THE 2000 Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Genre

• School: University of Florida
• Department: Theatre and Dance
• Course: THE 2000
• Professor: Mitchell, Charles

Document Summary

This chapter employs two approaches to define a production through generic criticism: the first is by the content of the productions script. The genre is defined by specific actions taking place in the script: by being identified with a specific aesthetic or cultural movement. Classical and historical definitions: tragedy: was the most common type of theatre in classical. Aristotle believed this to be an imitation of characters of a lower type some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive. Romantic comedy: defined by its plot, two sympathetic characters. Low comedy: comic scripts with a serious ending, comic word play, humor based on mistaken identities and false assumptions, exceedingly mannered society, set out to deliberately disrupt social norms, slapstick violence, exaggerated sexuality, and absurd behavior, melodrama. Emphasized plot and nation over any character development. Cultural and technological shifts of the nineteenth century. Theatre artists created work with a high degree of verisimilitude, featuring detailed, authentic looking designs: naturalism.