court comedy

 Court comedy is a type of English comedy written purposely for performance at court, especially from 1588 to 1625, during the reigns of Elizabeth and James 1. English court comedy different from the comedy of the public theaters in its purification, its charm of expression, and its references to classical learning. Court comedy of the Elizabeth and Jacobean years had little effect upon later English comedy, although its utilization and development of dramatic prose may be said to have influenced the better comic writers of the Restoratiuon period, such as William Congreve (1670- 1729).

Style

       court comedy plays often had classical and mythological subjects, as in the case of Lyly's Endimion (ca. 1588), Gallathea (1587), and Love's Metamorphosis (ca. 1590). the action of such plays was more verbal than visual, although they were staged with a fair amount of spectacle, including music and dance. Bascially, emphasis was placed on the language--puns, wordplay, wit, and neatly structured sentiments.this was entertainment for the erudite, and its performance by small boys must have been a precious treat for Elizabeth and her courtiers.

Leading author



 John Lyly 

      John Lyly was leading author of this genre who grown the elegant style of prose known as euphuism and wrote wrote several comedies for the court of Elizabeth. most of these comedy plays were written for boy actors, noticeably the boys of St. Paul's choir school.




Shakespeare

     Shakespeare also wrote court comedy, Love's Labor's Lost (1594-1595) is also an excellent example of court comedy.


New Comedy

      New comedy is a Greek dramatic form, originating in the late fourth century B.C. and later borrowed by Roman comic authors. New Comedy, following Old Comedy and Middle Comedy, is the ultimate root of the comedy of manners.
     It employs stock characters in realistic contemporary social situations. The plot runs smoothly.