The Dark Comedy

Much of 20th century drama defies the traditional pigeon-holes of tragedy and comedy. This book explains the nature of this dark, paradoxical comedy, and makes us realize that the playwright, by creating complex tensions in the action of the play between the actor and the audience, is able to explore areas of human feeling and response.

Inhalt

Preface to the Second Edition; Preface to the First Edition; 1. On tears and laughter; 2. Naturalistic shading; 3. Towards tragic inversion; 4. Counterpoint and hysteria; 5. The dark comedy; Reading List; Index.