"An Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit" by George Meredith is a detailed look at what makes comedy important and how it reflects society, written in the late 1800s. The essay examines what real comedy is, how it's uncommon, and what kind of society helps it grow, and what difficulties that comic writers face. The author compares different types of comedy, observing how social rules either hurt or help comedy to thrive. The book starts off suggesting that real comedies are rare, implying that what's usually considered funny might not be, highlighting how comedy needs smart ideas to really work, and criticizing people who either don't laugh at all or laugh too much at the wrong things. He makes the argument that true comedy actually helps look at society critically, pointing out mistakes and bad behavior, and offering insight into what it means to be human. By bringing up famous comic writers and showing how styles of comedy change, the essay shows comedy is both a reflection and a criticism of what's considered normal in society, setting the stage to better understand the works of others in the future.
An Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit
By George Meredith
Discover how true comedy acts as a societal mirror, reflecting our follies while challenging our norms.
Summary
About the AuthorGeorge Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first, his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but Meredith gradually established a reputation as a novelist. The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859) briefly scandalised Victorian literary circles. Of his later novels, the most enduring is The Egoist (1879), though in his lifetime his greatest success was Diana of the Crossways (1885). His novels were innovative in their attention to characters' psychology, and also portrayed social change. His style, in both poetry and prose, was noted for its syntactic complexity; Oscar Wilde likened it to "chaos illumined by brilliant flashes of lightning". Meredith was an encourager of other novelists, as well as an influence on them; among those to benefit were Robert Louis Stevenson and George Gissing. Meredith was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.
George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first, his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but Meredith gradually established a reputation as a novelist. The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859) briefly scandalised Victorian literary circles. Of his later novels, the most enduring is The Egoist (1879), though in his lifetime his greatest success was Diana of the Crossways (1885). His novels were innovative in their attention to characters' psychology, and also portrayed social change. His style, in both poetry and prose, was noted for its syntactic complexity; Oscar Wilde likened it to "chaos illumined by brilliant flashes of lightning". Meredith was an encourager of other novelists, as well as an influence on them; among those to benefit were Robert Louis Stevenson and George Gissing. Meredith was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.
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