Knowing the six styles of comedy

Comedians come and go. That is why if you aim to be a good one, and endure in the industry, you should be able to hone your skills more and invest in knowledge about the basic styles of comedy.

Comedy may be the business of making people laugh,
but it is a very serious business.

To start with, there are six basic styles of comedy. By knowing each one of them, you will find that those styles have been born out of the early forms of comedy, from past decades, even centuries.

Take note that the original form of comedy branched out from the theaters in early Greece. Those forms of comedy are far different and profound than the form popular in the contemporary modern times. But, they would still be of great help.

Black comedy is a style where comedians make fun of serious situations like sickness, terror, rape, war, death and the like. In the early form of theaters, such a style was greatly appreciated by audiences. Nowadays, most people simply find it distasteful.

Satire is a style of comedy that is somehow profound and is hitting a serious statement beyond the hilarious antics and dialogues. Political satires are common forms of this style. People love to laugh about the funny mannerisms and features of a political personality they love to hate.

Sarcasm is one element always present in this comedy style. Spoofs of personalities also fall under the satire category. When a comedy act is executed to ridicule another work, a novel, movie or television show, the style ceases to be known as satire but is termed parody.

An adage contains jargons and is intended ed to make fun of ethical guidelines, principles, folk wisdom, proverbs and culture. It is a style of comedy that is hard to pull off.

The fifth style would be irony. Usually, irony is depicted when a character is obviously intending to accomplish one result but then ends up doing something else.
A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section of land through which the railroad passed. All the rancher asked for was to be paid what the bull was worth.

Just before the case came to trial the attorney for the railroad approached the rancher and tried to get him to settle out of court with a no-fault agreement. The lawyer did his best selling job but the farmer kept shaking his head no and starting to say something. The lawyer would cut him off with a higher offer. Finally the the lawyer offered the rancher half of what the lawsuit was asking and the old man nodded sadly.

After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success. "You know, I couldn't have won the case if it came to trial. Our engineer was asleep and the fireman wasn't in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you out of half the money you could have gotten!"

The old rancher chewed on his cud for a moment as if he was wondering how to respond. Then he said, "Well, I tried my best to drop the case but you wouldn't let me. My prize bull came home this morning with nothing but a gash on his flank. He didn't even need to see the vet."

Lastly, you should know about alternative comedy, which is undoubtedly the most popular style of comedy at this time. It is this style of comedy that defines the modern comedy antics popularized by sitcoms and movies. Think of I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Happy Days, etc.

Alternative comedy makes use of comic situations and languages to be able to tickle the audience's senses. Slapstick comedies also branched out from this style of humor. Slapstick involves the set up, and the payoff. For example, the new hire messes up everything in the office but he is such a nice guy the staff keeps him on until one last disaster. Everyone is standing there facing the fact that this guy has got to go and the new hire says.. “Have you ever had one of those days when everything goes wrong for you?” The staff nods slowly, sadly. “Well,” says the new hire. “I had one yesterday and today has been almost as bad.”

To be able to put on a good comedy performance, you could make use of one specific style or mix and match them so you could offer a wider array of comedic antics to your audience.

Remember, to be a good comedian, you should love laughter, but you shouldn't always make the situation light because comedy is, indeed, a serious business.