Origin and Definitions
While historians aren't exactly sure about the origins of dramatic comedy, it is probable that it's linked to ancient bawdy plays where men dressed up as satyrs - half-man, half-goat beasts - to get drunk, sing, and entertain the crowd with their sexual innuendos.
Now, that's just plain silly.
But this probably isn't too surprising, given that much of today's dramatic comedy on television and film utilizes sexual undertones (or blatant sexual references) to enhance the comedic effect. Over time, though, comedy has become more than just an exaggerated view of human sexuality.
In the literary sense, dramatic comedy is a drama where the characters experience a change for the better and work things out with hope for the future. And yes, that happy ending is part of hope for the future. The Poetics, written by philosopher Aristotle, is the leading resource for defining tragedy. Unfortunately, the portion of the text that explains comedy has been lost, but we still can derive some definition from the earlier parts of Aristotle's famous work. In the simplest terms, whereas Aristotle saw tragedy as portraying humans better than they are, he saw dramatic comedy as portraying humans worse than they are. That doesn't mean that dramatic comedy sees humans as evil. Instead dramatic comedy shows us our flaws and often portrays us as base, meaning ignorant or of low social class.
Within the dramatic comedy sub-genre, we can explain the humor in two different ways: high comedy and low comedy. High comedy uses social satire, wit, and subtle characterizations that are geared toward an educated group. The television show The Big Bang Theory is a good example of high comedy today. It is expected that the audience will understand the cultural references and subtle humor, which make the show entertaining. Low comedy, on the other hand, uses bawdy jokes, physical humor, drunkenness, and silly visuals for the sake of getting people to laugh. The Three Stooges, with its head-bops and foolish characters who make odd noises, is a more modern example of low comedy.
Characteristics of Dramatic Comedy
So, what should you expect if you go to the theatre for a comedic play? Well, dramatic comedies mostly will focus on ordinary people and their lives. As a result, the characters are typically everyday-people from lower to middle class families. The comic hero isn't a hero in the sense that he or she is indestructible. Actually, the hero in a dramatic comedy just needs to be likeable in some way so that the audience will hope his or her success will be found in the story. In fact, the characters that do come from high society are often pompous instead of noble when it comes to their role in a comedy.
These ordinary characters fall into ordinary plots that focus on ordinary problems. These problems are solved without too many real complications. The plot itself is mostly predictable, with the audience feeling a sense of approval as the comedic hero finally has his happy ending.
Types of Comedy
That being said, as with any form of entertainment, there are various ways in which a dramatic comedy can be written. The humor, plot, and characters all contribute to the comedy type.
To begin, the farce, which will be discussed in more detail in a separate video, is a low comedy that uses base characters and improbable circumstances to entertain the audience.