the larger framework of the comedic genre, Restoration comedy has suffered more criticism than any other type. Judged as immoral, unrealistic, and artificial by numerous literary critics from Lamb to Macaulay, Restoration comedy has often been misinterpreted as a senseless jumble of clever-sounding sentences and words. This paper shows, however, that just as it had it virulent critics, Restoration comedy also had its own share of defenders, including Walter E. Houghton and Robert D. Hume. Writing thirty years apart, both these literary critics maintained that the rejectionist criticism of Restoration comedy is founded upon the false premise that this particular strain of comedy is meaningless and unrealistic. However, this particular viewpoint is incorrect and emanates from a failure to comprehend the purpose of comedy, on the one hand, and the importance of evaluating artistic works from within the context of their own period, on the other. Therefore, as this research argues, while Restoration comedy, or the 'comedy of manners' genre is largely satirical, as seen through the works of Congreve and Sheridan and characterized by extreme exaggeration in the representation of mannerisms, one may interpret this particular genre as a realistic and serious social criticism, which sought to impact cultural and social values and mannerisms.

From the Paper
"The condensation of vice within characters gives the impression that the play is not rooted in any recognizable reality yet, as Weber argues, this reductio ad absurdum devise is a recognized and legitimate means of exposing these vices and taking them to their ultimate consequence, in an effort to reveal society, as it is, without disguise (Weber). Hence, in taking mannerisms and the exercise of particular vices to their extreme absurd limit, Sheridan is not undermining the realistic foundations of his work per se, but is exposing the amorality of its so-called moral base."

Tags:school, for, scandal, Foible, Lady, Wishfort

Abstract
This paper examines how physical comedy does not stop at slapstick and considers how the movies of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers could also be defined as physical comedy. Through a review of several of their movies with an emphasis on "Top Hat", it demonstrates how all of their movies, made in the mid-1930s, shortly after sound had been added to films in the previous decade have elements of hilarity which can be attributed to physical comedy.

Outline
Sophisticated, Funny and Physical: The Romances of Astaire and Rogers
Let's Get Physical, Depression-Era Style
The Namesake Dance as Comedy
Feathers and Fred
A Short Compendium of More Fred and Ginger Physical Comedy

From the Paper
"In the natural comedic way of things, Dale runs into Jerry by chance and they hit it off. But then Jerry sends her flowers billed to Hardwick's room and a bellman points Jerry out to her, so she'll have a name to go with the face of the man she's interested in; he had just called himself "Adam" since she said she didn't know him from Adam in an early line. Unfortunately, in that instant, Horace and Jerry trade places and Dale ends up thinking it is her friend Madge's husband with whom she is falling in love. And, of course, Jerry and Horace know nothing abut this. Neither does Madge at first. When she does hear of it, what she is told is, naturally, also wrong."

Tags:slapstick, top, hat, dance

Abstract
This paper gives a detailed analysis of the many types of comedy in modern society and what role humor can play in our lives. Different forms of comedy are analyzed such as slapstick, farce, stand-up comedy, parody and tragi-comedy.

From the Paper
"Comedy has been used as an escape from the tensions of real life for centuries. Laughter seems to be the one uniquely human sensation that there is; there seems little possibility that animals experience humor. Comedy is an essential part of everyday life, as it is regularly on television and radio and in literature. It is often through comedy that we can take a look at our lives and the issues that govern them, and to some extent comedy shapes the world in which we live."

Tags:farce, parody, slapstick, humor