What is Comedy?
{{No sources|date=October 2022}}[[File:Thalia sarcophagus Louvre Ma475.jpg|thumb|right|[[Thalia (muse)|Thalia]], the muse of comedy, holding a comic mask – detail of “Muses Sarcophagus”, the [[nine Muses]] and their attributes; [[marble]], early second century AD, Via Ostiense - ''Louvre'']] [[File:Charlie Chaplin.jpg|thumb|right|[[Charlie Chaplin]], a well-known comedian]] [[File:Oceanside High School Masque Society.jpg|thumb|right|Poster with [[masks]] of comedy and tragedy]] '''Comedy''' (from {{lang-el|Kωμωδία}}), in modern times, is an entertainment with generally [[funny]] content. It is able to make people [[laughter|laugh]]. This definition was used for [[theatre]] [[Play (theatre)|plays]], and was first used in [[Ancient Greek theatre|Ancient Greece]]. Aristotle defined this as “Comedy is, as we have said, an imitation of characters of a lower type- not, however, in the full sense of the word bad, the ludicrous being merely a subdivision of the ugly. It consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive. To take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not imply pain.”<ref>{{Cite book|title=Comedies|first=Aristotle|year=335 BCE}}</ref> To him, the lampooners became writers of Comedy and the truly artistic ones became writers of Tragedy. Comedy is also a media genre that is for [[television]] shows or [[movie]]s that are either funny or silly. People who are known for acting in comedies are termed as [[comedian]]s or comedic actors. == History == === Satire === The ancient Greeks had comedies, which were presented in [[competition]]s at the [[festival]] of [[Dionysus|Dionysia]]. One of the best-known comedy authors of the time was [[Aristophanes]] (about 446{{ndash}}386 BC). One of his works, ''[[The Clouds]]'' was performed 425 BC. The work did not survive completely, but a later version did survive. It is a satire against [[Socrates]], and pictures the great philosopher as a swaggering con artist. Some of the accusations were re-used at Socrates' [[tri