Neil Simon is arguably one of the greatest American playwrights of the twentieth century. He has brought his unique personality and views to his works. His plays have not only graced Broadway, but many have made it to the screen. Simon uses personal ties in portraying characters familiar to the audience. Simon said once in an interview with Glenn Loney, “Certain types of critics will always look down on comedy. For them, it seems to easy- or it doesn’t have enough substance” (Konas 212). Neil Simon is criticized for lacking substance within his works. However his plays are actual dramatizations of his life, or the life of those he knows best, which utilize buffoon comedy to create substance while keeping a light-hearted ambiance.
Buffoon comedy defines itself as comedy which evokes a laugh because of the degree of absurdity. It is utilized to convey dense ideas while keeping the audience from feeling burnt out. It is important to keep a captive audience and thus buffoon comedy allows for a light airiness while getting across difficult ideas. MELUS, a theatrical magazine which is issues bi-annually, published an article dealing with Neil Simon which focused on his religion and how it played a part in his writing. Walden stated it best, “To Simon the ideal play is where the audience laughs all night but in the last few minutes is touched by a sense of tragedy” (MELUS 81). In all Simon’s works the audiences becomes captivated by the laughs but are touched by the reality.
Neil Simon utilizes buffoon comedy by contrasting characters. He creates over-dramatizations in order for the subtleties of character to emerge. This stark contrast of characters brings attention to their behavior which can be at its worst, rash and ex...
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...eatre has failed them. Simon presents a new alternative to predictable. He presents reality which can be laughed at because it is removed. Yet his comedy moves the audience to look inward. As Taylor says, “Only in that Age of Reason, the doctoral dissertation, does that lesser playwright appear to shine forth” (Taylor 46).
Simon uses what he knows to shape what he portrays. His critics may claim that he lacks backbone, yet he provides his audiences with enough support to fill in all of their personal gaps. He gives ample opportunity for his audience and his critics for that matter to place themselves into the scenario. All he asks is that the audience gives him some of their time so in turn he can improve upon it. He allows for an escape that is not literal but figurative from the stress of life into the beautiful subtleties of it.
Not knowing what this play was about, I went to go see it Wednesday after noon at Holyoke Community College in the Leslie Phillips Theater. I had many mixed emotions about this play. I thought some parts were very funny, but others were a little uncomfortable because of some racia...
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.
Simon represents the sensitive, spiritual and caring side of human behavior he enjoys nature and often walks alone in the jungle like Piggy Simon is an outcast. The other...
Simon is the big tough character you can expect any group of men to want in the group. He is a calm character but can turn into a powerful and aggressive person that demands respect in an instant. In the scene where Tristan challenges Simon on being fearful of benny, Simon quickly reminds Tristan exactly who he is talking to by throwing the drink at Tristan who is the leader and in command. Simon demonstrates one characteristic that all men value and that is Power, Men are expected to be strong bold characters, and Simon uses these
-(15 points): Comic Relief that, in my own words, means to lighten up a serious part in a movie or book. I have seen this in many of Robin Williams’ movies. In “Patch Adams” he soothes the cancer patients and kemo children with a clown nose and jokes. Taking a serious situation and making it better. “Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien—but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.” (7 Quotes from Robin Williams, for Communicatorss (PR News).
Satire in American literature has evolved in response to the development of the American mind, its increasing use of free will, and the context that surrounds this notion. Satire is the biting wit that authors (labeled satirists) bring to their literature to expose and mock the follies of society. Satirists can be divided, however, into two groups with very different purposes. One type mocks simply for the enjoyment of mocking. These satirists are found almost everywhere in the world, on every street corner, household, and television sitcom. It is the second type of satirist who is a strong force in the world of literature. The satirical author will mock to heighten the reader's awareness of the problems that threaten to destroy the world that they believe has so much potential. They do this with the hope that their satire will encourage others to better society. "I have often hoped that the arts could be wonderfully useful in times of trouble" (32) says the writer who is perhaps the king of this second type of American satire, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Vonnegut uses his literature to help guide a disillusioned America, in which free will has been fundamental since the writing of the Constitution. As a humanist, Vonnegut uses the idea of free will as a constant motif in his writing. He believes that every soul has the freedom to do anything, but that the problem with society is that people lack direction. Free will, used as a theme in Timequake, is an enormous responsibility. Acknowledging the free will that one has also involves accepting the responsibility that is necessary to use this privilege in a way that will benefit humanity. In several essay...
When Simon is in the forest, he has his deepest and most intimate thoughts, which lead him to examine the essence of the beast’s existence, suggesting that he feels most comfortable when surrounded
Simon was the kind of person who kept to himself and looked at the world from a different point of view. His disease made him take life much more seriously than the rest of the group. The ironic thing about this is that even though he took life more seriously than others, he was the first to die. He was different because he was a member of the choir and unlike the other member of the choir, he did not hunt. Even Ralph was quoted as saying he was funny and queer. But he was right. He did not like the company of the other boys because on page 132 of the book, he is seen in his little bower where he just sits and becomes one with his mind. Most of the other boys are seen playing but not Simon. His maturity level and intelligence were far greater than some adults in this day and age.
My initial reaction to the play was that Willy Loman is a horrible man, overly pre-occupied with his own perceived masculinity and self-worth; a man who damages
Towards the middle of Simon's stay on the island, he started to realize that he truly was different from the others. Every time he tried to talk to the other children, his 'effort fell about him in ruins; the laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away defenseless to his seat.';(89) Just when he thought he had been accepted he embarrassed himself again, 'When he bashed into a tree Ralph looked sideways impatiently and Robert sniggered.';(104) They were getting restless with his behavior.
Humor is more than just amusing entertainment to pass the time. Though jokes and witty banter can be shallow, humor can go deeper than surface level to convey messages to audiences who would otherwise be close-minded about certain ideas. Humor is a great tool to get audiences to change the way they think, feel, and act. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” Alexander Weinstein uses humor to criticize some of society’s faults such as the way it has become heavily reliant on technology, racially insensitive, and judgmental.
Willeford, William, The Fool and His Scepter: A Study in Clowns and Jesters and Their Audience (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1969)
Tennessee Williams and Beth Henley both use elements of tragedy in their plays in order to introduce the characters’ problems while also attempting to lighten the mood. Tennessee Williams introduces the conflict along with some humor, but Beth Henley’s use of comedy in a tragic moment makes the situation even more tragic. The humor she introduces in a tragic situation evokes pity from the audience because it seems as though all the sisters can do is laugh at their pain. Williams uses comedy in order to introduce the tragic situation and comedy doesn’t have to be funny in his plays; the way that he introduces tragedy in such a comedic manner allows the audience to relate to the characters. On the other hand, Henley’s way of joining comedy and tragedy in the same moment makes the audience uncomfortable because it confuses their emotions; they don’t know whether to feel pity or not. In this sense, Tennessee Williams does a better job at showing tragedy through the characters’ actions.
As Bennett crafts Hector to attain omnipotent qualities and be central to the plays comedic effect, his teaching style appears recognisably atypical and ther...
The term ‘comedy of menace’ is applied to a group of plays in which comedy is intertwined with elements of tragedy. The term was first used by David Campton as a subtitle of one of his plays, The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace. Though both comedy and tragedy are based on incongruities and contradictions, the driving force in comedy is humour and the driving force in tragedy is horror and menace. In comedy the humour is generated through dramatic techniques such as divergences, repetitiveness, surprise, illogical events and statements that often lead to outcomes which are quite contrary to what the audience expect and thereby cause laughter and amusement. In comedy of menace, two contradictory