Comedy is a human concept which has been written and debated about for centuries, and is still today the subject of great debate. Of course, humor has existed in human activity since prehistoric times, although not in written form. Laughter is inherent to human nature and hence has grabbed the attention of scholars such as Aristophanes, Terence, and in more recent times Freud. Varying widely between their category of satire, parody, and irony as well as their medium of theater and literature to deliver their humor, comedy has taken many forms but is playing on the same innate human nature to bring about laughter. The purpose has also varied greatly, ranging from entertainment to social commentary and is now ingrained into human civilization. Humor is the process of tapping into this instinct and can be observed historically as well as its implications on society today.
Mary Beard writes about the historical roots while delving into the many theories around comedy and laughter in her book Laughter in Ancient Rome. Introducing the reader in chapter one the Romans view and important figures of the art, she uses the pieces of Dio as well as The Eunuch to explain the reasons why Romans found things funny, while making sure the reader doesn’t just read into their comedy from a modern viewpoint and simply turn them into a version of ourselves. In Dio’s History, laughter is mentioned several times, and often occurs at times where laughter is ironic in todays time, such as when a man cuts an ostrich’s head off. It appears again when the Romans invade the Taratines, and they began to laugh off the invaders because of their traditional dress. Not exactly where we would find humor in the 21st century, but it gives a glimpse into this time period. Next, she writes about The Eunuch by Terrance, which is a comedy written in 2nd century BC containing a plot of rape and reconciliation. This piece contains humor in several different ways, and is special because it actually contains the act of laughter as a line. We do not need to infer where the laughter is supposed to occur, because it is explicitly written into the piece as “hahahae”. This allows us to analyze the reasons for the laughter, and why things were funny to ancient Romans. It was a common theme that humor reinforced the social hierarchy of Rome, and played into these power structures to be funny. By explaining the possibilities of why this is funny, as well as where the audience is supposed to laugh, we get a frame of reference on how comedy has evolved.
In the second chapter, Beard dives into the theories throughout the centuries which have revolved around the act of laughing. The questioning of this innate human action has captured the thoughts of Cicero, Pliny, Aristotle, and has continued well into modern times. Pliny’s expansive encyclopedia Natural History highlights the topic extensively, and explores the body's role in laughter. He held the theory that the diaphragm was responsible for laughter creation, and on the battlefield if it became punctured death would be accompanied by laughter. This also explained why tickling created laughter, as the diaphragm extends upwards into the arms, and tickling stimulates it making the individual laugh. He also delves into laughter aided by plants and other natural things on the body, writing about a substance which grew in Afghanistan and has raised hopes of modern writers of a potential cannabis plant. His encyclopedia was not comprehensive in the sense he didn't answer why and how jokes make humans laugh however, but we have several other scholars comment on this. Aristotle wrote extensively on the subject, but unfortunately his writings on the subjects have not survived in their entirety, and therefore we are missing significant ideas. His ideas of inferiority, surprise, and relief were ideas which many scholars later built upon. For example, we have Thomas Hobbes write about the concept of “Superiority Theory” which is the idea that laughter stems from mockery, and always has a victim. He argued the feeling of superiority physically, morally, and intellectually made people release the feeling of laughter. Finally, we examine Sigmund Freud, whose writings delve deeply into the concept of laughter and its mechanism. He argued that laughter is a release of psychic energy and stems from repressed emotions and thoughts. The act of laughter allows the individual a moment to release this contained energy, especially in subjects which are taboo or socially unacceptable, and offers insight why dark humor is so popular. Another theory of his is the concept of surprise, and when a person is caught off guard they release tension and express this in the form of laughter. The very act of laughing is not homogenous across the human race, although it is the same mechanism which creates these feelings. For example, some cultures are more reserved and laugh rarely, whereas you have cultures which laugh through daily life and do so in a physical manner. Taking the Pygmies from the Democratic Republic of Congo for example, they are observed to laugh “very easily” as well as do so on the ground while kicking their legs. This would be seen as weird or obscure in many cultures, but is simply the norm which the Pygmy people have created around laughter. Today, this is no different from when you travel to another country, and subject matter and delivery which is joked upon varies greatly.
The overall trend of comedy has become more tame in recent times, according to scholar Keith Thomas. This shift is observed as less rowdy and coarse humor to a comedic environment more controlled and policed. This does have merit as Cicero in 46 BCE was quoted “There is hardly a trace of old-style wit to be seen”, but at the same time, one has to take into account the effect of nostalgia and glorification of the past.
However, at the expense of rowdy and vulgar humor, clerics and the state became the topic of discussion. Social commentary became popular and the ability to comment on class became more imminent. This has influenced modern day comedy to this day, which most definitely uses hierarchy to create the superiority which was discussed above. This commentary comes at the expense of someone, and coincided with the Enlightenment and the Renaissance which pushed forward individual liberties and the idea of liberalism. At the base of this movement was the idea of freedom of expression and speech, which undoubtedly includes all types of comedy. These ideas were central to laying the foundations for democratic governments born out of revolution, and propagated comedy openly criticizing and joking about the ruling power.
