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Comedy: "An Essay on Comedy" by George Meredith. "Laughter" by Henri Bergson
 
 
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Comedy: "An Essay on Comedy" by George Meredith. "Laughter" by Henri Bergson (Paperback)

by Wylie Sypher (Editor) "What does laughter mean?..." (more)
Key Phrases: comic fancy, reciprocal interference, comic idea, Don Quixote, George Dandin (more...)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

List Price: $20.95
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Customers buy this book with Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious by Sigmund Freud

Comedy: "An Essay on Comedy" by George Meredith. "Laughter" by Henri Bergson + Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious
Price For Both: $31.80

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Probably the two best looks at the lighter side are these essays, the first by a master of the English novel of manners, the second by a philosopher who influenced a generation of French writers, including Proust... Contains a long index and appendix, the latter offering a wide-ranging historical inquiry into the comic." -- Washington Post Book World



Product Description
Bergson's essay looks at comedy within a wider field of vision, focusing on laughter and on what makes us laugh. His study examines comic characters and comic acts, comedy in literature and in children's games, comedy as high art and base entertainment, to develop a psychological and philosophers theory of the mainsprings of comedy.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 1, 1980)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0801823277
  • ISBN-13: 978-0801823275
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #310,100 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #94 in  Books > Entertainment > Humor > Comedy

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
Comedy/Cinema/Theory by Andrew S. Horton
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Comedy: "An Essay on Comedy" by George Meredith. "Laughter" by Henri Bergson
74% buy the item featured on this page:
Comedy: "An Essay on Comedy" by George Meredith. "Laughter" by Henri Bergson 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
$20.95
On Humour (Thinking in Action)
12% buy
On Humour (Thinking in Action) 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
$16.15
Playboys and Killjoys: An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Comedy
7% buy
Playboys and Killjoys: An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Comedy
$29.99
Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious
4% buy
Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
$10.85

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Henri Bergson is brilliant., June 10, 1998
By A Customer
Henri Bergson describes why we laugh, and subdivides this description further into three characteristics. Each of these characteristics is then divided further occassionally. Example: >We laugh at mechanical rigidity. The three types are repetition, inversion, and reciprocal interference of series. An example of repetition is a frozen facial expression (repetition) and is comical only if it's imitatable.< Then he proceeds to give examples of word play, character, actions, etc which illustrate his points.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best theoretical study of comedy available, May 7, 1999
By A Customer
Bergson's _Laughter_ has been out of print for too long. It's the best theoretical study of comedy available. A meditation by the great philosopher of "elan vital" about our natural response to humans acting mechanically, _Laughter_ is also about the nuts and bolts of comedy. Moliere is the main model, but it works for Shakespeare, Chaplin and Preston Sturges just as well.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Euphoria, June 14, 1998
By A Customer
Bergson offers a taxonomy of laughter. The description is concise, realistic, and rife with examples. He begins with a broad definition of anything that is laughable and further narrows the definition where appropriate. Never have I encountered an example not explainable by this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Two major theories of ' comedy'
This review is partial, and does not include the major essay of Wylie Sypher that serves as epilogue for the essays of Meredith and Bergson. Read more
Published on June 29, 2005 by Shalom Freedman

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