| Term | Definition |
|---|
| high comedy | characterized by wit, grace, and sophistication; focuses on character problems and its humor is chiefly intellectual |
| low comedy | emphasizes physical humor, pranks, dirty jokes; causes explosive laughter |
| farce | lively physical comedy featuring silly characters, sight gags, and ridiculous events |
| slapstick | low form of farce that depends almost entirely on physical action such as hitting, tripping, and hiding, and on exaggerated reactions of characters |
| satire | designed to correct social and individual behavior; exposes and ridicules the evil and hypocrisy of person, groups, and institutions; Horatian or Juevnalian |
| romantic comedy | adventures of loves trying to overcom oppoistion and achieve a successful union |
| comedy of manners | form of high comedy in which the social conventions of society are examined and satirized; focus on the attitudes, manners, and morals of the upper class, and feature clever characters who exchange witty remarks |
| caricature | distorted portrayal or view of a person or idea, usually exaggerating a particular feature |
| chiamus | pattern of repeating iteams, usually words, in sequence A-B-B-A |
| epigram | short, cleverly worded remark making a pointed, witty statement |
| hyperbole | achieves emphasis through exaggeration |
| invective | abusive speech or name calling |
| ironic reversal | expression of sentiments or language that is the opposite of what ordinarily be expected |
| malapropism | unintended, often hilarious misapplication of a word |
| mimicry | imitation of someone's speech or movement, usually for the purpose of ridicule |
| parody | satirical imitation of a literary work, person, situation, etc., usually exaggerating |
| pun | form of word play based on the different emanings of similar sounding words |
| sarcasm | verbal irony that is clearly bitter and mocking |
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