# Low comedy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Low_comedy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Low_comedy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_comedy > Source revision: 1346515582 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Works intended to provoke laughter without intellectual or other motives}} {{Multiple issues| {{original research|date=June 2019}} {{more citations needed|date=June 2019}} }} [[File:Swanage Punch & Judy.JPG|thumb|A traditional [Punch and Judy](/source/Punch_and_Judy) booth, at [Swanage](/source/Swanage), Dorset, England]] '''Low comedy''', or '''lowbrow humor''', is a type of [comedy](/source/comedy) that is a form of popular [entertainment](/source/entertainment) without any primary purpose other than to create [laughter](/source/laughter) through [boasting](/source/boasting), boisterous jokes, [drunkenness](/source/drunkenness), scolding, [fighting](/source/fighting), [buffoonery](/source/jester) and other riotous activity.[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349662/low-comedy "low comedy"] (2013). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' It is characterized by "horseplay", [slapstick](/source/slapstick) or [farce](/source/farce). Examples include the throwing of a custard pie into someone's face. The definition has expanded to include obvious physical jokes, such as the [wedgie](/source/wedgie). The term "low comedy" was coined by [John Dryden](/source/John_Dryden) in his preface to his play ''[An Evening's Love](/source/An_Evening's_Love)''.{{cite web |title=Dryden's Works Vol. 3 (of 18) |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37645/37645-h/37645-h.htm |website=Project Gutenberg |access-date=19 April 2019}} == History == {{unsourced section|date=December 2025}} This type of comedy has been a fixture ever since Greek plays. For instance [Sophocles](/source/Sophocles) once wrote a [satyr play](/source/satyr_play), no longer extant, about [satyr](/source/satyr)s who seek to persuade a king that they are worthy suitors of his daughter by bragging about their capacity for flatulence. [Aristophanes](/source/Aristophanes) claimed that he hoped his plays would not be too highbrow for the common people to understand though he acknowledged that his work presupposed a level of intelligence that was not normally assumed. Even the word 'comedy' is derived from a Greek phrase meaning either Song of Revelry or Song of The Village, the latter of which implies that it is meant for everyone including the lowest common denominator. Low comedy was first denoted as comedy for the commoners because it was most often practiced by street performers. Over time, as low comedy began to include lewd jokes and more physical comedy, more mainstream performers began to practice this type of comedy: [stand-up comedians](/source/stand-up_comedians), [musicals](/source/Musical_theatre), etc. This type of comedy also was employed in most [cartoons](/source/cartoons). For instance, in ''[Porky's Duck Hunt](/source/Porky's_Duck_Hunt)'', [Porky Pig](/source/Porky_Pig) is routinely subjected to physical slapstick. A 1945 [Bugs Bunny](/source/Bugs_Bunny) cartoon which parodied and lampooned [Hermann Goering](/source/Hermann_Goering) included a scene wherein Bugs successfully tore off Göring's medals one by one and Göring's trousers fell off. Likewise [Daffy Duck](/source/Daffy_Duck) is routinely shot by [Elmer Fudd](/source/Elmer_Fudd) in "[wabbit season](/source/Rabbit_Fire)" cartoons. == Social context == {{Main|Low culture}} Low comedy in society is quite well known; it can be found in a wide range of [media](/source/mass_media), such as television and theatre. It can also be found in {{clarify span|public and occupations|Possibly a term was mistakenly redacted here...?|date=January 2025}}, such as clowns, mimes and comedians. The term ''low'' is represented in association to [low culture](/source/low_culture). This form of comedy is targeted and understood towards people who attain nonacademic high school education, meaning this form of comedy is not restricted to high levels of education and knowledge.Gans, H. J. (1975). ''Popular culture and high culture; an analysis and evaluation of taste''. New York: Basic Books. Low comedy is well known and popular today because it is considered suitable for all individuals. This form of comedy connects to popular culture by its easy to understand style. Low comedy, however, has lacked appreciation from most of society and is looked down upon in contrast to [high comedy](/source/high_comedy). The sole purpose of low comedy is to evoke laughter in people. Because there is no contextual message in most forms of low comedy, it is not highly respected. This does not undermine the fact that it is still an effective form of comedy for its reputation to cause laughter.{{cite news|title=Salute to low comedy|author=B. A.|date=Jan 21, 1934|work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|101030559}}}} The classification of things considered to be low comedy constantly changes over time. As society changes, so do the ideas about what high and low comedy is. Some sitcoms are somewhere in between low and [high comedy](/source/high_comedy). For instance the animated series ''[The Simpsons](/source/The_Simpsons)'' routinely includes [slapstick](/source/slapstick) violence, yet has also satirized political issues and parodied classic films and literature.{{cite news|author=Roush, M.|date=Oct 30, 1995|title=Low comedy of 'high society'|work=USA TODAY|id={{ProQuest|408705508}}}} Today, low comedy can be seen in almost any production. Sitcoms often base most of the plot on this type of comedy because of society influencing productivity and considering it a low form of comedy. Modern adaptations of [Shakespeare](/source/Shakespeare)'s plays also use low comedy to convey a different understanding of the play.{{dubious|date=May 2021}} ''[As You Like It](/source/As_You_Like_It)'' for example is the story of a woman named Rosalyn who meets her male love interest while disguised as a man and inadvertently arouses the affection of a woman named Phoebe who repeatedly rejects her male suitor because she is in love with the man that Rosalyn is pretending to be. ==See also== * [Flatulence humor](/source/Flatulence_humor) * [High comedy](/source/High_comedy) * [The Three Stooges](/source/The_Three_Stooges), three comedic performers who used primarily slapstick humor. They have been described as "the high priests of low comedy.{{cite book |title=One Fine Stooge: Larry Fine's Frizzy Life in Pictures : an Authorized Biography |first1=Stephen |last1=Cox |first2=Jim |last2=Terry |publisher=Cumberland House |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddCtMD2LZ0wC&pg=PR23 |page=xxiii |isbn=978-1-58182-363-9}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{Comedy footer}} Category:Comedy Category:Satire Category:Popular culture --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Low comedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_comedy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_comedy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.